The Invisible Chains

In the blink of an eye, 15 days passed. When Alice was released, she sent me a text message.

[You think dating some old man to disgust me is going to work? It's useless. Your sick mom is about to die, and her biggest wish before she goes is to see you get married. If she finds out you're deliberately with that old man, she'll probably die even faster.]

Alice was right. Mom was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago, and her condition worsened this year. The doctors said she had at most two years left to live.

Her greatest wish was to see me married, but not to just any random guy. If she ever found out I chose an old man just to prove a point, she would probably drop dead on the spot.

Alice knew exactly where my weak spot was, so she was using it to threaten me.

Not long after receiving that message, Mom called me, demanding to know if I was really dating an old man.

I assured her, "Of course not! Even if I never get married, I wouldn't date an old man. You know what kind of person I am, right? Don't let people trick you so easily. Anyone can say a few words and get you to believe them, but where's the proof?"

Since Alice had no evidence, it was just her word against mine. Hence, Mom was quickly reassured.

Then, I told her all about how Alice stole Colin, adding some extra details for effect. Mom immediately deleted Alice's contact information and took my side.

That said, I really was not getting any younger. My career was stable, and I really was at the age where I should think about settling down and having kids.

However, my work kept me busy, and I did not have time to meet men actively. Even so, I could not spend my whole life single just to guard against Alice.

So, I decided to go straight to a matchmaking service and found a matchmaker named Martha Lowe. I explained my requirements and asked her to help me find a suitable man.

Martha worked very quickly and soon found me an appropriate match, Brayden Cooke. Since we were both busy with work, we simply exchanged numbers, just chatting and getting to know each other.

There was actually another reason for this approach: I wanted to see if Alice's so-called system could work when I only knew someone online without meeting them in person.

After chatting for nearly a month, Brayden seemed normal, so we agreed to meet face-to-face. We chose a public park for the first meeting.

Martha and Brayden arrived before me.

I just got off the subway when I heard Alice's voice behind me. She was everywhere, like a ghost that refused to leave me alone.

My face darkened. "What are you doing here?"

She replied smugly, "I know you've got a blind date today, so of course I came to check it out. Didn't I tell you? I have a system. No matter who you date, I'll always know. Why won't you believe me?"

I sneered. "Don't tell me you're about to say Brayden's already fallen for you."

Alice nodded with certainty. "Of course. Why else would I bother showing up today? I want you to finally give up. You'll never win against my system. You're not worthy."

For once, curiosity got the better of me, and I asked, "Why do you even care if I get married? Me staying single doesn't benefit you at all."

Her eyes turned wild. "You dare ask me that? If it weren't for you, I'd already be married to Ronan Shaw, raising our kids together! Since I can't have the happiness I deserve, why should you get it?!"

At that moment, I finally understood why she hated me so much. However, I did not have time to argue with her because it was almost time for my appointment with Martha.

Being late for a first meeting would not look good.

When she saw me start walking away, Alice quickly followed.

After seeing clearly who was sitting on the bench, her expression changed dramatically, and she grabbed my neck viciously.

"Lauren! You set me up! I'm going to kill you!"