The Love Has Died, Unknown to All

On our seventh anniversary, Alexander Fitzgerald and I decided to get each other's names tattooed.

I woke up groggy after the session, only to find three bold words tatooed across my chest, Gold Digger Special.

Seeing my face darken, the tattoo artist, Chloe Summers, covered her mouth with a giggle.

"Since you only rely on men anyway, did I get it wrong?"

I smashed my glass on the spot.

Shards flew towards Chloe like stardust.

The next second, Alexander practically sprinted in, shielding her completely in his arms.

He frowned at me, scolded me impatiently.

"Chloe's young, it was just a joke. Was that really necessary?"

My gaze locked onto Alexander's open collar.

Where my name should have been, "Chloe Summers" was now clearly branded.

Chloe peeked out from behind him, sticking out her tongue, her tone saccharine sweet.

"Alex said my name sounded beautiful last time."

"It was just a little joke between us, sis. You're not mad, are you?"

My expression turned stormy.

Before I could speak, Alexander's friends walked in, chuckling.

"Mr. and Mrs.Fitzgerald still going strong, huh?"

"Of course! When he was chasing her, Alex practically paved a whole garden with 99999 gold-dipped roses."

"After seven years of marriage, you couple still wanna get a sweat matching ink? Alex's devotion never changes."

"Hey, what did you guys get tattooed?"

Before the words faded, their eyes landed on my open collar.

The laughter died instantly.

Their smiles froze mid-curve, eyes wide with shock.

The room plunged into terrifying silence.

Only Chloe let out a soft, satisfied chuckle.

Alexander frowned, instinctively pulling Chloe slightly behind him.

"Chloe, apologize."

Chloe pouted, tossing out a grudging, "Sorry, okay?"

She glanced at me, then quickly rolled her eyes, murmured , "It was just a joke, why so serious?"

"Old hags are so dramatic."

Alexander patted her shoulder lightly, his gaze turning placating when it met mine.

"Chloe knows she was wrong. Forgive her, she is just young."

"She's only twenty, innocent. She says whatever pops into her head."

"You're always so gracious. Don't make this hard for her."

Every word was a velvet-wrapped blade.

Alexander stood there, radiating privilege, making his favoritism sound like impartial justice.

I actually laughed at that.

"Apologize? I don't accept."

Slowly, I buttoned my collar, covering those three humiliating words.

My nails dug into my palms. I felt a sharp pain, but nothing compared to the ache in my heart.

I looked Alexander dead in the eye, pronouncing every word clearly.

"Since you can't handle this situation properly. I'll resolve it my own way."

I turned and walked out.

As the door clicked shut, faint voices drifted from inside.

"The look in Victoria's eyes just now... sent chills down my spine. She grew up spoiled by the Sterling family, and shed never suffered an insult like that."

Someone hesitated, then added, "Victoria isn't one to take things lying down. She won't let this go."

Alexander's voice cut in, calm and certain.

"She won't. I know her. She's just blowing off steam. She won't actually hurt Chloe."

He paused, then added, "Besides, with me protecting Chloe, she can't do anything."

No one expected Alexander, who'd always bent over backwards for me, to defend Chloe so fiercely.

Someone immediately fawned, "Of course! Miss Chloe is Alex's darling now."

Standing outside the door, a cold smile crept onto my lips.

No revenge?

Then I don't deserve the name Sterling.

I got into my car and pulled out my phone.

"Bring Chloe Summers to me at midnight tonight."

"And have the skin graft equipment and medical team ready."

Around eleven that night, my phone screen lit up.

A message from my brother.

"I've sent security to deliver Chloe to you. Twenty minutes later, she will be sent to the estate."

I was about to reply when a friend sent a video.

I clicked play. Chloe was beaming at the camera.

"I did a special 'design' for an old hag who calls herself a socialite."

She waved the tattoo machine at the lens.

"Guess what I inked on her? 'Gold Digger Special'!"

"You should've seen it. Shes thirty years old and still likes to show cleavage.

Her skin was so loose that my needle cant get a grip.. I made sure to go over it three times hard.

Its impossible to wash that off."

Comments scrolled wildly, "Queen of Petty!" "Served!" "LMAO!"

Chloe got more animated, her eyes gleaming with triumph.

"I see women like her all the time. Flaunting family money, buying bags, sipping tea and seducing men. Not like me, I opened my own shop at twenty with my own skills."

She sighed dramatically.

"Too bad, no matter what that old hag does, she's washed up. Her husband's already got tired of her."

"Next time I'll livestream something even juicier. Watch me teach that gold-digger a real lesson."

The video ended.

I was so furious that I actually laughed.

Chloe Summers.

That name... I gave it to her.

Five years ago, I was in the mountains for a charity project.

I found her in a leaky shack, curled on a straw mat and covered in bruises.

She was sallow, skinny, with her eyes filled with inescapable shame and despair.

Back then, she was called Chloe Smith.

She clutched my coat hem. "I want to go to school."

I brought her back to Manhattan, renamed her Chloe Summers, hoping her rest life could as warm as summer.

I sent her to the best art school, and personally cut the ribbon at her tattoo parlor opening.

Now, with the skills my money paid for, she etched those three words onto my chest, humiliated me online and seduced my husband.

But what shocked me most was how fiercely Alexander protected her.

My thoughts were cut short by commotion.

Dozens of security guards in black filed in silently.

Two hauled Chloe in, dumping her on the floor like trash.

She struggled up, eyes blazing with fury.

"Victoria Sterling! What else can you do besides relying on your familys power?"

Suddenly, a smug smile twisted her lips.

"When Alex finds out you did this, he'll make you pay!"

"Once he dumps you, you think the Sterlings will want a daughter discarded by the Fitzgeralds? You'll be nothing!"

I looked down at her and smiled.

"When Alexander pursued me, he didn't know a thing about the Sterlings."

Her smile froze.

I gazed down at her, using the toe of my shoe to lift her chin.

"True, you're twenty. Young. Fresh."

"Skin on your face is nice and smooth, which is perfect to patch up that tattoo on my chest."

Her pupils dilated in terror.

"As for my family power..."

I stepped back, taking a sanitizing towel from the butler and wiping my hands meticulously.

"You've got it backwards."

"In Manhattan, I am the power."

The surgical light snapped on, the antiseptic smell making me dizzy for a second.

Suddenly, I saw eighteen-year-old Alexander Fitzgerald clearly.

He always sat in the front row, back ramrod straight.

His shirt collar has been washed so much that it's faded and has developed a fine, worn edge..

Once, he missed three days of class because of fever. I found him hauling cement bags at a construction site.

I stuffed five thousand dollars into his backpack.

He chased me down three blocks to return it, said hoarsely, "Miss Sterling, please let me keep my dignity."

After that, I just "happened" to bring an extra breakfast, "casually" lent him my notes.

One freezing winter night, he showed up clutching two roasted sweet potatoes.

Stood outside my dorm in freezing wind until lights-out. First words, "Victoria, can you wait for me?"

Years later, he built his company from scratch and took it public.

Holding me tight all night, his voice choked.

"Back then, I slept three hours a night. I was terrified I couldn't keep up, and you'd find out I had to save for a week just to buy you coffee."

It wasn't until meeting my parents, seeing my father in our living room.

That he realized: Victoria Sterling's "Sterling"...

Was the Sterling family.

Alexander later told me, at that moment, all he could think was,

"I gave it everything, only to find my finish line falls short of your starting point."

After learning my background, Alexander became a workaholic.

He killed himself closing deals, chasing projects, wrecking his health to claw into Manhattan's highest circles.

Then, he paved a garden with 99999 gold-dipped roses to propose.

What did he say then?

He said his reason for living was to become someone worthy of me.

The anesthesia faded, a faint sting blooming on my chest.

Alexander's love for me was...

Grand and brilliant.

Sadly, fleeting.

Promises are only beautiful the moment they're spoken.

The "forever" we swore didn't even survive the seven-year itch.

"Miss Sterling?"

My eyes snapped open, and my fingertips brushed cold wetness at the corner of my eye.

An ache in my chest I couldn't suppress.

The butler murmured, "Mr. Fitzgerald has returned."

I looked down. The skin there had been perfectly replaced.

New, slightly pink, smooth. No trace left.

Alexander walked in, carrying shopping bags.

He smiled to me as usual.

He set down bags bearing luxury jewelry logos, reaching to touch my face.

"Victoria, Chloe went too far today."

"I bought you a new necklace. Let it go, okay?"

The medical team had left the estate, only security remained.

Alexander noticed nothing amiss. He smiled, opening a velvet box.

Inside, diamonds shined.

"I promise I won't let Chloe mess around anymore."

His tone, mentioning Chloe, held an unconscious tenderness.

I stood silently, watching him.

Now Alexander wore a watch worth millions.

The once frayed collar now was replaced by mother-of-pearl buttons.

Even the gardenia scent clinging to him matched Chloe's hair.

Seeing his cultivated privilege now, I suddenly remembered that winter night at eighteen.

Standing in the snow, with down leaking from his coat sleeves, he held sweet potatoes to keep them warm.

"Victoria?"

He took a step closer when I didn't answer.

The gardenia scent thickened.

Chloe burst out, stumbling, throwing herself into Alexander's arms.

"Alex!"

"She had them held me down... and cut the skin right off me..."

"You promised you'd always protect me! It hurts so much..."

Alexander's breathing hitched.

His eyes darted from the bandage on her chest to my smooth skin.

His voice hardened.

"Victoria, what have you become?"

"Something so... vicious?"

Chloe sobbed softly against him.

But her eyes, meeting mine, were pure challenge and triumph.

"She's so young! What will she do with such a huge scar?"

His tone grew harsher. "Do you have to destroy her?"

Watching him shield Chloe, I suddenly remembered eighteen-year-old Alexander.

He was so careful, always afraid to hold me too tight.

His first oath was to protect me forever.

I gently touched the new skin on my chest, bearing the pain.

"Did you ever think about what I would do with those words?"

"She tattooed that on me, and I took a piece of her skin. Fair trade."

Alexander opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Seeing him hesitate, Chloe burrowed deeper into him, shrieking hysterically.

"Alex! I'm pregnant with your baby!"

"You can't let her do this! Take me away! Take me away, please!!"