Chapter 1

At the designer competition, Edward Grant poured a pot of scalding hot coffee over my hand, all to help his brother's wife, Charlotte, take the crown. The pain forced me to withdraw on the spot.

Hospital sunlight filtered through the glass doors as I walked out, my right hand still bandaged and tender from the burn.

Edward was waiting for me. "Charlotte had just married when my brother got into that car crash. As his older brother, I have to look out for her.

"My feelings for her are just those of an older brother looking after his younger family. Don't overthink it."

I forced a polite smile, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

He was right, wasn't he? He'd hurt me to protect his "younger family" and acted like it was the most reasonable thing in the world.

Then marrying his uncle should be just as justified.

He cared so deeply for this "younger family member"—surely he'd understand how it felt when I became his aunt by marriage.

*****

Leaning against his car, Edward fixed me with a gaze as cold and unwavering as stone.

The Grants and my family had been close for generations; Edward and I were the same age, and everyone around us had always assumed he'd be my husband someday.

Edward was notoriously cold, a man of few words and even fewer smiles, except with me, where he showed a sliver of patience.

I'd always thought I held a special place in his heart.

That illusion shattered the day I saw him with Charlotte: soft-spoken, gentle, a faint smile on his lips. At that moment, I realized I had never truly found a place in his heart. Not even for a second.

By Charlotte's side, the man who was usually as cold as an iceberg would spend hours shopping with her, dropping millions on jewelry just to make her happy.

When she interned at Grant Corporation, Edward took her under his wing personally, teaching her every detail patiently, over and over again.

He even kept a dedicated room and a pair of slippers for her in his villa.

All of this, just because this poor girl had been married for only two months when his reckless, playboy brother, Michael Grant, crashed his motorcycle, hitting his head and falling into a coma.

The Grants valued loyalty above all else, so no one questioned Edward's devotion to his brother's helpless wife.

Besides, if his fiancée, me, said nothing, outsiders had no reason to doubt their "pure" relationship.

Since his brother's accident, our once private time together had turned into a constant trio.

Every date with Edward included Charlotte, like an uninvited guest we couldn't shake.

Six months ago, Edward, who hated going out on dates, surprisingly asked me to go hiking with him.

I thought he'd finally come around, but when I arrived, I found him kneeling down to tie Charlotte's shoelace.

Their red and blue hiking jackets looked like a couple's set to anyone who didn't know better.

When he saw me, Edward barely glanced up. "Charlotte's afraid of heights. Keep an eye on her later," he said casually.

That was when I realized: Charlotte had wanted to hike this mountain but was too scared to go alone, so she asked Edward to accompany her. He'd invited me along just to avoid gossip.

Halfway up the trail, a sudden downpour hit. The cable car down the mountain shut down, and the path grew crowded with people rushing to leave. To shield Charlotte, Edward roughly pushed me aside. My knee slammed hard against the stone steps, scraping the skin open instantly.

Edward didn't even frown, staring at me coldly. "Can't you be more careful?"

But when Charlotte sneezed a few times, he acted like it was an emergency. He took off his coat, draped it over her shoulders, and hurried down the mountain with his arm around her.

"Charlotte's delicate. Take your time. I'll get her home first," he called over his shoulder.

He left me there, dragging my injured leg down the mountain for four long hours. When I got home, I ran a high fever that lasted a full day and night.

Three months ago, during an important project presentation at Grant Corporation, Charlotte, who'd only been on the project for two weeks, volunteered to lead. Edward overruled everyone's objections and let her replace me as team leader.

"She's a newcomer. The board has its doubts about her. Giving her this chance is just to let her make an impression," he explained.

I had no choice but to hand over all the documents to her.

Predictably, she stumbled through the PowerPoint, making countless mistakes.

Watching the directors' darkening faces, she looked ready to cry.

Edward, seeing the awkwardness, wasted no time pushing me forward. "Sophie, you take over," he said, as if I were just a backup plan.

Lucky for him, I knew the project inside and out, able to deliver the presentation flawlessly without notes.

By the end, the client was impressed, and the collaboration was secured.

Everyone said I was gentle and kind.

But in love, even the most generous person craved exclusivity.

Every time I brought up his overstepping with Edward, he'd fix me with that cold stare.

He'd say, his tone sharp, "Charlotte's my brother's wife. Michael is lying in that hospital bed, unconscious. She's been through enough. If I don't take care of her, who will? She's unfortunate enough as it is."

Right, she was unfortunate. So I, the one pointing out his inappropriate favoritism, was the villain.

I told myself to let it go, that things would get better once Michael woke up.

But Edward didn't seem to share that hope.

A month ago, at the designer competition, Edward knew how badly I wanted the first place and the study abroad spot that came with it.

Yet he kept urging me to drop out. "You have a stable job at Grant Corporation. Why bother going to Genama? Charlotte's young and restless at the company. Her idol is Master Sebastian Fred. Letting her go to study there would be a win-win."

I refused, of course. "A win-win? For who, exactly?"

Charlotte's eyes glistened with tears, and she tugged at Edward's sleeve pitifully. "It's okay, Edward. If Sophie wants it, let her have it."

Edward's parents even chipped in, begging me to step aside. Charlotte wanted to further her studies in Genama, they said, and Sebastian, whose name was renowned worldwide in the design industry, was on the judges' panel. If she won first place, she'd become his protégé.

Edward scolded me for being petty with a younger family member. "You'll marry me soon; we'll all be family. Act like the older one you are."

But I didn't care. Why did I always have to be the one to give in?

Seeing I wouldn't budge, he gave a subtle nod to a staff member nearby.

In the next second, a cup of scalding coffee hit my right hand, soaking it completely.

My skin turned bright red in seconds.

"Now, are you willing to let her have it?" Edward's voice held a hint of mockery, as if laughing at my stubbornness.

At that moment, everything clicked.

If I married Edward, the pain from that cup of coffee would be just the beginning.

In his blatant favoritism, I'd always be the one left behind.

On the way to the hospital, the fog in my mind finally lifted.

If they were so "devoted" to each other, why did I have to play the role of the unwelcome third wheel?

Luckily, Edward wasn't the only one I could marry.