Chapter 1
Bullied by my older sister for twenty-three years, I was told to look after her disabled fiancé while she went abroad to live it up.
I didn’t want to.
But the system promised to give me my voice back if I agreed.
I spent the next two years weaving a trap.
And now, my prey finally came home.
*****
Two years ago, when my parents and my sister, Cassie Blevins forced me to take Cassie's place and look after Elliot Nixon, the system came to me.
Honestly, my first instinct was to flee.
Everyone in Shardford knew Elliot was a living nightmare—nobody dared cross him.
After his car accident, his temper got even worse—he was downright vicious.
I wasn't about to jump from one hellhole into another.
But the system told me that if I took care of Elliot for two years, it would do more than just restore my voice. It'd even let me make one more wish.
I agreed.
It was just two years after all. Hell, I'd already survived twenty-three.
No matter what, I wasn't gonna end up dead in the Nixons' residence.
While I was packing, Cassie leaned against the door, smirking. "You better be convincing, or this sweet life you hustled so hard for is going to vanish."
Funny, she actually called working myself to the bone for the Nixon family a 'sweet life'.
Since I couldn't talk, I stopped, grabbed my phone, and typed: [If it's so sweet, why don't you do it?]
Cassie just glared at me, pissed.
Suddenly, she yelled, "Dad! Mom! Skye says she doesn't want to go. She's plotting to run away."
My parents didn't care what the real story was—they just tore into me.
My mom snatched up a duster and went to town on me. It hurt like hell.
She usually slapped my face, but this time, since I was heading to the Nixons' residence, she skipped my face—couldn't risk me showing up with bruises.
I got escorted straight to the Nixons' residence by the bodyguards.
Meanwhile, my parents were busy coaxing Cassie to the airport.
*****
Two years flew by.
Elliot could finally walk again.
The doctors even guaranteed it wouldn't be long before he'd get his sight back.
I messaged Cassie with the news right away.
The very next day, she caught the earliest flight home.
She dragged me outside and threw a bank card to my face.
"You've enjoyed your two good years thanks to me. I'm back now, so get lost," she sneered.
She looked at me with pure contempt, not the slightest hint of sisterly affection in her eyes.
We had identical faces—by all rights, we should've been close as sisters.
Truth was, she'd been bullying me for twenty-three years.
I picked up the card from the floor, kept my eyes down, staring for ages before I finally nodded in silence.
I'd been mute since forever.
When Elliot had his accident, it was why my parents and Cassie picked me to be Cassie's stand-in.
The Blevins Group was lucky enough to have a marriage alliance with the Nixon Group.
Even with Elliot crippled, the Blevins Group couldn't afford to break off the engagement—it'd be a total betrayal.
But Cassie had always been the golden girl of the Blevins family, and there was no way she'd ever marry a cripple.
So, I became their backup plan.
If Elliot ended up as a lost cause, I'd be stuck forever—married off in Cassie's place, playing his wife but living like his personal servant.
If he ever got back on his feet, Cassie would come waltzing back home as his wife.
That way, the Blevins Group kept their squeaky-clean image and could still cash in on all the Nixon family perks.
Perfect, right? At least for them.
No one ever cared what I thought.
If all Cassie did was toss that bank card at me and walk away, I probably wouldn't have made a move so quickly.
But before I could react, a stranger snatched the card right out of my hand. I wanted to call the police, but Cassie stopped me.
She said coolly, "I already handed you the card. Since you lost it, that's on you—don't blame anyone else.
"If you call the cops, it'll drag me and our parents into this. If the Nixon family finds out, the whole Blevins Group is done for."
This was Cassie's trap from the start—she wanted me stranded.
Too bad for her—she wasn't cutting off my escape; she was trapping herself.
She promised me something, then put on a whole show so I'd lose it?
Fine. Let's see who would have more to lose.
I never had anything in the first place—so what could I possibly stand to lose?
Cassie grabbed me, hell-bent on cutting up my hair.
However, she was no match for me.
I forced that same beverage down her throat—the one that robbed me of my voice years ago—then hacked her hair up.
Ironically, Cassie was paranoid enough to choose a spot with zero cameras just so there'd be no evidence.
That just made it even easier for me now.
What Cassie didn't have a clue about was, the system already gave my voice back a whole week before she showed up.
Now she was mute, while I could talk.
Cassie and I made our way back home, me leading the way.