Chapter 1
Julian Foster and Lucas Foster never took off the rings on their fingers, not once.
At a glance, the rings were nothing special, just simple silver bands.
No one knew Camila Johnson had bought them from a street vendor when she was ten.
Still, the brothers treated those cheap little rings like priceless keepsakes, wearing them for fifteen years straight.
But everything changed when Sophie Summers appeared. They slipped off the silver bands and replaced them with pop-tab rings Sophie had gave them.
That was the moment Camila knew it was time to walk away from the tangled mess the four of them had become.
On a bright, cloudless afternoon, she said yes to the marriage her family had arranged for her.
*****
"Mom, Dad, I've decided to come home for the wedding," Camila said.
Having come back from the hospital, she spoke with a tone that was steady yet casual, as if she were talking about something trivial.
Camila's mother, Cindy Johnson, froze for a second and then burst into delighted surprise at the other end of the call.
She said, "That's fantastic, Camila. The wedding is all set here. We've been waiting for your go-ahead. When will you be back? Do you want to reach out to your fiancé in advance? I can send you his contact info."
Camila answered calmly, "No need for that. Let's schedule the wedding for next week. I'll arrive the day before."
Right as she finished speaking, the bedroom door was pushed open.
At the sound, Camila turned and saw Sophie coming in, smiling brightly with a cat in her arms.
Blinking her wide, sparkling eyes, Sophie piped up, "Ms. Johnson, are you going to a wedding? Whose wedding is it?"
Camila hung up and replied coldly, "Out. I'm allergic to cat hair."
Sophie's face instantly drained of color, and she sobbed, "Ms. Johnson, I'm so sorry. I didn't know about your cat hair allergy. Please, dock my pay if you must. It's my fault."
Camila looked at her coolly, unmoved. "Finished? Good. You can go now," she said flatly.
With that, she moved to shut the door.
"Ms. Johnson, I'm the reason you had to go to the hospital. I'm sorry, and please don't kick me out," Sophie pleaded and collapsed, panicked, as if Camila might do something horrible to her.
Julian and Lucas happened to walk by, and they saw the whole scene.
They freaked out, hurrying over and pulling Sophie protectively behind them. Both of them looked her over, panicked, as if she'd been bullied.
Seeing that Sophie wasn't hurt at all, they ended up scaring the cat she was holding, and the little thing clawed her right away.
Lucas gently took Sophie's delicate arm in his hands, and his eyes turned red with worry.
The cold, stoic surgeon everyone knew was now fussing over Sophie like she was made of glass, his gentle side on full display just for her.
He was always so distant, but for someone who was supposed to be the help and hadn't been around that long, he turned to Camila and scolded, "Camila, why are you acting like a spoiled princess again? This is Chaparal, not your own mansion."
Julian, who always had a bit of a rebellious streak, reached out and brushed Sophie's hair in a playful, doting way. Then he comforted her, "You're bleeding. That must hurt, huh?"
But when he looked over at Camila, he snapped, "Camila, why are you bullying Sophie? She's under my protection now. No one gets to mess with her."
With that, Julian took Sophie's hand and turned to walk away.
Lucas quickly caught up, gently taking Sophie's other hand. "Come on, let me take you to the hospital and get you checked out," Lucas said.
Sophie blinked away her tears, letting out a little laugh. "Isn't quick treatment enough? Do we have to go to the hospital?"
Lucas said reassuringly, "It's always better to be careful. Don't worry, I'll stay right there with you the whole time."
After thanking him with a playful pout, Sophie turned to Julian, looking hesitant and embarrassed as she tried to persuade him. "Julian, please don't quarrel with Ms. Johnson over me. I'm only a nanny here. It's not worth it."
Seeing Sophie so troubled, Julian got defensive and said, "I'm not quarrelling with her. She's the one bullying you. I'm doing the right thing, defending justice. Isn't that what we should do?"
Watching their chaotic, noisy figures fade away, Camila stood out on the balcony, and it was like she'd snapped out of some kind of dream.