Chapter 1

Sophie ran away for the third time when she found out Andrew and I were planning for a second baby.

Convinced I was the one who tipped her off, Andrew pinned my hand down and forced me to sign the divorce papers.

"Are you really going to drive your sister to ruin?" Andrew snapped.

"We'll get divorced for now, and once Sophie calms down, we'll get back together. And don't even think about ratting me out to Grandpa," he added.

I was so tired.

The first time Sophie ran away, I almost lost my life and my baby.

The second time, I got shipped back home and spent three years there—nobody cared about me at all.

And now, what did she want me to lose this time?

But I wasn't going to wait around anymore.

Just then, my phone rang. It was the real estate agent.

"Miss Bennett, the title deed is ready. When would you like to come by and take a look at the place?" the agent asked.

*****

The first time Sophie ran away, it was because she heard I was pregnant with Charlie.

My parents accused me of flaunting it on purpose.

"You really enjoy twisting the knife in your sister's heart, don't you?" my mom snapped.

"Finally, you've managed to one-up her!" my dad added.

Andrew was silent for a moment, then told me to get rid of the baby.

I bit back her pain and asked, "Why?"

Andrew said, "If you hadn't stepped in to save Grandpa back then, Sophie would've married me just like everyone expected. All of this—it's what you owe her."

That was when I realized he'd been in love with Sophie all along, and only married me out of obligation.

To make up for it, I was out there, heavily pregnant, putting up missing person posters everywhere under the blazing sun.

Eventually, my water broke, and I was rushed to the hospital.

I almost didn't make it.

I was woken up by a burst of clear, ringing laughter.

That laugh was all too familiar.

Every time Sophie did something wrong, she'd hide behind our parents, giggling as she mocked me for being too sensitive.

And my parents would always jump in to defend her.

"Why are you so mad at your sister?" my mom said.

"She just reported you for cheating on the test. If you've got nothing to hide, why are you so worked up?"

I opened my eyes.

Sophie was pouting, leaning on Andrew's shoulder, acting all cute.

"Is she just jealous of me, so she posted my original photo?" Sophie whined.

"She made me look so ugly," she added.

Sophie pouted and said, "When she wakes up, she has to apologize to me." She acted like it was only natural, not even bothering to hide how spoiled she was.

Andrew just smiled indulgently. "Sure, whatever you want."

He reached out without hesitation, catching the cherry pit Sophie spat out, his eyes full of affection.

*****

The second time Sophie ran away, it was because she heard Andrew had gotten drunk and touched me.

This time, before they could tear into me, I went ahead and printed out Sophie's photos with all those beauty filters.

I made sure the pictures were so airbrushed, you could barely tell it was her.

The heavy beauty filters made her almost unrecognizable, so it took the police four whole days to finally track her down at a highway exit.

When they found her, Sophie was covered in bruises and looked totally out of it, like she'd been through hell.

Andrew dropped to his knees and slapped himself three times, hard, claiming he only confused me with her.

To avoid upsetting Sophie, my parents shipped me and Charlie off to the old place.

It was Charlie's first birthday, but the party got cut short—he didn't even get to blow out his candles.

For two years, we were left to fend for ourselves.

But when Charlie started showing signs of developmental delays, I had no choice but to turn to Andrew for help.

The first thing Andrew said when he brought me back was, "Don't ever compare yourself to your sister." His tone was cold and final.

"If you do, I'll send you back home, and you won't get to see Charlie again."

He paused, his eyes darkening. "Charlie's my son. I won't just abandon him." After a moment, he added, "So just do as I say. No matter what, you've always been Mrs. Collins."

To keep Charlie by my side, I swallowed my pride and became the most spineless Mrs. Collins in our whole social circle.

Andrew was out with Sophie, acting like they were a couple.

I stayed home with Charlie, reading books together.

Andrew dropped over thirty million dollars on a house for Sophie, setting her up as his kept woman in a fancy mansion.

I was in the kitchen with Charlie, making desserts together.

Andrew was shelling out cash to promote Sophie's beauty channel, buying her way to internet fame.

I was tucking Charlie in, telling him bedtime stories.

No matter how hard Andrew tried to win me over, I acted like I didn't even notice him.

To me, he was just another stranger—like he was nobody to me.

Andrew shot me a cold look and said, "Make sure you stay this obedient forever."

Then he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

I covered Charlie's ears, trying to shield him from the shouting, and gently wiped away his tears.

Charlie was so well-behaved, curled up in my arms, not making a sound.

"Mommy, are you crying?" Charlie asked softly.

"No," I said.

"Then are you crying inside?" Charlie asked softly.

I stayed silent.

Honestly, as long as Charlie and I had a roof over our heads and he could go to school, I was already thankful. No way I'd ever go up against Sophie.

We couldn't win anyway.

The price of losing was just too high.

I didn't want to go back to that place.

I didn't want to deal with strange men climbing over the walls and banging on the doors every night.

After that, Andrew only got more brazen and ruthless.