Chapter 1
It was the second year of my secret relationship with Adrian Holt, my brother's best friend, when his adopted sister came back.
I decided to break up with him and quietly went along with the marriage my family arranged for me.
The engagement party was super private; only the closest family and friends were invited.
During the ceremony, my brother's phone rang.
He picked up, grinning as he teased, "Seriously, Victor, you didn't even bother to show up for Adrian's engagement? For Celine, you're like her big brother."
On the other end, Victor Lewis's voice faltered.
"Who's getting engaged?" he asked.
*****
Today was our anniversary, two years together with Adrian.
I'd booked his favorite restaurant, baked a cake that wasn't perfect, and waited for him at home.
I waited from five in the afternoon until nine at night.
The food on the table had gone cold, and the candles had burned down to the last drop.
Outside, it was pouring rain, the fat raindrops pounding against the window, making a deafening noise, like they were trying to shatter the glass.
My heart was breaking, piece by piece.
On my phone screen, there were dozens of messages I'd sent to Adrian, none of them ever got a reply.
The last one was sent half an hour ago.
[Adrian, if you don't come back, we're done.]
There was no reply.
I knew he'd left me again, all because of his favorite little sister.
Grace Holt, his adopted sister, was always sick and needed someone to look after her every second.
She'd only been back from abroad for a week, and my two-year relationship with Adrian was already hanging by a thread.
She'd cough softly in front of Adrian, saying the air overseas made her allergic.
She'd always "accidentally" knock over a glass of water while Adrian was on the phone with me, then shriek for him to come help her.
Even when we were out on a date, she'd call Adrian, claiming she had a nightmare and couldn't sleep by herself.
And every time, Adrian picked her over me.
He'd always say, "Celine, Grace's health isn't great. She's depended on me since we were kids. Can you cut her some slack?"
"Celine, she's just my sister. You're overthinking things."
"Celine, can't you just be a little more mature?"
I used to believe love could fix everything.
But now I realized that was just not how things worked.
In Adrian's heart, I'd always come after Grace.
I stood up and dumped the cold food and the cake I'd spent all afternoon making into the trash.
The trash bag was stuffed to the brim, just like how I felt inside, heavy and sick to my stomach.
I dragged the trash bag downstairs without an umbrella.
The icy rain soaked me to the bone in seconds, making me shiver uncontrollably.
I tossed the trash into the bin, like I was throwing away the last two years of my life.
Back home, I took a scalding hot shower, letting the heat slowly thaw out my frozen limbs.
I pulled out my phone and opened our chat with Adrian. There was still no reply.
I tried to smile, but it was more pathetic than crying.
I typed out a message: [Adrian, let's break up.]
After thinking for a second, I tacked on another sentence.
[Hope you and your favorite little sister live happily ever after.]
Then, with everything I had left, I slammed the red exclamation mark to force-send the message.
I deleted him from my contacts, blocked his number, and left all our shared group chats.
Two years of my youth and two years of love was buried by my own hands, right then and there.
Once I'd done all that, I just collapsed onto the couch, utterly spent.
My phone lit up; it was my mom calling.
I answered, my voice hoarse. "Mom."
She paused for a moment, like she could tell something was wrong.
"Celine, what's wrong? You sound exhausted," she said.
"It's nothing, Mom. I just finished working overtime," I lied.
"You always work too hard. By the way, have you thought about what I mentioned before?" she asked.
She was talking about the arranged marriage.
The Arnold family was pretty well-known around here, but compared to those real top-tier families in the capital, we were still way out of our league.
To strengthen the family business, my parents had always wanted me to marry into the Lewis family from the capital.
The Lewis family was the true pinnacle of power and wealth.
And the guy they wanted me to marry was Victor Lewis, the current head of the Lewis family.
He was the kind of man who only existed in legends.
Word was, he was ruthless and shrewd. At just twenty-five, he'd snatched the reins of the Lewis family from all the elders. In the capital, he was the devil incarnate; no one dared to mess with him.
I kept resisting the idea, all because of Adrian.
But now...