Chapter 3

Later, my family started setting Mabel up with eligible bachelors who were all high-profile heirs from wealthy families. But she always found a way to say no.

Edward, still my fiancé back then, would reassure us time and again, saying there was no need to rush. Mabel would have no trouble finding someone.

"Mabel is such a lovable girl. Anyone who ends up marrying her is one lucky guy," he said.

Back then, I didn't catch the hint of sadness in his tone, nor did I realize that Mabel had already fallen for Edward.

She came to me, her eyes red and shimmering with tears, looking heartbreakingly fragile.

She said, "Charlotte, I'm so sorry, but I can't help how I feel. My heart just won't listen to reason.

"I just needed to tell you that I have feelings for Edward. I don't mean to cause any trouble. I just needed someone to confide in, because I can't keep these emotions bottled up anymore.

"I truly hope you and Edward find happiness together. I'll always be by his side, even if it's only as his family."

I cut her off. "Mabel, don't gross me out, okay?"

Richard stormed in and slapped me hard across the face.

"She's opening up to you, and this is how you respond? What kind of sister are you?" he snapped.

Opening up to me?

Just because she was being honest didn't mean she got to gross people out.

I was still reeling from the slap when my mom broke down in tears, begging me to let Mabel have Edward.

I shot back, "Can you really force someone to love you? Does Edward even love her?"

Edward answered my question with his actions.

He immediately called off our engagement, caught a red-eye abroad to commission a custom engagement ring for Mabel, and got down on one knee to propose to her in front of the entire city, with fireworks lighting up the night sky.

I became the laughing stock.

From that moment on, I lost my appetite completely.

Everyone just thought I was throwing a tantrum.

Richard hit me with my own words. "Can you really force someone to love you? Does Edward even love you?"

My throat was so parched that I couldn't say a word.

Little by little, people started to pity me, and some even said my parents were playing favorites way too much.

Mabel came knocking on my door again, sobbing her heart out. "Charlotte, I'm begging you, please forgive me."

I didn't even have the strength to fight with her. I said, "Edward and I were together for years, and then, because of you, it all came crashing down in an instant. Can't you just give me some time to recover?"

With no one else around, Mabel finally dropped the act and showed her true colors.

She sneered, "If a couple can be torn apart, it just means they never really loved each other.

"What's wrong with the other woman? I was just a relationship test, and you totally flunked it.

"Recovery time? Come on, we're both old foxes here. Don't play the innocent with me. You're just acting pitiful to win sympathy and make everyone hate me."

"I'm not, Mabel..." I tried to defend myself.

"But you don't stand a chance against me," Mabel shot me a smug look, arching her brow.

The next second, she screamed and threw herself against the wall.

Her head was bleeding, blood running down her face.

When my parents and Edward rushed in, she just said one thing.

"Dad, Edward, it's not Charlotte's fault. She didn't push me," Mabel choked out, her voice shaking.

"Mabel, you're framing me!" I yelled.

That was all it took. Edward kicked me hard in the chest, the pain exploding right where my heart was.

Sharp agony shot through my chest, and my vision blurred as I collapsed onto the floor.

But nobody gave a damn about me.

Every single one of them was tripping over themselves to rush Mabel to the hospital.

After that day, they kept me locked away.

Desperate, I gripped the doorframe, sobbing, "Edward, you know I have claustrophobia. Please, don't lock me in there!"

Edward was cold as ice, peeling my fingers off the frame one by one.

All ten of my nails cracked and broke, one after another.

"Get inside!" he barked.

I was locked up for three days and nights. On the third day, my mom finally let me out, her eyes red from crying.

"Charlotte, don't be so headstrong. Just say sorry to Mabel, and your dad and Edward will let it go," she begged.

"I didn't do anything wrong, so why should I apologize?" I snapped back.

I held my head high. I was still the noblest moon in all of Riverside City.

"Mabel ended up with a concussion. Are you seriously telling me she did that to herself?" my mom shot back, disbelief written all over her face.

"Mom, you don't trust me either?" I said, my voice cracking.

My mom hesitated, and then said, "It's not that I don't believe you, but your temper... You're so headstrong and bossy. It's hard for us..."

"Mom, I've always been this way. Why didn't you ever say I was bossy before?" I retorted.

"Well, it's all because of Mabel..." Mom blurted out.

Then she realized she said the wrong thing. "Anyway, you really should work on your attitude."

I clenched my jaw and sneered.

Sorry, but I was the moon hanging high in the sky. I wouldn't bow down to anyone.

Mabel just wouldn't quit. At high-society parties, she'd show up in fake designer outfits and accuse me of being too cheap to buy her the originals.

At shareholder meetings, she'd play dumb and tank my department's numbers. And at press conferences, she'd throw impossible industry issues at me just to watch me crash and burn in front of everyone.

Her tricks were honestly pretty basic. I could see right through them, but I was powerless to stop her.

Because my parents and Edward were always spoiling her rotten, letting her do whatever she wanted.

"See, Charlotte? I'm the one everyone loves. I'm the center of attention. And you? You're nothing. Honestly, you're not even worth as much as my pampered little dog," Mabel mocked.

After that, I started spiraling out of control, desperate for anyone to notice me. I'd stay out all night, hit the clubs, dance till dawn, and hook up with rich heirs only to dump them just as fast.

I'd recklessly speed along cliffside roads in my car, crashing so hard that I ended up with broken bones.

But it was all pointless.

Edward told me right after I'd barely survived, his voice cold as ice.

"Charlotte, face reality. Playing the victim isn't going to work on me. All it does is make me even more disgusted with you," he said.

I was almost ready to give up on everything, but it was like the universe finally threw me a lifeline, because that was when I found her health report.

Right there, in bold letters, it said: [Mabel Grant, Blood Type B.]

But both my parents were Type A. How on earth could they have a kid with Type B blood?