I was so excited and with the Jenkins Family's share transfer agreement in my hand, I went to find Garry Jenkins.

Yet, what did I find? He was kissing his beautiful secretary. Moreover, people around them were cheering and teasing, "Tell us. Which one do you like, Ellen Jenkins or Caroline O'Hara?"

Garry wrapped his arms around the flustered woman and replied coldly, "If it weren't for the sake of getting my hands on the Jenkins Family shares, Ellen doesn't have what it takes to compare with Caro."

After a while, he begged me to come home with reddened eyes. 

 I just took Eric Dawson's hand, held it, and said, "Sorry, I'm getting married."

——

As soon as I arrived at the Lakeside Pavilion, I rushed to the private room, but the door was not fully closed. From the gap, I could clearly see Garry holding Caroline's waist with one hand and cradling her head with the other, as they kissed passionately and affectionately. Their friends cheered around them.

My mind went blank as I stood frozen in place.

They kissed with deep passion and affection, totally oblivious to the cheer around them.

When they finally parted, a faint silver thread of saliva still lingered at the corner of Caroline's lips. Her face flushed red, and the way she clutched the corner of Garry's shirt with a lowered head made her seem helpless and shy.

Garry's friend applauded and cheered, "Garry, you're such a lucky man. You have the eldest Miss Jenkins at home and a stunning Caroline in your arms."

One of them was bold enough to ask, "Hi Garry! Which one do you prefer, Ellen or Caroline?"

Garry leaned casually against the chair. He dropped his hand over Caroline's shoulder. His lips curled into a dismissive smirk.

"Oh, Ellen? I've been bored with her for ages." Then he continued, "How can you compare her with Caro? She's just a spoiled brat who has been pampered with a princess's temper. If it weren't for the Jenkins Family's shares, why would I want to be engaged with her?"

Caroline shot me a provocative smile through the crowd.

I crumpled and collapsed to the ground. His words that he had uttered hit me like a blow, making my ears ring.

My stomach churned as I held my neck and gagged uncontrollably. The agreement in my hand crumpled as I clutched them tightly. I pressed my hand on my chest as I sobbed silently, completely broken.

After I was tired from crying, I got up and left.

I was too afraid to barge in and meet the probing and mocking gazes of that group of people. I also did not want to see Garry's disdainful expression or his tenderness toward Caroline.

There was one thing that Garry was right about me. I was spoiled since childhood. Everything that I wanted, I would get, except Garry.

That was why I did not know how to fight back against that group of people in the private room.

As I looked at my disheveled reflection in the glass at the door, I took my phone and called my mother, "Mom, I agree with the Dawson Family's marriage proposal. I'll engage with him next month. Just changed the groom."

***

My family adopted Gerry as the son.

When we were growing up, he always seemed to adore me. He would call me "sister" sweetly. My parents even laughed and teased him as a "sister-obsessed" brother.

Once, in school, some classmates locked me up in the classroom after school and did not allow me to leave.

The classroom was so dark that it made me panic. Out of fear, I kept screaming and banging on the door.

Meanwhile, those bullies watched me through the window and laughed their ass off.

It was Garry who kicked the door open and beat up every single one of them, then hugged me while saying, "How dare you bully my sister! Are you seeking death?"

At home, I tended his wound with tears on my face.

He wiped away my tears and said, "Why are you crying? Don't you know this big brother of yours is so strong … Ouch! Gentle!"

I couldn’t help but laugh through my tears.

My parents were so busy with their work, that they missed almost my entire school years. As a result, I grew up practically only with this unrelated "brother" of mine.

I went back to home. It was a house that my mother bought for Garry, and I always had a room there.

Last month, when I came home, I saw Caroline sitting on the sofa, while Garry was kneeling and tending her wound tenderly.

When she saw me, Caroline smiled gently, "Ellen, you're home."

She acted as if she were the mistress of this house.

When I looked at the wound on her knee, it was not a minor one, but a nasty scrape. 

I frowned. "Why didn't you take her to the hospital?"

Caroline was Garry's secretary. If she got hurt, she should have filed for work-related injury compensation, not come to the home that Garry shared with his fiancée.

Before Garry could respond, Caroline hurriedly stood up. " I'm sorry, Ellen. Don't blame Garry, it's my fault because I don't like the smell of the hospital …. I didn't consider that this might upset you …."

Her sudden movement tugged her would, and it was so painful for her that it caused her to almost collapse into Garry's arms.

Garry caught her. His face turned gloomy and he snapped at me, which he rarely did, "Ellen, what are you doing, throwing a princess tantrum like that at a time like this? Do you think everyone grew up as pampered as you? Do you even understand the pain Caro’s been through in hospitals just to survive? Do you know how hard it is to live with those memories?"

His accusations left me bewildered. I was about to defend myself when Caroline interrupted, "Garry, it’s okay. Ellen didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not her fault she’s lived a sheltered life. It’s normal for her to feel uneasy because she thought I take your attention away from her. I don’t mind."

She ended her statement with a gentle smile. Her pale face was glowing with a serene strength.

To Garry, Caroline was the perfect image of a resilient, kindhearted woman enduring hardship.

Well … well. A white lotus lady much, huh?

I may not be the brightest person in the room, but her performance left me speechless and angry. I could only laugh bitterly in disbelief.

"Ellen!" Garry's anger intensified. "Is your mind always filled with jealousy and petty rivalry? If you have even half of Caro’s strength and determination, I’d respect you so much more."

"Caro is constantly striving to become a better version of herself. She doesn’t have parents to rely on like you do. She only has herself. She doesn’t have time for these childish games of yours!"

Caro, Caro … Caro ….

His words stung and made me angry and sad.

"Garry, all I asked was why she wasn’t taken to the hospital. I didn’t say anything else," I told Garry. 

I truly felt wronged.

Garry seemed to realize that he had gone too far. His tone softened slightly, "Let’s stop fooling around. It's already late. Go to sleep."

After her wound was treated, Caroline claimed that her wound was too severe, so it was impossible for her to go home.

Garry immediately invited her to stay at our house.

Obviously, I was not happy about it. "Garry, you should send her home."

Garry's voice turned icy, "Ellen, how heartless can you be? She's seriously injured. How is she supposed to care for herself if she goes home? Caro is always speaking up for you, but all you do is target her!"

I was so mad that my voice became higher, "This is our home, and we are about to be engaged!  What does it look like for a stranger to stay here?"

"If the lady of the house isn’t comfortable, but she is still forcing her way in, this is rude and improper!"

Garry yelled even louder than mine, "Why don't you want her to be here? She is a young woman who is struggling to make a living in this city. Now, she is injured and doesn't have anywhere to go.  Do you have to target her like this? I thought you were just petty, but I didn’t expect you to be so cruel!"

Garry rarely spoke so mean to me. I was genuinely frightened. I bit my lips and tears streamed down uncontrollably.

Caroline hobbled toward Garry, leaning against him as she patted his back. "It's fine, Garry. Don't fight with Ellen because of me. She is still a child."

Garry's anger dissipated almost instantly. Right in front of me, he pulled her into his arms and soothed her, "Don't worry. You can stay here and rest."

I cried so hard I could barely breathe. Then I went to my bedroom and slammed the door hard.

An hour later, Garry knocked on my door.

When I opened the door, he sighed, pulled me into his arms, and gently stroked my face.

"I didn’t mean to upset you earlier," he said." It’s just inconvenient for Caro to be alone at home. I know you’re jealous, but there’s really nothing between us. Don’t cry, okay?"

I stayed silent, but he kissed me.

He pried my lips apart. His tongue entangled with mine. He kissed me passionately yet gently.

At that very moment, he made me feel as if he still loved me and only me.

As the kiss deepened, my anger melted away.

That night, when I wanted to sleep, Caroline moved to my bedroom because, according to her, she was too scared to sleep alone.

She walked into my room with a smug look on her face. However, when she saw my slightly swollen lips, her expression turned gloomy.

Her steps, however, were as steady as ever, with no sign of the pain she said she had.

I didn’t have the energy to argue. I just hoped she would leave as soon as possible.

The next morning, I woke up to find Caroline sitting on the small sofa in my room. In her hand, there was a framed photo of me and Garry.

"What are you doing?!" I shouted.

She did not answer my question. She just smiled as she stared at the picture of Garry kissing me. Then she let the frame go.

It crashed to the floor and shattered. The photo inside was deliberately crumpled.

I shot out of bed to grab it because that picture was one of the few pictures that I had with Garry.

When I was young, Garry loved taking pictures with me, but when he grew up, he ceased to do it. He said he was a boy and didn't want to take pictures. Even this one was taken secretly by me.

Later, I saw countless photos of him with Caroline on her Instagram with different angles and various sceneries.

It was at that moment I realized he did not hate taking pictures but he just didn’t want to take them with me.

Before I could reach her, Caroline suddenly collapsed to the floor, and her barely healed wound started to bleed again.

At this very moment, my brother, Garry, walked in.

I stared blankly at Caroline as she lay on the floor writhing in pain, even before I had a chance to lay my hands on her.

Before Garry could say anything, I laughed coldly. Then I lowered my hand and stood still with my hand folded. "I did not do anything."

Ignoring me, Garry rushed over to help Caroline.

"Ellen!" he yelled.

Caroline stayed on the floor for a long time as she clung tightly to Garry's embrace. Her body trembled as she spoke, "It wasn't Ellen's fault … really, it wasn't her."

After she said that, she feigned to look at me before turning her head swiftly. Then with gritted teeth, she said, "I ... I accidentally fell. I also accidentally dropped the photo. I didn’t mean to break the picture of you and Ellen ... I just ...."

Garry stood up and slapped me hard.

Slap!

It rang loud and clear.

My head snapped to the side, my hair disheveled, and tears started to fall uncontrollably.

I raised my shaking hand to touch my cheek. I could not believe Garry had actually slapped me.

However, Garry pretended not to see my tears. He helped Caroline up and hugged her tightly.

He looked fiercely at me, "Ellen! How many times are you going to hurt Caroline before you are satisfied? I should’ve known better than to trust you would behave last night!"

I turned my head and stared fiercely at him. Half of my face was red and swollen. I spoke with a steady and biting tone, "If the frame accidentally broke, how come the photo inside it accidently crumpled?"

Garry went silent for a while as if he also realized there was some inconsistency in her story.

However, Caroline let out a sudden cry of pain, and Garry immediately crouched to check on her.

He used to worry about me like this. Even a mosquito bite would make him fuss over me for half a day.

However, now, he could slap me in the face and tend to someone who deliberately hurt me, right in front of me.