The Shermans are the richest family in town, and both of the Sherman daughters are about to get married on the same day.

I, the older of the two sisters, am about to marry Andrew Hammond, a wealthy scion and the man I've loved for many years now. Meanwhile, my younger sister, Celine Sherman, is set to marry the heir of the Wright family.

The upcoming wedding fills me with joy and anticipation, but suddenly, Andrew disappears for three whole days.

When I go to confront him about it, I end up overhearing a conversation between him and his friends.

"On the wedding day in three days, you guys must ensure that the wedding cars are switched, so that it's Celine's car that comes to the Sherman residence instead.

"That illegitimate son of the Wright family is a cold, heartless man. I can't let Celine suffer by marrying him!"

"Relax," one of his friends replies. "We've made all the arrangements with the drivers and everything. But what about Joanna?"

Brimming with confidence, Andrew declares, "The Sherman family has the Wright family's business by the throat, and everyone knows that Joanna is mine. There's no way the Wright family would dare to do anything to her.

"When the time comes, I'll send Celine off and bring Joanna back for the wedding ceremony. I'm sure the Wrights won't dare to say a single word."

The initial shock leaves me on the verge of a breakdown, but eventually, it morphs into the stillness of despair. In the end, I decide to go along with the plan, letting Andrew and Celine get their happy ending.

Thus, when Andrew proceeds with the next part of his plan and arrives to pick me up, all he's greeted with is the sight of my cold dead body.

Celine Sherman and I were supposed to get married on the same day.

Three days before my wedding, by the uncanniest of coincidences, I found out that my fiancé, Andrew Hammond, intended to swap the two wedding cars intended for Celine and me, respectively.

Celine was supposed to marry into the struggling and powerless Wright family, but Andrew planned to have me take her place.

His words came as a huge shock to me, and it was something that I never would've seen coming.

Just as I was about to head into the room he was in and confront him, the sound of quiet sobbing rang out.

"Thank you so much for everything you're doing for me, Andy," Celine said. "But considering my identity, even marrying into the Wright family is a blessing for me. Are you sure it's worth it for you to go to such lengths for me?"

Andrew's voice was tender and full of pity as he insisted, "I forbid you from saying that about yourself, Celine! Even though you're not biologically related to the Shermans, I'll see to it that you get just as much as what Joanna gets from them.

"Here are some shares in Hammond Group, as well as the deed for some of the land my family owns. I've already made all the arrangements for you. Once the wedding day arrives, you just have to leave without worrying about anything.

"As soon as Joanna and I complete our wedding ceremony, I'll come and look for you."

"Andy! Are you crazy?" Celine choked out. "Those are too valuable. I can't accept them!"

Andrew pulled her into his arms and declared, "Nothing is more valuable than your happiness."

The other people in the room chuckled and teasingly remarked, "Since Andrew wants to give it to you, just take it, Celine. In the future, not only will he have the Hammond family's fortune, but he'll have the Sherman family's wealth as well. What's a few deeds and shares in comparison to that?"

Laughing, Andrew chided his friends, but his tone was just as smug.

He then proceeded to take out an exquisite emerald necklace and said to Celine, "Stop worrying so much.

"Here. This emerald necklace is the Hammonds' family heirloom. This should be enough to reassure you, right?"

After carefully putting the necklace on for Celine, he said, "But make sure you don't wear it on our wedding day, just in case it messes things up when we switch the cars."

Celine's eyes crinkled in joy, but she soon began frowning again. "But what if Joanna finds out about this?"

"Joanna trusts me completely. She won't doubt a word I say," Andrew confidently replied. "Once you leave, I'll pick her up myself, and everything will be fine.

"Now, go get some rest. My friends and I will need to run through the details of the plan for the wedding day again to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

Their voices slowly faded out of earshot as I walked out of the house. As I stared up at the sky, I felt chilled to the bone.

"Joanna?"

At some point, Celine appeared and grabbed me from behind. When she noticed my hollow, dazed expression, she raised her eyebrows and gently caressed the emerald necklace around her neck.

"I guess you heard everything, didn't you? Andy says that this necklace can only be worn by the daughter-in-law of the Hammond family. Do you like it?

"Even if you do, however, it doesn't matter at all. Andy gave it to me!"

The smug, haughty look on Celine's face was completely foreign to me. I could hardly recognize her.

Under the sunlight, the emerald necklace gleamed brightly.

Frowning, I took a step forward. Yet, just as I was about to speak, Andrew showed up and grabbed my wrist. "Ever since you got the necklace, you just left it there collecting dust anyway. I thought it'd suit Celine quite well, so I took it out and gave it to her to wear for a few days."

Meanwhile, Celine stood behind Andrew with a pitiful, helpless look on her face. It was a stark contrast from the look of gloating delight she had earlier.

"Andy, maybe I should just return the necklace to Joanna anyway. I don't want to upset her."

Andrew gave her a reassuring pat on the hand before saying to me in a commanding tone, "It's just a necklace. Besides, when it comes down to it, the necklace belongs to my family, the Hammonds. I can give it to whoever I want.

"I'm sure you're not that petty, right, Joanna?"

I remained silent and forced myself to maintain my composure. Then, I walked away from them.

My mother had designed that emerald necklace herself. It wasn't just the Hammonds' family heirloom, it was also the final piece of jewelry that Mom had made before she passed away.

For that very reason, when Mrs. Hammond had given me the necklace, I'd put it away to keep it safe.

I'd looked forward to wearing it on my wedding day. It would be like Mom was there to witness that significant and joyous moment of my life.

Then, a few days ago, Andrew abruptly told me that he wanted to send the necklace to a jeweler for maintenance.

I didn't think much of it then. But who would've thought he'd take my most important belonging and give it to Celine instead?

It was such a clumsy excuse too. Like so many times before, he'd made it sound like he was just looking after my younger sister for me.

He did this despite knowing that I was the one who needed him the most, and despite knowing the true relationship between Celine, my so-called sister, and me.

Even though we shared the same last name, Celine was the daughter of my family's driver.

Five years ago, there had been a car accident that changed the entire trajectory of our lives. Three people died in that crash—my parents, and Celine's father.

Since Celine and I had grown up together, I publicly declared that she was basically a sister to me. I had truly treated her as one as well. I'd even asked Andrew to look out for her.

But of course, I never expected his care for her to extend this far.

Nevertheless, it didn't matter anymore.

Slowly but surely, I walked away.

All along, I'd always obliged whenever Celine or Andrew asked me for something. This time, just like always, I was going to grant their wish as well.

I didn't know how long I'd been walking. The sky had steadily turned dark, and when I finally stopped, I found myself standing outside the shopping mall in the city center.

The large LED billboard on the side of the shopping mall was plastered with a congratulatory message addressed to Andrew and me for our upcoming wedding.

Not only that, countless drones flew around in the sky, their lights shifting constantly as they formed scenes from memories that Andrew and I shared together.

There was one of him crouching down to tie my shoelaces, one of us watching the sunrise together after staying up all night, and even the romantic moment when he'd gotten down on one knee to propose to me.

Every single scene seemed to be a testament to how much he loved me and how happy we were together.

After displaying the various scenes, the last of the drone formations was a sentence.

"I love you, JS."

All of a sudden, someone covered my eyes.

I didn't even realize when Andrew had appeared behind me.

"Are you upset, Joanna?" he asked softly. "Weren't you the one who told me to think of Celine as a sister?

"Alright, alright. It's my fault you're upset, so please stop being upset, okay?"

The thought of how he'd held Celine with these very same arms not too long ago made my stomach churn.

Pointing at the drones in the sky, Andrew said, "I prepared all of this as a surprise for you. Do you like it?"

The passersby around us were cheering for us as they looked on enviously, but I knew the truth—the deception that was hidden behind this picture of bliss.

Even now, as I went along with it and leaned into Andrew's arms, absent-mindedly responding to him, I met Celine's gaze. She was standing not too far away from us.

Despite looking so perfectly harmless and innocent, she couldn't hide the jealousy and greed in her eyes.

I was just too much of a fool for having treated her like a sister all this while.

When the drone show ended and the crowd began to scatter, one of the drones abruptly malfunctioned and started plummeting straight down.

With the quickest of reflexes, Andrew immediately dashed away from me and hugged Celine, shielding her as they both fell to the ground. He'd been so frantic that he didn't even notice he'd knocked me off my feet as well.

He quickly checked Celine for injuries, saying, "It's alright, Celine. Don't be scared. Does it hurt anywhere?"

Celine cupped her knee and scrunched her face up in pain, but she said, "My knee hurts a bit, but it's fine, Andy. You should check on Joanna instead."

At last, Andrew thought me. He explained, "Celine is your sister, Joanna. It's my responsibility to help you take care of her.

"Don't worry. Just stay here. I'll send my driver over to pick you up later. I need to take Celine to the hospital first."

The moment he finished speaking, he scooped up Celine in his arms and left without any hesitation.

Just moments ago, the massive square outside the shopping mall had been crowded with people. Now, there was barely anyone in sight.

After massaging my swollen ankle, I slowly walked over to where Celine had been standing earlier and picked up an earring that had fallen onto the ground.

The irregularly shaped gemstone sparkled in the light. It was the work of a famous jeweler from a small town in Frenovia.

I was lucky enough to own a ring he made, and I adored it very much. A year ago, when Andrew went to Frenovia for work, I'd asked him to get me a pair of earrings from the same jeweler.

Well, now I knew that he hadn't forgotten to do that. He'd simply given it to Celine instead.

My fingers tightened around the earring. The sharp pin pierced into my skin, but I didn't even feel the pain.

…

I waited late into the night without ever seeing any sign of the driver Andrew was supposedly sending for me, so I went home alone.

At noon the next day, Andrew finally came looking for me. "Why did you come home alone yesterday, Joanna? My driver said he couldn't find you." He seemed to be in high spirits.

As I stared at the turtleneck sweater he was wearing, I asked, "Isn't it too hot to be wearing a turtleneck sweater in this weather? And by the way, what time did your driver show up at the shopping mall?"

Andrew tugged at his collar awkwardly, and I spotted the hickeys on his neck. "He arrived not long after Celine and I left, of course. Anyway, if you leave by yourself next time, let me know. Don't make me worry about you.

"As for this sweater, well, fashionable people like us don't let things like weather stop us from dressing well. I look good, right?"

After forcing a weak smile, I turned my head away. I was worried that I might start shedding tears if I kept looking at him.

I could no longer tell which of Andrew's words were true. Every single sentence out of his mouth and every look he gave me felt like a lie—an attempt to deceive me.

Andrew's phone buzzed several times, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the sender's profile picture. It was a photo of Celine.

Smiling, he tapped out a reply before looking at me. "I've got something to do at the office, Joanna, so I'll be off. I'll come and pick you up later for our pre-wedding party."

Once Andrew disappeared from view, I rubbed my teary eyes and checked the latest message I received on my phone. It was from W.

"I've found the drug you asked for, miss."

I was only 16 years old when my parents passed away. The Sherman family's vast business empire had fallen onto the shoulders of a teenage girl who knew nothing about the business world.

The only reason why Sherman Group had managed to run smoothly till now was because I had a wonderfully capable person helping me, and that person was W.

At first, W managed the entire Sherman Group for me, ensuring that the company my parents left to me didn't end up in the hands of people with ulterior motives.

It was only within the last two years, after I'd grown up and learned enough to assume the responsibilities myself, that he'd slowly relinquished control of the company back to me.

We hadn't been in touch for quite a while now, but I'd reached out to him this time and asked him to help me find a kind of drug that could help me fake my death.

…

At the pre-wedding party, Celine came up to me with a cocktail in hand. As she blinked her innocent eyes at me, she said, "Congratulations on your wedding in advance, Joanna."

Smiling, I tapped my glass against hers and said, "Thanks."

I hadn't even used any force, but somehow, her glass tilted toward her and splashed the booze all over her dress.

Celine stared at me, looking all lost and helpless as the women around us mockingly laughed.

One of them, Irina Carter, was a childhood friend of mine. She'd always found Celine detestable. She said, "If she can't even hold a cocktail properly, I wonder if she'll be able to hold onto her husband when she marries into the Wright family."

"I can't believe someone's trying to steal the thunder at Joanna's pre-wedding party. If she wants attention so much, she should throw a party of her own!"

"She's probably worried that no one would even want to attend her party."

Andrew rushed over, his face tight with concern. "Joanna! Celine didn't do it on purpose. You're her sister! How can you just stand there and let everyone else mock her?

"I remember you have a spare gown prepared. I'll take Celine over to get changed."

Irina wanted to stand up for me, but I stopped her with a look before saying to Andrew, "Go ahead. The gown is in the lounge upstairs."

After seeing that my expression hadn't changed at all, Andrew said, "I know you're even more worried about Celine than I am. Don't worry. We'll be right back."

At that moment, it suddenly occurred to me that whenever Celine was in any sort of trouble, Andrew would always handle things under the guise of doing it on my behalf.

This explained why he seemed so unusually practiced at it, even when it extended far beyond the realm of propriety.

In the past, I'd used to think he was an attentive and thoughtful man. But now, I realized that I was merely the catalyst for their budding romance.

I let out a quiet, bitter laugh. It felt as though every inch of my body was in pain.

When Celine came back, her cheeks were flushed, and her lipstick was smeared.

"Thanks for your gown, Joanna. Or else, I would've embarrassed myself." She reached out to loop her arm through mine as she always did.

Instinctively, I stepped back to avoid her.

Caught off guard, she couldn't pull back in time, so she ended up grabbing onto Irina, who'd been standing behind me.

Startled, Irina quickly flung Celine off.

Celine crashed into the dessert table beside us and ended up with cake frosting all over her. The fresh gown had also ripped as a result of the fall.

As Celine hugged her revealed body, she started to wail.

Andrew marched over and threw his suit jacket around Celine, making sure she was completely covered up. "What's the meaning of this, Joanna? It's the second time tonight!"

"She fell by herself. What does it have to do with me?" I asked in puzzlement.

However, Andrew could no longer hide her anger nor his bias toward Celine. "You've always cared a great deal about the quality of your clothing. Why would this gown rip so easily, huh?

"And what about the cocktail from earlier? It never would've spilled on her if you hadn't tapped her glass so forcefully!

"You're just trying to humiliate her on purpose! I never expected you to be capable of doing such a thing!"

I opened my mouth, but I had no idea how to defend myself. My throat tightened, and I couldn't speak.

Meanwhile, Celine looked ghostly pale. With great effort, she raised her hand, revealing the fork that had stabbed into her palm. "Andy, it hurts so much…"