At the party, truth or dare.

Alec Miles's female classmate looked me in the eye and said, “I'm pregnant. It's Alec's baby.”

The whole audience burst into laughter, except Alec.

After the show, he felt a little melancholy.

“What Edwina said is true. Don't think too much about it. We are just siblings,” he explained. “We drank too much at the class reunion that night. 

“She comes from a poor family and doesn't plan to get married in the future. She just wants to keep the child as a companion. She will raise the child herself.”

I nodded and asked, “So?”

“But I am the child's father after all and I have to be responsible,” he answered in a second. “From now on, I will stay at her place to take care of her during the weekdays and go home on weekends.

“Cancel the wedding first. After she gives birth and everything is back on track, I will compensate you.”

I smiled and said, “That's good. You've thought it through very carefully.”

He was obviously relieved and left with his suitcase without looking back.

Wiping away the tears from my eyes, I started packing my luggage.

The phone suddenly rang and the other party was drunk and cried, “Kimberley, I fucking like you, don't get married, marry me, okay?”

I paused before answering, “Okay.”

——

I packed my luggage in one go and gently placed my engagement ring on the dressing table.

Looking at the house full of joyous wedding decorations, an indescribable sadness rolled over in my heart.

Three years of secret love, five years of relationship and we were going to get married in three days, but I was caught off guard by his betrayal.

Seeing that tears were about to burst out again, I hurriedly closed my eyes.

Just as I was about to leave with my luggage, Alec sent me a message, [I forgot to bring my bath towel. Can you bring it to me? You should know where Edwina's house is, right?]

I pulled the corners of my lips, of course I knew.

Every month, several of their classmates would go to Edwina's house for dinner, under the pretext of keeping in touch with their classmates.

I was also fortunate enough to be taken there by him a few times.

Every time I saw a few men lying on the sofa playing games and drinking, Edwina was wandering among them in suspender hot pants.

I was also jealous and asked Alec not to go there again.

He looked disdainful as responding, “I also need my own social circle. I can't be tied to you all the time just because I'm in a relationship with you. We have nothing in common to talk about. It's so boring to be facing each other all day long.”

“Don't worry, Edwina is a man in my eyes. Even if she takes off all her clothes and stands in front of me, I won't have any reaction.”

That time when I thought about it, it was all just to coax me.

Seeing that I did not reply, Alec sent me the address again.

I clearly wanted to reply, [No] but somehow I ended up typing, [Got it.]

Bitterness spread in my heart and I finally wanted to see it with my own eyes.

He had been spoiled since childhood and could not even peel an egg. How could he take care of a pregnant woman?

In front of Edwina's house, I clenched the bag containing the bath towel.

Edwina opened the door quickly, wearing a tight vest and hot pants as usual and pulled me in with a bright smile.

Before I could react, she had already taken the bag and said, “Please sit down first. Alec is taking a shower. I'll give him the towel.”

The sound of water in the bathroom stopped abruptly.

“Edwina, give me the bath towel.” Alec's voice was filled with familiar laziness.

A few minutes later, Alec came out wrapped in a bath towel, lowered his head and shook his wet hair and called out very naturally, “Edwina, help me blow dry my hair.”

Edwina stood on tiptoe and scratched her head, sneering, “Alec, who is taking care of whom? Don't get it wrong, I'm a pregnant woman!”

He made a ‘tsk’ sound and was about to grab her waist to fight back, but suddenly he saw me sitting in the shadows.

He casually handed the hair dryer to me and said, “Edwina, I won't bother you anymore. You'll hurt my hair if you touch me. My wife is much better at serving people than you are!”

Wife?

No matter who looked at it, Edwina looked like his wife there.

I avoided him and stood up quickly as I refused, “I'm busy, I'm leaving now.”

He grabbed my wrist, looking a little unhappy and ordered, “Give me some face, ok?”

“Face?” I sneered, “Alec, she was pregnant with your child, you packed your bags and moved into her house and now you want me to give you face? When you three were having fun together, did you ever consider my feelings?”

Edwina smiled and pulled Alec away, winking at me.

“Kimberley, I really treat Alec as a brother. That's just my personality, I'm used to being carefree, don't take it to heart,” she explained, “He's here to take care of the baby. We're just buddies. 

“Nothing will go wrong if we sleep in the same bed. Our siblinghood is there.”

As she spoke, she suddenly hooked Alec's little finger and shook it.

“Why don't you go back with Kimberley? I can handle it by myself. This little thing won't be a problem for me.

“I don't care. When the child is born, you just need to be a father.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly covered her mouth and began to retch.

Alec immediately rushed to get a trash can, patted her on the back with one hand and turned to glare at me.

“Kimberley, what do you want? Didn't we agree on this at home?” Alec yelled at me.

My chest felt tight, so I turned around and walked out the door.

As soon as I reached the elevator, my wrist was suddenly grabbed hard.

Alec held my wrist tightly, his brows furrowed as he explained, “I've already explained that Edwina is my sibling! She just wants to give birth to the baby safely.

“Think about it, if this happened in ancient times, I would have to be responsible for Edwina and marry her. You should be thankful now that Edwina never wanted to marry me!

“She is an illegitimate daughter of the Frey Family and she has such a broad mind. As the eldest daughter of the Valencia Family and the future heir of the Valencia Family, you only have this much tolerance?”

I looked up at him, my voice trembling uncontrollably, “Alec, what era is it now? Are you still talking about the ancient times? What does this have to do with your character and temperament?”

Tears welled up in my eyes, I gritted my teeth and said, “You are a top student in the Department of Finance and a famous Investment Consultant in this town. I can't argue with you…."

After a pause, I lowered my head and said dejectedly, “Let's break up.”

Tears fell on the back of my hand, one after another.

Alec was obviously stunned and he loosened his grip on me, somewhat helplessly as he said, “Well, I'll take care of Edwina three days a week and go home the remaining four days, okay?”

As he spoke, he emphasized, “Kimberley, this is my last compromise, don't push it any further!”

I took a deep breath, suppressed my surging emotions and said calmly, “Don't bother with that. After we break up, you can spend every day with her, just don't waste your time with me.”

He stared at me and gave me a final warning, “Are you sure?”

I turned my face away from him and raised my hand to press the elevator button.

He suddenly sneered and pushed me hard, “Okay, if that's what you want!”

I was pushed back unexpectedly, my back hit the wall hard and I gasped in pain.

Alec glanced at me with disdain, turned around and was about to walk back.

Edwina stood at the door and deliberately raised her voice, “Alec, can't you just talk to her nicely? Girls are cute when they are a little bit petty. You have to coax them and not yell at them. Do you understand, brother?”

Alec naturally put his arm around her shoulders as he responded, “Let her be. She's very shameless. 

“You know that when she was chasing me for three years, no matter how coldly I treated her or how much I scolded her, I couldn't drive her away. She just likes to be bullied.”

As he spoke, he pinched Edwina's arm and raised the corners of his mouth, “Women are really troublesome. Siblings are better.”

Edwina immediately twisted her body artificially and poked his chest muscles with her fingers, “That's annoying. I'm obviously a girl, otherwise how could I get pregnant?”

Alec snorted and deliberately put his hand on her chest, “You are so flat and you are still a woman?”

The two of them were laughing and joking and then they slammed the door.

The world seemed to have been muted, leaving only the sound of my own rapid heartbeats. Each beat was like a sledgehammer hitting my chest, causing my entire body to ache.

The elevator finally arrived and I pressed the close door button in panic.

The door slowly closed, but the elevator did not start.

At this moment, Alec’s mother called suddenly, “Kimberley, I know everything about Alec and Edwina. It was indeed Alec who was wrong and I have scolded him severely. Don't take it too seriously. 

“There are always bumps in the road for a couple. Some things should be let go. As long as he still has you in his heart, life can still go on.

“Edwina also said that she would not separate you. You don't have to worry about the baby after it is born. I, as a grandmother, will help take care of it. Just pretend that nothing happened.”

I pursed my dry lips and said, “Auntie, forget it.”

Seeing that I would not listen, her tone immediately changed, “How can you be so stubborn, Kimberley! Although you have a low level of education and are only an undergraduate, which is a far cry from us Alec, you should understand the basic principles, right?

“He just made a mistake once and he confessed it to you, but you want to punish him with one blow? Don't you feel tired of being so picky?”

I tightly grasped the phone, my knuckles turning white as I answered, “Auntie, I'm not being picky. Since you've always looked down on me for my low education and my family's business, I'm barely worthy of your son. 

“I'm withdrawing now, your son deserves better.”

Without waiting for her response, I hung up the phone.

The Miles Family was full of leaders in the education field.

Every time there was a family gathering, the elders always pretended to be concerned and asked, “What is Kimberley's education level? Which university did you graduate from? What is your major?”

I told them the name of the school, they exchanged glances, shook their heads and sighed, “I'm afraid this school will lower the average academic level of our Miles Family. I heard that children's IQ is mainly inherited from their mothers. Our Miles Family will have a hard time in the future!”

Alec just sat there with a smile on his face and never said a word to me.

He also disliked me.

I remembered when I confessed my love to him for the first time, he looked at me with contempt, “Kimberley, my girlfriend must have a college entrance examination score of at least 700. Your score is just above the undergraduate line, right?”

Later he reluctantly accepted me, probably just because I had been pestering him for three whole years.

In the elevator, I slid down the cold wall and sat on the floor, my breathing becoming more and more rapid.

After an unknown amount of time, the elevator finally started to descend.

The moment the door opened, a slender figure stood against the light.

I could no't see his expression clearly, but I knew he must be frowning, just like he did every time he saw me being wronged.

He raised his hand, gently wiped away the tears on my face with his fingertips and then held me in his arms.

“Kimberley, don't let yourself become like this in the future.”

A strong smell of alcohol hit my face. I wondered how much alcohol he had drunk.

This usually gentle and polite man just swore on the phone.