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.

I pushed him gently, afraid that the elevator door would close.

He tightened his arms as he shouted, “I won't cheat!”

“What?" I asked in confusion.

“I have discussed it with both of our parents and started preparing for the wedding. Three days from now is the best auspicious day of the year and I don't want to miss it.”

After saying that, he pulled me out without further ado, his wet palms revealing his nervousness.

Looking at his tense profile, I suddenly said, “Phoebe, I want to have a modern wedding!”

He paused, then turned around abruptly, the smile in his eyes like a lit star as he answered, “Everything you want.”

My thoughts could not help but go back to the past.

When we were in high school, he was the most handsome boy in school and I was a poor student who could never be taught by him.

After going to college, we went our separate ways.

He took a three-hour flight to see me every week and he did this for three years without getting tired of it.

Until Alec and I started dating.

As I dragged my suitcase back to Valencia's family's house, my mother hugged me with red eyes and said, “That kind of bastard is not worth it for my daughter’s cry.”

My father made a voice message in the business group with a gloomy face, “Anyone who asks Alec for investment consultation will be making things difficult for me, Valencia Family.”

After comforting my parents, I fell on the bed exhausted.

Opening the social media, Edwina just updated her status on the nine-square grid.

Eight screenshots of her winning the game and in the middle was a selfie of her sitting on Alec's lap and making a V sign.

Caption wrote, [When siblings work together, they can accomplish anything!]

I silently gave a thumbs up.

A few minutes later, Alec called, “Want to play games? Edwina and I will lead you, just follow us, don't run around or mess up the pace!”

In order to fit into his circle, I once begged him to take me to play games.

As a result, that one time, he scolded me severely, saying that I was a loser and a burden and told me to get out.

The game also opened that day, but I did not care about it anymore.

Just as I was about to hang up the phone, Edwina's voice came, “Alec, I feel like vomiting again. It's all your fault! That night I just wanted to try if I had any feelings for a man, but you did it for real. Oh, my waist hurts too, come and rub it for me.”

“Can you please coax your girlfriend later? Which is more important, siblings or women? You can choose for yourself.”

Alec threw me a sentence, “Forget it, I don't want to talk to you.”

There was a busy tone on the other end of the line.

My brain exploded.

What drunken accident? It was all planned long ago.

They actually had some clues a long time ago.

Every time he went on a date, he felt bored and would turn around to play games with Edwina online until late at night.

When traveling, he must bring Edwina with him, because he said, ‘She can liven up the atmosphere.’

I saw on the phone that she was always pinned to the top and a special reminder tone was set, saying, ‘Gaming Literacy.’

The gift given to me on Valentine's Day always includes one from Edwina and the reason was, ‘She's such a pitiful single person.'

Whenever I raised questions, he would fly into a rage, “Are you possessed by a troublemaker? Why don't we just break up, so I don't have to depend on you for everything I do.

“Don't try to control me just because your father has some money. I, Alec, don't rely on your Valencia Family's charity!”

I thought about it countless times that day, ‘Would the outcome be different if I had forcefully asked him to keep his distance from Edwina?’

But in front of him, I had always been humble like a housekeeper.

As a result, sensitive, suspicious and stupid were the words he gave me.

Every time I felt uneasy, he defined it as unreasonable.

Even when my father introduced clients to him, it was misinterpreted as an insult to his abilities.

What the hell!

The next day was the school’s centenary celebration.