Eight years after being found by the Gardner family, my brother finally decided to hold a formal family reunion for me while I was away.

But three days before the reunion, I discovered he had changed the invitation into a birthday party for his adopted sister.

His friends teased,

"Just because Emily was jealous, you changed the reunion party Vivian had been waiting for eight years to one for Emily’s birthday?"

"Don’t blame me for not warning you. Vivian is your biological sister. You’ve been away from home for eight years and haven’t even set foot in the Gardner estate. Aren’t you afraid she’ll find out and abandon you as her brother?"

My brother smiled with confidence.

"How could she possibly abandon me? Vivian was stabbed and nearly died at the hands of the kidnappers for me. She even risked her life for me. How could she abandon me, her only relative?"

"I’ll put the invitation in a prominent place. She cares so much about this reunion that she’ll definitely see it. Then she’ll pick out a birthday gift for Emily and attend."

I lowered my eyes, not crying or making a fuss, and finally left quietly. On the day of the banquet, my brother, who hadn’t waited long for me to appear, called me frantically.

"Vivian, the rooms in the main house are already decorated to your liking. Why aren’t you home yet?"

I looked at my adoptive brother, who was waving desperately outside the station.

"I’m already home."

——

My brother had personally promised us the reunion banquet six months ago.

Back then, he had been kidnapped by a business rival, cornered in a destitute alley. They wanted nothing more than his life.

In desperation, I pushed him aside, blocking the fatal blow.

It missed my heart by a centimeter.

Blood streamed everywhere.

Teetering between life and death, my brother’s heart-wrenching cries echoed in my ears.

"Vivian, don’t leave me. You’re all I have."

"As soon as you get out of the operating room, I’ll take you back to the main house, the glorious and only daughter of the Gardner family."

I almost smiled.

After eight years of waiting, my brother finally acknowledged me. But now, his indifferent voice,

because of Emily’s words, "I want to be my brother’s only sister,"

easily shattered the promise still fresh in my mind.

I stood at the door in a daze, my fingers slightly cold. James Kent, his brother’s friend, frowned and tried to dissuade him.

"Everyone in Riverdale knows that the Gardner family’s only daughter is Emily. You’ve changed the invitations without telling Vivian. How will she cope when she attends, having been replaced as the main character?"

"Besides, Vivian is your biological sister, the one you finally found. She’s been looking forward to this family reunion banquet for so many years, and you promised her that yourself. Aren’t you afraid of hurting her feelings?"

Andrew Gardner’s face struggled for a moment, then he sighed.

"Vivian is sensible and strong. I found a random fortune-teller and used that as an excuse, saying she was ‘unlucky’ and couldn’t return to the main house to acknowledge her roots. So she obediently lived away from home for eight years. Emily is different. She’s been adopted by the Gardner family since childhood and has never endured hardship. If Vivian really moved into the main house, Emily would feel like she was being deprived of love and care. She’d definitely feel insecure, and she wouldn’t be able to handle it."

James wanted to say, All that love and care was mine. Before he could speak, Andrew waved his hand impatiently.

"At worst, I can keep saying this later. She’s already accepted eight years of ‘unfavorable fate,’ so one more year won’t make a difference."

"She trusts me so much anyway, she’ll listen to everything I say, so she’ll definitely agree. It’s just living out there. I know she’s my sister, and that’s enough. Does having a recognition ceremony really matter?"

Someone nearby chimed in with a smile.

"That’s right. Emily is gentle, generous, and well-educated. She looks like a true daughter of a wealthy family. Who would want a country bumpkin like Vivian Gardner? She’s so unfashionable, it’s embarrassing to tell anyone about it."

"If I were Andrew, I wouldn’t want everyone in Riverdale to know I had such a shabby sister. Wouldn’t that just be giving people a stab at my back?"

Andrew Gardner’s face darkened in displeasure. "Everyone, shut up! How could you possibly say anything bad about Vivian? Remember this: even if she can’t ever enter the Gardner estate in this lifetime, she’s still the eldest daughter of our family, my sister, Andrew Gardner. If anyone dares to slander her again, don’t blame me for turning hostile."

Everyone fell silent.

At this moment, Andrew’s phone rang in his pocket.

Seeing the call from My Little Princess flashing on the screen,

his gloomy expression instantly softened. When he answered, Emily’s voice was full of joy and surprise.

"Brother, are you really giving me Master Daniel’s posthumous crown? Wasn’t that the one you ordered for me?"

"Yes, it’s for you. It’ll arrive tomorrow. My little princess, aren’t you worried about losing your love? Are you?"

Emily feigned concern. "Will I be upset if I find out?"

"Little fool, you’re my only precious sister. Your happiness is my priority. Nothing else matters."

Emily exclaimed happily.

"Thank you, brother. I knew you were the best to me. Wait until my birthday party. I want you to put the crown on my head."

"Okay, whatever you say."

After the call ended, the surroundings immediately erupted in laughter.

"Andrew, the doting brother, said he was second to me." But no one dares to claim first place.

"That’s Master Daniel’s posthumous crown. I heard it’s worth a billion. Who’s the real sister? Such a huge expense!"

Andrew’s lips curled with a doting smile.

"Emily has been pampered by me. I can’t bear to see her suffer even a little, so of course, the best is best for her. Vivian is different. She’s used to being simple, so she doesn’t deserve such expensive jewelry. I’ve had someone prepare a set of silver jewelry for her. Five hundred dollars is a lot of money for her."

The wind blew in from the window, carrying a salty, astringent smell that made my eyes sting.

So, my brother never even considered taking me home.

Eight years of ‘misfortune’ were just an excuse to keep me out.

Just to prevent me from stealing the affections of his only precious sister.

How ridiculous that I never doubted it, fearing that my bad luck would bring disaster upon him.

In fact, he could have told me that he didn’t want me as a sister.

I would have left. But why did he use eight years of lies to trap me in his hypocritical care?

He made me so happy he loved me that I swallowed the heat in my eyes.

Footsteps approached from inside the door, and I swallowed hard.

Before I could leave, my brother had already opened the door.

The moment he saw me, panic flashed in his eyes.

"Vivian, how long have you been here?"

I pinched my fingers together, pressing them white under the strain.

I looked at him calmly and reminded him, "I just arrived. Today is the fifteenth."

The fifteenth!

It was the only day of the month when my brother agreed to have dinner with me.

During the eight years I’d been living away from home, my brother always told me,

Even if I couldn’t return to the Gardner family for a while, I would always be the eldest daughter of the Gardner family, his only precious sister.

The fifteenth of every month is the night of the family reunion.

For eight years, he had never missed this day.

My brother smiled suddenly and gently rubbed my head.

"Well, let’s go. I’ll have dinner with you."

I had just taken a bite of my food when the doorbell rang. Emily arrived uninvited. "Brother, I came specially to have dinner with you."

Just as I was about to refuse, she squeezed in.

"Wow, so many delicious dishes, all seafood! Brother is so kind to me! I don’t have the luxury of eating his own cooking."

She picked up her chopsticks and was about to take some food, but I raised my hand to stop her.

"I didn’t invite you. Please leave."

She froze for a moment, her lips trembling slightly, her face full of grievance.

"Brother, I mean no harm. I just wanted to have dinner with you."

I looked at her, my voice soft. "Every month, you have twenty-nine days to eat with him. I only have one day."

Andrew Gardner frowned; his steps about to move forward stopped abruptly.

Emily’s tears suddenly fell.

"I… I understand."

"You’re siblings. I’m an outsider, sobbing. I’m leaving now."

She choked out, turned around, and ran out. I accidentally knocked over the potted plant by the door and fell.

My brother’s hand on the shoe cabinet suddenly tightened, and he stepped forward to help her up with a harsh tone.

"Emily, there should be a limit to your pretentiousness. Today was supposed to be my day to have dinner with Vivian. Who asked you to come?"

"Don’t think that just because Vivian can’t return to the Gardner family for the time being, you’ve truly become the eldest daughter of the Gardner family."

"If you’ve fallen, go to the hospital yourself. I won’t take you."

Emily bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes for a long time before she finally couldn’t hold back and ran away crying.

My brother stared at her back, then stiffly closed the door and sat down.

"Vivian, don’t worry about her. She’s a bad habit. Today, I’ll be with you no matter what."

I looked at the chopsticks he held upside down in his hand and lowered my eyes calmly. He checked his phone over twenty times in ten minutes. Then he answered a call and told me, apologetically, "Vivian, something urgent has happened at the company. I’ll pick you up tomorrow for a dress fitting." Before I could respond, he hurried away.

I put down my chopsticks and scratched the red bumps that kept popping up on my arms.

I opened my drawer and found I’d finished my allergy medicine. I had no choice but to put on my coat and go to the hospital.

At the hospital stairwell, as I emerged with my medicine, I saw Emily, sobbing in grief, and her brother, coaxing her softly.

I stood on the steps, peering through the bustling crowd.

I watched my brother, with his severe mysophobia, kneel on one knee, gently massaging Emily’s foot.

Emily, draped in his expensive suit jacket, nibbled at the seafood in her lunch box.

My brother glanced at her and, unfazed, wiped the grease from her mouth with his sleeve. Emily pouted and snorted, "Didn’t my brother say I’m not the eldest daughter of the Gardner family? Then why are you looking for me? Go stay with your sister."

My brother was caught off guard and was pushed to the ground.

But his expression didn’t contain any anger, only a hint of helplessness and doting indulgence.

"Little Ancestor, who am I saying this to?"

"The reason I didn’t let you stay for dinner is that I had people buy pre-made seafood. This one you have is the one I personally selected and cooked."

"I know you love seafood, so I pick the best and freshest. It’s much better than what Vivian eats."

The stinging pain from the seafood allergy seemed to suddenly intensify, making me unsteady.

Emily smiled contentedly. "Silly girl, Vivian is different from you."

"She was lost when she was little, and has been through so many hardships. No one loves her, no one cares for her. She’s suffered so much. If I give her a little sweetness, she’ll be grateful."