The Langston brothers once vowed that they wouldn't marry anyone but me. However, when it's time for me to pick one of them as my husband, they both turn me down.

Nigel says, "My career is my priority. I'm not considering marriage at the moment."

Shawn says, "Sorry, but I haven't had enough fun yet."

Shortly after, they make my asthma act up during my engagement party just so they can please their new princess.

As I writhe from the lack of oxygen, they cover her eyes so she won't see. They also mock me, saying I won't die from this.

That kills me inside. When I wake up in the hospital, I call my father. "I'll marry the heir of the Blackwell family."

Lying in the hospital bed with a bunch of tubes attached to my body, I stared blankly at the ceiling.

Shawn Langston, the younger of the Langston brothers, called.

His voice came through the phone, thick with anger.

"Yvonne Sachman, where the hell have you been these past few days? You knew Queenie wasn't doing well, and you still faked being sick just to mess with her, didn't you? She hasn't been able to sleep for days and just got rushed to the hospital!"

It was then followed by another voice—Nigel Langston, the older brother.

"Say something! Playing dead won't work unless you're actually dead. Otherwise, get over here right now and apologize to Queenie!"

The monitors around me started beeping in warning as my emotions surged in that instant.

Tears slipped down my cheeks.

At that exact moment, a thought crossed my mind—perhaps I should have just died on my way to the hospital earlier.

I was born with a weak constitution and have suffered from asthma since I was little. But thankfully, over the years, the brothers had taken good care of me. I'd only had one serious asthma attack.

That one time was when I first arrived at the Langston residence.

Shawn, who always acted like he wasn't afraid of anything, ended up crying his eyes out. Regardless, he stubbornly stayed by my bedside.

After I was discharged, Nigel spent three days cleaning the house until not even a single stray strand of hair could be found.

Back then, I naïvely believed their love was unshakable and would last forever.

Unfortunately, that belief was shattered the moment Queenie Yates appeared.

What once felt like a passionate, all-consuming love in our youth was blown away, dispersed like smoke in the wind.

I silently hung up the phone, took off my oxygen mask, and sent Dad a text.

"Dad, I've thought it through. I'm willing to marry Joseph Blackwell."

He called back almost instantly, his voice full of concern as he asked, "Yvonne, did something happen? You don't have to force yourself for me. As for the Langston brothers…"

I cut him off, choking back tears as I tried hard to keep my voice steady so he wouldn't worry.

"I'm fine. I'm ready to marry the Blackwell family's golden boy."

Back when Mom died unexpectedly, Dad worked himself to the bone to hold the Sachman family, spending most of his time overseas.

I was taken in by Mom's mentor and ended up living with the Langston brothers.

Later on, Dad made a comeback. Even the powerful Blackwell family in Nautilis extended a marriage proposal, but he never forced me, leaving me with the final decision.

To him, nothing mattered more than my happiness.

Back then, I thought I had everything one could ask for—loving, open-minded elders and the devoted companionship of the Langston brothers.

But reality hit me hard.

I was nothing more than a fleeting amusement in their reckless youth.

Suddenly, the ward's door opened. Several nurses came in, arranging their syringes, unable to hold back their excitement as they gossiped.

"Did you hear about the Langston family in Nautilis? The two brothers just proposed to the same young woman in public!"

"They were on their knees right by her hospital bed, and the diamonds on those rings were huge!"

"Seriously, how is she that lucky?"

My phone buzzed with a notification.

Queenie had just posted a picture on her social media showing off both of her ring fingers—each adorned with a different diamond ring.

It was captioned, "Don't talk to me about time proving love. Old hags should just stop being delusional."

And, of course, she blatantly tagged me.

Pain crept through my chest. The background in her photo was the private ICU room the Langston brothers had once set up specifically for me.

I quietly blocked her.

Still trying to sound calm for Dad on the other end of the line, I said, "Aren't you happy that I'm marrying earlier? It means you get to have a grandchild sooner too."

After this narrow brush with death, I was done chasing the kind of love that burns too bright and too fast.

I just wanted to come home at night and see a light on, one that was lit just for me.

Dad was silent for a while before he finally agreed.

"The Blackwell family already looked into your condition. If you're willing, you can register for marriage in two weeks. But… regarding you still living with the Langstons…"

I knew what he was worried about.

After graduation, I followed in Mom's footsteps and became a surgeon, working at the hospital owned by Mr. Langston Senior.

But now, it was time to end this awkward situation.

A sharp sting shot through the back of my hand as cold liquid flowed into my veins via the IV. The nurse told me I needed another week of rest.

One week…

That was enough time for me to put my past behind me.

Once discharged, I returned to the Langston residence.

The moment I opened the door, a few heavy books flew straight at me and hit me square in the face.

I stumbled back and tumbled down the front steps. In the process, my legs scraped against the jagged stones on the floor, staining the cold, hard ground with my blood.

I gritted my teeth and forced myself upright, then looked up to see who it was.

It was none other than Queenie. She was carrying a stack of books in her hands.

"Oh, you're back? Why didn't you say anything? It's all my fault for not noticing you earlier."

She casually tossed the rest of the books beside me, some even smacking me right in the forehead.

The rage inside me boiled over instantly.

Those books were all medical collections that I painstakingly collected over a decade, and among them were also my notes over the years!

As the blood rushed to my head, my vision blurred. I almost collapsed again.

However, Shawn and Nigel just leaned lazily against the doorway, looking down on me with nothing but scorn.

"So the act's over, huh? Couldn't bear to give up the luxuries of the Langston residence, so you came crawling back?" Shawn sneered, acting as if he had just seen through some grand scheme.

Nigel frowned and said in a low voice, "If you want to come back, start by apologizing to Queenie."

I clenched my teeth and steadied myself as scenes of the past started replaying in my mind.

Although Mr. Langston Senior brought me back to the villa, I had kept my head down the whole time, too timid to speak.

It was Shawn who made silly faces to break the ice and make me laugh.

Meanwhile, Nigel had given up his own bedroom for me and assured me with the gentlest voice that this would always be my home.

I ended up living here for over a decade, naïvely believing I might one day become the lady of this household.

All was well until the day I hired Queenie as an intern.

She came from a humble background, and I felt sorry for her, so I invited her home for dinner.

One dinner turned into many more.

It started with her "accidentally" damaging my clothes and jewelry.

Now, she had the nerve to throw out my treasured collection of medical books and notes. She knew full well how much they meant to me.

I stepped forward, ready to confront her, but Shawn shoved me hard back to the ground.

"Queenie is the lady of the house now. She can throw out whatever she wants! And you'd better stop bullying her. What, do you still think you're running the hospital?

"You're just an employee of the Langston family. You're nothing special. From now on, you'll be Queenie's assistant. Move into the maid's quarters and quit walking around like you own the place!"

As he spoke, he threw all my medical competition trophies to the ground in one go, then turned to Queenie with a smug grin, practically begging for her approval.

Queenie leaned coquettishly against Nigel's chest, clearly loving every second of it as she shot me a triumphant look.

Nigel wrapped an arm around her protectively and shot me a cold look. "Did you hear that, Yvonne? We're not going to spoil you like before."

Despite his reputation as The Iron Judge in the office, he used to treat me with warmth and gentleness.

If this were before, seeing this side of him would've kept me up all night. But now? Knowing I'd be leaving this house for good, I couldn't be bothered.

I averted my gaze. My chest ached and felt as though it was about to explode.

Despite that, I replied calmly, "I'll move out as soon as I can. As for being an assistant… I'm not qualified for the job. I'll just resign."

Shawn let out a mocking laugh.

"Trying to act pitiful again? Sorry, we're not falling for that crap anymore. But for your deceased mother's sake, we'll still throw you a bone. We won't let you starve in the streets."

I ignored the taste of blood in my mouth, bent down, and picked up the now-filthy notebooks at my feet, then tossed them into the trash.

"No need."

I, Yvonne Sachman, could live without relying on men.

If something was tainted, I wouldn't keep it. I'd throw it out.

Back then, I came to the Langston residence all alone. Now, I had barely anything to pack.

All those clothes and accessories were gifts from the Langston brothers.

They used to bring luxury store assistants to the house with new seasonal collections for me to choose from.

Even when I gasped at the price tags and refused, they'd just pull me into a hug and assured me that I deserved the best in the world.

And now? Those same clothes had been secretly cut to shreds, crumpled into corners. The pile even smelled faintly of rot and something foul.

It was obviously the work of Queenie.

Once, I was the apple of the Langston brothers' eyes.

Now? I was just another piece of trash in their gutter.

I let out a soft, indifferent chuckle.

All I wanted was to take the few things that truly mattered—Mom's keepsakes in the safe and the little pet turtle by the window.

But when I looked toward the tank, I froze.

The turtle was lying on its back, and its hard shell was covered with vicious bite marks!

Back when I first arrived at the Langston residence, I was always quiet and withdrawn. Seeing that, Nigel gave me a little pet turtle as a gift.

It was the one companion that stayed by my side through many long, lonely nights.

Looking at those bite marks, it was, without a doubt, the handiwork of Queenie's stupid dog!

Not only did it trigger my asthma, but it also killed my turtle.

I resisted the urge to sniffle. Carefully, I wrapped my turtle's tiny body in a silk scarf and stormed out of the room with clenched teeth.

Right then, I bumped straight into Nigel, who was walking upstairs with Queenie.

The moment he saw the turtle in my hands, his eyes flashed with a flicker of surprise. However, it was quickly replaced with anger.

"Yvonne! What kind of doctor are you? You let an innocent life die just to throw a tantrum and spite us?"

A cold smile tugged at my lips.

After all these years, he should have known exactly what kind of person I was. But ever since Queenie showed up, everything I did was wrong.

There was no point arguing. I just wanted to get out of this house as soon as possible.

I said solemnly, "You're right, sir. Thank you for your advice."

"If you know you're wrong, then fix it! And if you ever dare to bully Queenie again, losing your job will be the least of your problems."

Nigel looked like he wanted to keep lecturing me, but Queenie tugged on his arm.

"Nigel, why bother wasting time arguing with a maid? Weren't you going to play the piano for me? I really want to hear your play."

I felt my breath catch.

The Langston brothers were well-educated in the arts since they were kids, but they'd never shown those skills to anyone.

However, to win over my affection, Nigel moved a piano into the greenhouse and would play softly when I had trouble sleeping after late shifts.

He once said, "No one but my Yvonne is allowed to step foot in here."

That was the moment he truly stole my heart.

We shared so many deep conversations in that greenhouse as we shared our love for each other. It was filled with our most cherished memories.

Later, even Shawn started throwing tantrums, insisting on having his secret rendezvous with me there. And just like that, the three of us got tangled in this messy love triangle.

But now, that sacred space had become Queenie's playground.

They'd found a new precious gem, and I was nothing more than a worthless pebble.

I took a deep breath and headed downstairs.

If that was the case, then I didn't want either of them.

I was going to become a gem all on my own.

Just then, Queenie suddenly yanked the strap of my shoulder bag.

The medical journal Mom left me fell straight to the ground, pages flying everywhere.

Rage surged through me.

I didn't know where the strength came from, but I raised my arm and slapped Queenie hard across the face.

She stumbled backward and let out a dramatic cry.

"Nigel! Save me!"

Nigel's expression changed in an instant. He rushed to catch her in his arms and then turned around and kicked me in the stomach.

Unable to react in time, I was sent tumbling down the stairs.

My body was numb from the pain.

Before me were the pages from Mom's journal scattered across the steps, and above me, I could hear Shawn's furious voice as he rushed over.

"Yvonne! My brother's been letting you off easy, and you still won't leave Queenie alone? You better not forget that it was Grandpa who took you in back then. Otherwise, you would've died with that short-lived mother of yours!

"Do you think just because your father's back, you can behave recklessly with his backing? You ungrateful little snake!"

Everything in front of me blurred, my mind fogging up like a window in winter.

I just sat there silently.

Then, as if he realized he might've gone too far, Nigel muttered, "You started it. I was just…"

I felt something warm drip from my nose. Reaching up to wipe it, I saw bright red blood staining my hands.

I forced myself to stand, picked up Mom's journal, and walked toward the door.

Just as I reached for the handle, Shawn rushed forward and grabbed my wrist.