As three years went by, my elder sister was no longer the sister I once knew. She had become Kevin’s elder sister instead.

I clearly understood she would not side with me, but I still carried a tiny bit of hope, hoping she would speak up for me and take my part. Yet that final bit of hope turned to ashes under her questioning.

My heart went cold. I took the vintage watch off my wrist and raised it in front of my sister and Kevin.

“Kevin likes this vintage watch. Lorraine, are you saying I should hand it to him?”

Once her eyes fell on the vintage watch, Lorraine’s face shifted, and she didn’t dare make a sound.

This was the Dasom family’s hundred-year ancestral vintage watch, the symbol of the Dasom family, marking identity. How could someone from outside wear it, let alone want it?

If she dared say it should go to Kevin, she might end up kneeling in the memorial chapel tomorrow.

“Lorraine, why don’t you go ask our uncles? Can this be handed to Kevin?”

“Since I didn’t dare decide on my own, I chose not to agree. But I never thought that Kevin’s sad tears would make you and Yvonne rush to defend him.”

“If that’s how it is, I’ll let you decide. This vintage watch, give it to whoever you choose.”

I set the vintage watch lightly on the table.

Lifting his eyes, Kevin stared at it, a flash of pure joy showing in them.

The diamonds and gemstones on the watch were worth a fortune. From the first moment he saw it, he had taken a liking to it.

More than once, he had cried softly before my sister and Yvonne, hinting again and again at how much he admired the watch.

Their hearts hurt for him so quickly that they didn’t even bother asking anything; they hurried to back him up and scold me.

Then the vintage watch sat in front of him.

With only one word from my sister, it would become his, just like everything else he had taken from me before.

“Ridiculous!”

My uncle slammed the table.

“Lorraine, you are Kirk’s elder sister! How can you act like this?”

“Is this vintage watch something you hand to some stray cat or dog? You want your younger brother to give it to someone from outside? Are you planning to break the Dasom family’s rules?”

“Where did all your teachings and family rules go?”

“Go kneel in the memorial chapel and copy the family rules once!”

My sister tried to explain, “Uncle, no, it’s not what you think. I didn’t know it was that vintage watch!”

Then she turned toward me in anger. “Kirk, you did this on purpose, didn’t you? You knew how important this watch is, yet you purposely misled me, made me stand with Kevin, and now you let the elders scold me?!”

“How could you be so scheming? When did you turn into someone like this? You really let me down.”

“I once thought you were a reasonable younger brother, but I didn’t expect you to be this kind of person.”

I stared at her.

“What kind of person do you think I am? The sort who is ‘stubborn’ because I won’t hand my things to Kevin? The sort who is ‘picking on him’ because I won’t give up my room for him?”

“In your eyes, I’m nothing. I never even hoped you would help me. But every time, before hearing what truly happened, you rush to defend Kevin. Is that also something I should take the blame for?”

“If anyone must be blamed, blame my bad luck for not having an elder sister who will ever speak up for me.”

Turning pale, Kevin lowered himself to his knees in front of me.

“Kirk, please don’t be upset. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have wanted something that isn’t mine.”

“It is your fault.”

I stopped him before he could apologize.

“If you didn’t keep trying to take things that belong to others, how would something like this happen?”

“Has the Dasom family not treated you well enough? You’re given the best food and clothes. You said you wanted to learn piano, so the Dasom family brought in a well-known teacher for you. You said you wanted to learn painting, and the Dasom family invited a respected professor to guide you. You have never been treated badly.”

“But even with all that, you’re still not content, you still want to take everything that should be mine.”

With a sudden movement, Lorraine shot to her feet.

“Enough.”

“It’s just a vintage watch. If you don’t want to hand it over, then don’t. But do you really need to act this harshly? Holding onto it and pushing Kevin again and again?”

“He’s only a kid, young, staying under someone else’s roof in the Dasom family is already hard. You should be the one watching over him, caring for him, sharing what you have with him. But look at you now, small-minded and scheming. This behavior is truly unbearable.”

“When did you become so unpleasant and ugly?”

My uncle shook with anger, his hands and legs trembling.

“Lorraine, you’ve crossed the line. Calling Kirk ‘small-minded’ over the Dasom family’s ancestral watch? Acting like it means nothing?”

“Do you think a hundred-year family stands strong with people like you? If everyone treated our family legacy as lightly as you do, the Dasom family would’ve collapsed long ago.”

“Where is your discipline? Your family teachings? Go kneel in the memorial chapel and copy the family rules right now.”

Lorraine lifted her chin. “Is a family legacy really built on one vintage watch? Uncle, you should widen your view.”

Kevin quickly grabbed her arm, rying desperately. “Sister, please don’t argue with Uncle because of me. I don’t want it anymore. I don’t want anything.”

My sister rushed to wipe his tears.

“Silly Kevin, Kirk grew up with everything, fine clothes, fine food, he has it all. You’re the one who’s lonely and needs care. And you never fight over anything, yet look, Kirk still doesn’t value your kindness.”

The guests around us could no longer hold back their voices.

“Has Lorraine completely lost her mind? That vintage watch is only worn by sons of the Dasom family!”

“This Kevin only knows how to cry. Only foolish women believe him.”

“Poor Kirk. The Dasom family took in their cousin, yet ended up raising someone completely ungrateful.”

“Even Fitzwilliam Corporation’s General Manager Yvonne has fallen fully for him, quite the skill, isn’t it?”

“Exactly. Today was meant to be the Dasom–Fitzwilliam engagement day. And just to help Kevin vent his anger, they embarrassed the whole Dasom family. And Lorraine still stands up for Kevin, not even saying a single word for her own brother!”

“But Kevin looks so pitiful when he talks… maybe there’s something else going on?”

As those whispers spread, my sister’s face had turned dark with anger.

“Kirk, is this the outcome you wanted? Making Kevin lose face, does that make you feel proud?”

“No wonder Yvonne chooses Kevin instead of you!”

Her words exploded, making everyone freeze.

Kevin’s face turned bright red from embarrassment.

Realizing she had said too much, Lorraine glanced at me with guilt, but when she saw my cold eyes, that guilt shifted into anger.

“Look at your attitude, you’ll never be as obedient, calm, and gentle as Kevin. What woman could stand someone like you?”

Kevin gently tugged at her sleeve.

“Sister, please stop talking. I’m not like that with Yvonne. She only sees me as a younger brother. She just wanted to help me let out my anger. Please don’t misunderstand.”

Then, looking like a startled little animal, he turned his trembling eyes toward me.

“Kirk, please don’t misunderstand Yvonne. How could she like an orphan like me with no family standing? People would laugh at her.”

“Only you and she truly match well. Kevin knows he isn’t worthy of Yvonne.”

As he spoke, his eyes grew red again, tears dropping one after another.

When he wiped them, they turned even redder, enough to make those watching hurt for him.

“Kirk, stop picking on Kevin.”

A woman walked in quickly.

She wore a designer gown, none other than Yvonne.

She quickly walked over to Kevin, worried when she saw his red eyes.

“Did Kirk bully you again?”

After saying that, she shifted her attention toward me.

“Kirk, from the moment Kevin entered the Dasom family, you’ve enjoyed picking on him. You knew he had no parents, yet you still fought for attention in front of yours just to hurt him.”

“Whenever Uncle and Aunt bought you anything, you made sure to flaunt it right in front of him to make him upset, teasing him for being an orphan.”

“All these years, he has gone through so much in the Dasom family, don’t you think you’ve crossed the line?”

“If I don’t rein in your temper now, will you still behave this wildly after we get married? How could I, Yvonne, marry a man this small-minded?”

Standing behind her, Kevin was kept safely out of reach. Through the space above her shoulder, he sent me a look full of quiet pride.

Even as an orphan, he still managed to take my fiancée and my elder sister.

I tightened my palm.

“Is that what you think? I bullied him? And in what way did I bully him? Was it because every time you passed the road near the Fitzwilliam home, he cried and ran to you with complaints? Or was it when he sobbed outside my sister’s study, making her assume I had picked on him again?”

“It must be nice, having tears ready whenever you need them. But Kevin, you’re a guest staying under someone else’s roof. Crying day after day is enough to wash away every bit of the Dasom family’s luck.”

Turning my eyes to my elder sister and Yvonne, I continued, “I am the Second Young Master of the Dasom family. If I wanted to bully someone, would I need him stuttering out vague claims?”

Facing Kevin Dasom directly, I lifted my hand. With a clear smack, my slap landed hard.

“If I choose to bully you, I’ll do it right in front of everyone. What can you do about it?”

Kevin held his cheek, forgetting to cry.

“As the Young Master of the Dasom family, if I ever felt unhappy with you, I could toss you out through the front door. What could you do then? Why would I waste time playing little games with you?”

Both Yvonne and my sister froze briefly, unable to respond. After a moment, Yvonne burst out in anger. “Kirk, you’ve gone too far!”

I tilt my chin upward.

“And what right do you have to scold me? As my fiancée? Yet you stand there defending my cousin and preaching at me? Exactly what are you to him?”

Cutting off my sister before she could speak, I said, “Lorraine, let me save you the trouble. From the day Kevin stepped into the Dasom family, you stopped treating me as your real brother. Everything you say and do is always in his favor.”

“He wanted my watch and my sports car, whether they were gifts from my parents or heirlooms from our grandparents, just because he said he liked them; you handed them to him right away.”

“The piano I fought hard to win at an auction, you said he needed a good piano for lessons, so you took it and gave it to him.”

“In three years, how many things have you taken from me? You probably can’t even list them. But sister, those items were all given to me by our parents, signs of their care for me. Yet none of that mattered to you; you only cared about handing them over to him.”

“You say you’re let down by me, but you don’t realize I am even more let down by you.”

“Since in your mind, Kevin is perfect in every possible way, I’ll give you what you want. Starting today, I don’t want an elder sister like you anymore. Go be his elder sister.”

“And as for you, Yvonne, just to ease Kevin’s anger, you made me the joke of the entire Huntsville. How could I ever marry someone like you? From this moment on, the marriage between the Fitzwilliam and Dasom families is canceled.”