Half an hour later, I met Vanessa at the coffee shop.

“What’s so important that you couldn’t say it over the phone? Why drag me here?”

“How long do you plan on driving Derek Wallace to and from work?”

“A bone takes about a hundred days to heal—at least three months.”

“Alright then, return the car. I’ll drive myself.”

The car Vanessa used belonged to me.

When she first saw me driving the Mercedes-Benz, her eyes lit up. She said she’d never driven anything that nice and wanted to try.

Eventually, she just took the keys and declared she’d be my full-time driver. So I let her have it.

“And why would I return it? So I can drive myself again?”

“My dad gave me that car for commuting. Since you’re not picking me up anymore, isn’t it fair I get it back?”

“Can’t you just take a taxi? You know I need to drive Derek. Why are you being so petty, Ethan?”

“Derek is like a brother to me. His foot’s injured. Isn’t it right for me, as his sister, to help out?”

“Last I checked, you’re an only child. When did you get a brother?”

“Besides, can’t he take a taxi too? And you’re about to get married. Is it really appropriate to drive your fiancé’s car just to shuttle another man around every day?”

I reached my hand out. “Give me the car keys.”

Vanessa pulled a face and stayed silent for a while. Then she sighed. “Fine, I won’t pick him up anymore. I wasn’t thinking. Don’t be mad.”

“That’s more like it.”

Later that night, Vanessa called me. “I can’t pick you up today. I’m helping a friend move.”

“Alright, just don’t be late tomorrow morning.”

After I hung up, I noticed Sophie leaning nearby, watching me.

“What are you looking at?”

“Is your fiancée using that as an excuse to go pick up her childhood sweetheart?”

“No way. She promised she wouldn’t.”

“You sure? Then what if she takes her childhood sweetheart home to care for him?”

“Ridiculous. Don’t be absurd.”

Even though I said that, a sliver of doubt crept in.

Later that night, I video-called Vanessa. “Are you home alone?”

“Of course. Who else would be here?”

“Then take your phone and show me around.”

“What, you think I’m hiding a man in here?”

She walked me through her small rental unit. Sure enough, it was empty.

I finally relaxed.

But just as I was about to sleep, a new post from Derek popped up in his Moments.

A selfie with the caption: “Moved into a new place.”

Behind him, the painting on the wall matched the one from mine and Vanessa’s new home exactly.

A sinking feeling hit me, but I told myself Vanessa wouldn’t go that far.

The next morning, Vanessa came to pick me up, and I asked casually,

“Who did you help move yesterday?”

“An old colleague. We were close at work, so I went over to help when he asked.”

“Really? What a coincidence—Derek moved too. Didn’t he ask for your help?”

“Did he? He never said anything. Maybe he just hired movers.”

She answered smoothly, so my doubts eased.

The weekend came. I bought a few decorations and asked Vanessa to come with me to the new house.

She clearly panicked for a second.

“Huh? Do we have to go? It’s scorching out. Let’s just stay home and watch a movie.”

“A movie? If you don’t want to go, I’ll go by myself.”

She quickly grabbed my arm. “Wait, how about this—I’ll treat you to that Japanese place you’ve been dying to try, and then we’ll catch a movie. My treat!”

Vanessa is usually incredibly stingy. I cover all our dates, and she even asks me to reimburse her for a bottle of mineral water.

On holidays, I give her gifts, and all I get in return is a half-hearted “mm-hmm.”

Today, she actually offered to treat me to Japanese food. The sun must’ve risen in the west.

But I didn’t call her out on it—I just went along, had sushi, and watched a movie with her.

She ended up spending nearly a thousand dollars, which clearly made her uncomfortable.

On the way home, she kept grumbling and reminding me that I owed her a meal next time.

She dropped me off at my place. I watched her car disappear down the street, then immediately hailed a taxi to the new house.

The new place had a password lock. I entered the code several times, but it kept saying “incorrect password.”

Thankfully, I had brought the physical key and used it to unlock the door.

What greeted me inside left me speechless.

The cozy little home I’d decorated to my exact taste had been completely transformed.

The Nordic-style painting in the living room was replaced with a giant Crayon Shin-chan print. The sleek brown leather sofa was now hidden under an ugly plush cover.

My black-and-gold tables, chairs, and cabinets had all been painted white. The entire furniture layout had been rearranged.

I opened the master bedroom door—and saw Derek sleeping soundly on the wedding bed Vanessa and I had picked out, using the silk bedding set my mother had lovingly selected.

I had mentally prepared myself for the possibility that Derek might have moved in.

But I hadn’t imagined he’d completely undo all my careful interior work—and then sleep like a king in my wedding bed.

Startled, he sat up and snapped, “Ethan Carter, why didn’t you knock? Who told you to barge into my house?”

I was so furious I couldn’t even form words.

“This is my house!” I finally said through gritted teeth.

“Vanessa said she’s lending it to me. That makes it my home now. You just trespassed into someone else’s house. Didn’t your mother teach you manners?”

“And did yours teach you to be shameless?” I fired back. “You move into someone else’s home, wreck the place, and then act like you own it?”

I dialed Vanessa. “Get to the new house. Now.”

She immediately caught on.

“It’s just for a while—why are you so mad that Derek’s living there?”

“You refused to let me pick him up, and he’s still injured. I don’t feel right letting him walk all that way.”

“Our wedding house is near his office anyway. We’re not using it, so why let it sit empty?”

Derek grinned smugly. “Even if you call Vanessa, it won’t change anything. She agreed to everything I’ve done here.”

“And you don’t have to get so worked up. I might be the real man of this house.”

I ended the call.

“Then why doesn’t she just marry you? You’ve been childhood sweethearts for years. Seems like it should’ve been your turn. So why am I the one she’s marrying?”

From what I’d seen, Vanessa didn’t choose Derek because she looked down on his background.

He never even finished high school—started working in a factory straight out of junior high, tightening screws.

Both his parents are unemployed, relying on relatives to get by.

I, on the other hand, was born and raised in Los Angeles, graduated from top-tier Las Vegas University, and my family owns a courtyard house.

Any woman would know who to pick.

Derek’s expression shifted. My words struck a nerve. His face turned grim.

“Vanessa just hasn’t faced her feelings yet. You’ll see. The two of you are never getting married!”

Just then, the sound of the front door opening echoed through the apartment.

And instantly, Derek screamed and dropped to the floor.

“Ethan, I was wrong! I shouldn’t have touched your new house! Don’t hit me—please, don’t kill me!”

Vanessa rushed over to shield Derek. “Ethan, how could you hit someone like that?”

“First of all, I didn’t hit him. But even if I had, wouldn’t he deserve it?”

Vanessa glanced around the room. “Derek, what did you do to the place?”

“Vanessa, didn’t you say I could make myself comfortable? I really didn’t like your house’s decor, so I changed it to match my own style.”

“These things weren’t cheap. Don’t they look good? I was just trying to help.”

Vanessa frowned. “Ethan, I agree that Derek shouldn’t have changed the decor without asking, but that doesn’t mean you should’ve hit him.”

“Just apologize to him, and I’ll let it go.”

I laughed in disbelief.

“Vanessa, are you blind? Can’t you see he’s pretending? We’re supposed to get our marriage certificate tomorrow, so why don’t you just marry him instead?”

I turned to leave, furious.

Vanessa quickly chased after me and grabbed my arm.

“Ethan, don’t be mad. Derek’s still immature—just ignore him.”

“Then have him restore everything and get out immediately.”

“I don’t even want this house anymore. It feels filthy!” I pointed toward the bedroom. “He slept on our wedding bed—I feel sick!”

“Alright, alright. We’ll sell the house and get a new one.”

Derek panicked. “Vanessa, why are you always siding with him? He’s the one who hit me!”

“Stop talking, Derek. I shouldn’t have let you move in.”

Hearing that, Derek ran out crying.

Vanessa became flustered. “It’s so late. It’s not safe for Derek to be alone. Let’s meet at the Civil Affairs Bureau tomorrow.”

I was so angry I couldn’t stop crying. I wanted to break up on the spot—but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Still, I showed up at the Civil Affairs Bureau the next day right on time.

But no matter how long I waited, Vanessa never arrived.

I called her—she didn’t answer for a long time.

Finally, she picked up and said, “Derek sneezed twice this morning. I got worried and took him to the hospital. There’s no rush for the marriage certificate. Let’s reschedule.”

Before I could respond, she hung up.

I was livid.

Reschedule with your sister! I’m done!

I sent her a single word: “Breakup.” Then blocked her on everything.

I figured I’d just wasted my time. So I called Sophie.

“You still want to get married? If yes, come here now!”

Ten minutes later, Sophie arrived at her red Ferrari.

I brought her straight to the Civil Affairs Bureau. “If you want to back out, now’s your last chance. Once the red booklet is stamped, there’s no going back.”

Sophie grinned. “Don’t worry. I promise you won’t regret it!”

After we got our marriage certificate, I received a Facebook message from Derek.

“I told you—you wouldn’t get married.”

I snapped a photo of the certificate with Sophie and sent it back.

“Thanks. I’m officially the son-in-law of the Bennett Group.”