When I called my biological parents, they were pleasantly surprised.

My mother shrewdly noticed the disappointment in my voice and comforted me. "Joy, I'll say it again. If you're unhappy, don't forget that you have another home. Your father and I will always be waiting for you at home. Always."

"I know. I still need another five days to sort out my resignation and complete the handover. Then, I'll return home!"

"Alright. We'll book your plane tickets for you then. Take the next few days to properly bid farewell to your brother. No matter what, your father and I will always be behind you, protecting and supporting you."

Tears streamed out of the corners of my eyes. Alvin and Theodore had said that they'd always protect me and would always be my safe harbor.

Theodore had even said that he would take me as his wife when he grew older and spend the rest of his life with me. He couldn't imagine being apart from me, not even for a second.

So when my biological parents came looking, I didn't tell anyone. And when they wanted to bring me home with them, I refused.

I grew up in this city, and the people I loved, and the people who loved me, all lived here. How could I bear to leave?

It wasn't until Gwen appeared that I realized I might have made a mistake.

Gwen had grown up in an orphanage in another city and had later enrolled in a university located here. When she first arrived on campus, she was always by herself.

I was worried that she wouldn't be able to adapt to university life while being alone, so I took the initiative and invited her over to my house. Since then, she would always come over for every holiday.

Once, when Alvin and Theodore were celebrating my birthday, Gwen had suddenly burst out into tears. She said that she envied me a lot because no one had ever celebrated her birthday with her or given her presents before.

So, I personally made a birthday cake for her and roped Alvin and Theodore into throwing her a belated birthday celebration.

I took care of her like I would a younger sister.

That was, until I found a love letter that Gwen had written to Theodore in his drawer. I told her that Theodore and I were already engaged and asked her to stop sending those letters.

That conversation ended in a heated argument.

Not long after, Gwen left the country to get medical treatment. She sent all of us an email.

In the email, she wrote about how she envied me for having a brother who doted on me, as well as a boyfriend who treasured me greatly. She, on the other hand, was all alone and unloved. She even said that an orphan like her didn't deserve to love or to be loved.

After reading the email, Theodore lost his temper with me for the first time. "You know full well that Gwen is an orphan, yet you still flaunt your superiority in front of her. How selfish of you!"

Alvin also frowned at me, his gaze full of disappointment. "How could you drive Gwen out of the country, Joy? Are you that unwilling to make space for her in your life?"

Theodore and Alvin agreed that Gwen was more pitiful and more lacking in love than I, so they wanted to give her all the love they used to give to me. They wanted her to enjoy the feeling of being loved.

It had taken me five years to plan my wedding with Theodore.

Each rose used at the wedding had been painstakingly grown by me. Every dessert served at the reception had been created by me and couldn't be found anywhere else.

Now, however, the wedding had turned into a huge joke and a painful memory that I couldn't bear to revisit.

After sorting out my thoughts, I returned to Theodore's and my house. I had personally decorated the place, and we had planned to move in here after the wedding.

I had just opened the door when I saw Gwen, wearing a beautiful new dress, eating fruit on the couch.

My favorite flowers had been thrown in the trash, and my favorite ceramic mug was now in pieces, also lying at the bottom of the bin.

Even the throw pillows and rugs that I had chosen had now all been replaced with ones that Gwen liked.

"You're home, Joy? I just had surgery for a fracture, and I need to recuperate. Theodore had me move in, saying that it was more comfortable at home than in a hotel," she said, her smile smug.

"As you know, I'm allergic to pollen, so I had no choice but to throw the flowers away. And I accidentally broke the mug when I was getting some water to drink."

The ceramic mug had a small puppy painted on it, and it was the first present Theodore had ever gotten me. I hadn't had the heart to use it at all, yet it lay in pieces now.

When Gwen noticed my anger, she smiled and said, "Come on now. It's just a mug."

I rushed forward, wanting to dig through the bin to find all the shards. Perhaps I could glue them back together.

I hadn't even done anything else when Gwen suddenly stumbled and pretended to fall.

Right at that moment, Alvin and Theodore walked through the door.

Alvin was furious. "Are you bullying Gwen again, Joy? I was the one who asked Gwen to live here, so how can you take your anger out on her?"

Theodore also shot me a glare, then walked over to help Gwen up.

"Joy, you're being childish. How can you push Gwen when she's still recovering? She doesn't have any family, so it's easier to take care of her when we all live together."

How could a person's attitude change so drastically?

When Alvin and Theodore had gifted me this house, they had said that this place would forever be my home.

Previously, Gwen moved in for a while. She said she had just graduated and couldn't afford to rent anywhere else. I took pity on her and let her stay.

She, however, had stolen my money and jewelry, and had even pretended to be drunk so she could fling herself at Theodore and try to sleep with him.

When I found out, I slapped her hard across the face, but Theodore just brushed it off, saying Gwen was drunk and I shouldn't take offense at an intoxicated person.

He also said that Gwen was an orphan and had no one to care for her, so I should love her as I would a younger sister.

Now, Gwen was back here again, once more trying to push me out so she could have Alvin and Theodore for herself.

When I remained silent, Theodore spoke up in defense of Gwen.

"Joy, I've spoiled you rotten since we were kids, causing you to be arrogant, unreasonable, and lacking in empathy. If you hadn't driven her out of the country, her illness wouldn't have gotten worse!

"I'm telling you, I was the one who asked Gwen to move in. If you have a problem with that, you can move out. I was the one who bought this house anyway! Also, you've been unreasonable lately with all your constant tantrums. If you continue to behave this way, we might as well completely cancel our wedding…"

I felt so wronged that my tears wouldn't stop falling. I hadn't driven her away, nor had I known about her illness—that was the truth. Yet, they refused to listen to my explanation.

I stared at the two men who had once loved me the most, and it was like I was looking at complete strangers.

If this were before, I might've felt sad and tried to defend myself. But now, I was only left with utter hopelessness.

I figured I might as well leave since they no longer liked me. I turned around, ignored them, and went to pack my things.

The stuff I had chosen for our marital house had all been destroyed, but all Theodore said was, "So what if they're broken? We can always buy new ones in the future."

In the future? There was no future for us anymore, Theodore. This was goodbye.