“My number is still the same, it’s never changed. I was afraid that if you ever wanted to contact me, you wouldn’t be able to find me.”

I couldn’t help pulling the corner of my lips.

Who would’ve thought the person who once cut off all contact herself, the one who wished never to see me again, alive or dead, was now pretending to be so devoted and regretful?

“No thanks. I’m not interested in getting entangled with a married woman.”

I pushed hard on the pedals and the bike carried me away along the long path covered in golden ginkgo leaves.

The wheels rolled over the fallen leaves, making soft rustling sounds.

This path used to be so familiar to me.

When I was young, I loved coming here with my sister for morning runs and bike rides.

She was better than me at everything, except running.

Whenever I slowed down on purpose to wait for her, she would mess up my hair and laugh at how annoyed I got.

She once said that even when we were old and gray, the two of us would still walk this path together, supporting each other and basking in the sun.

But now… I was already two years older than she ever got to be.

I rode all the way back to the old apartment complex where my sister used to live. Ever since the accident, the place had been empty.

When I opened the rusty security door, a musty smell rushed out.

In the living room hung a photo of the four of us, covered in dust.

My sister and I grew up depending on each other.

When I was sixteen, Vivienne entered our lives.

She said my sister had saved her from drowning and given her a second life. From then on, she was my sister’s best friend.

She and I… were like natural enemies. We argued over the smallest things, faces red, tempers flaring.

Until after our senior-year graduation trip, when a mudslide struck the resort area.

Classmates were picked up by their parents one after another, but my sister was away on a business trip and couldn’t return in time.

The rushing mud buried the hotel in an instant. I was pinned under a collapsed beam, silently waiting for death.

But Vivienne fought her way back against the flow, digging with her bare hands from dawn until nightfall.

“Dorian, don’t be scared, I’m here!”

She carried me on her back and walked the whole night.

Only when she finally got me to the hospital did I notice that she had lost both of her shoes.

Her feet were covered in pale, water-soaked wounds, overlapping each other.

Her always-pretty manicured nails were broken from the roots, bloody and torn.

“Dummy, why are you crying? As long as you’re safe, it’s worth it even if I end up crippled!”

In that moment, even the spring breeze couldn’t compare to the smile in her eyes.

On New Year’s Eve, the three of us were making dumplings when Lucian showed up, looking a complete mess.

He was the son of a neighbor from our hometown. His family had gone bankrupt and he was hiding everywhere because of debt collectors.

Because my sister remembered how his family once gave her a bowl of hot porridge when she was young, she didn’t hesitate to take responsibility for him.

She quit her stable, respectable job and started doing business.

She drank so much at social events that she had stomach bleeding and she hovered at the edge of life and death several times.

In two years, my sister lost thirty pounds. She helped Lucian pay off all his debts and in return, won his love.

We toasted together, promising to stay close and love each other for a lifetime, never to be separated.

I was lost in thought when I heard a key turning outside.

The door opened and Lucian and Vivienne were suddenly standing there.

I had forgotten—we each had a copy of the key to this place.

“Vivienne said you came back, so we guessed you’d be here. You should’ve told us you were returning. We could’ve picked you up.”

He stepped forward as if to pat my shoulder, but I avoided him.

“This place isn’t suitable to live in. Come back with us. The housekeeper is on leave and there’s an empty room available.”

I lowered my gaze and saw that their house was here in this city.

I had only come back to see my sister. Later, I was going to meet my future mother-in-law for the first time.

I held out my hand. “Keys!”

This house had been bought by my sister and it was under my name.

It had nothing to do with the two of them.

Vivienne’s eyes swept over the photo in my hand with a complicated expression. “Dorian, if she were here, I’m sure she’d want the three of us to be happy together.”

Lucian looked away, unable to meet the gaze of the photo.

Vivienne walked straight in, took off her coat, rolled up her sleeves and picked up the broom behind the door.

“Lucian, go open the window and let some fresh air in.”

For a moment, it took me back many years. Back then, the four of us often gathered here.

My sister would cook, Lucian would help and Vivienne did the housework.

I was busy bossing everyone around.

Laughter echoed in the small house. Now, only silence remained.

I cleaned the table and carefully placed my sister’s portrait on it.

In the photo, my sister was smiling so gently.

I never expected that a reunion of the four of us would happen like this.

Lucian suddenly rushed over and slammed the portrait onto the table. “Why display this? Everything’s fine already!”

Seeing his flustered expression, I couldn’t help but sneer inwardly.

So, he felt guilty and ashamed to face my sister’s pure eyes.

“Dorian, Lucian is just worried about you. After all, someone died here before.”

“Don’t you know better than anyone how my sister died?”

The broom in Vivienne’s hands clattered to the floor.

The room fell into a deathly silence, broken only by the wind outside the window.

The second year after my sister married Lucian, we all began to change.

My sister’s business grew busier and she often traveled across the country.

The day she received angel-round investment, she was so happy she treated us to a big meal.

Halfway through the meal, my sister received a call from Vivienne, who hadn’t shown up.

“Selene, I got into trouble. They’ve cornered me at a bar.”

Without a second word, my sister put down her spoon and rushed out.

But after that trip, she never came back whole again.

In order to protect Vivienne, my sister was struck hard on the back of her head with a beer bottle.

By the time Lucian and I arrived at the hospital, my sister’s mind had already regressed to that of a five‑year‑old child.

She forgot everything—except me, her little brother.

My world completely collapsed.

I swallowed my grief while taking care of her and at the same time, I cruelly pushed Lucian away.

“When my sister was healthy, she loved you the most. She wouldn’t want you to ruin your whole life for her.”

“I’ll decide for her. The two of you should get a divorce!”

Lucian held my sister’s hands tightly, tears streaming down his face, utterly determined.

“I won’t leave Selene. Even if I die, I won’t.”

He chose to stay, without hesitation.

In his youthful passion, I was moved by Lucian’s unwavering devotion to my sister and I gave him full inheritance of her company.

Vivienne was wracked with guilt, shutting herself in her room and drowning in drink and despair.

Until Lucian kicked open the door and poured a bucket of cold water over her head.

“If you want to honor Selene, then take care of her company and this family properly.”

From that day on, Vivienne seemed like a different person.

She also joined my sister’s company and took on the responsibility of looking after us.

At that time, I was drowning in grief and uncertainty about the future.

Vivienne’s companionship and support became my only lifeline.

She and I registered our marriage, swearing by my sister’s bedside that we would care for her for life.

Vivienne’s phone rang, breaking my reverie.

It seemed eager to escape the grip of the past and Lucian’s words suddenly became unusually numerous.

“Don’t blame Vivienne. She’s now the CEO of a listed company and very busy.”

He rolled up his sleeves, deliberately showing the limited-edition vintage watch on his wrist.

“This was for my birthday last month. She specially went to an auction in France to get it for me.”

Vivienne hung up the phone. “What were you talking about?”

Lucian held her hand affectionately. “I was just saying that Dorian’s clothes are worn out and I’ll pick a few suits I don’t wear and give them to him later.”

My tone was calm, flat. “No need. I don’t like dirty things!”

Lucian’s face instantly darkened with anger. “What do you mean by that?”

I lifted my eyes and stared straight at him. “You know what I mean, don’t you?”

If it weren’t for that accident back then, it should have been my sister enjoying her life now.

Seeing my sister reduced to a child in mind was a pain I couldn’t get over.

But life must go on. In the quiet of the night, I secretly felt grateful that my sister left me two family members who were not by blood, but felt closer than blood relatives.

The night I left for graduate school in another city, Vivienne repeatedly promised me that she would take good care of my sister.

In my despair, I clung to her like a lifeline and believed her.

At first, she truly did everything perfectly.

It was as if she wanted to give me all the love my sister never got to finish giving.

Every two weeks, she would fly to my city, afraid that I would feel wronged or alone.

“Dorian, when the first snow falls, we’ll have our wedding. We’ll be the happiest couple in the world.”

Norwyn City’s seasons are usually as warm as spring, but that winter was especially cold.

The weather forecast said there would be a once-in-fifty-years first snow on Christmas Day.

I used the money I earned from my part-time job to buy a diamond ring and secretly bought a ticket home, planning a surprise for them.

But when I opened the door, what met my eyes was… my sister, chained and emaciated. And before her… two naked bodies, tangled together.

I felt as if I’d fallen into an ice cave, trembling all over, unable to stop myself from wanting to vomit.

I didn’t know whether I was angrier at them for abusing my sister or outraged by their betrayal of me.

The two most important people in my life had both betrayed me.

My mind went completely blank—but my sister saw me first.

Always so clean and tidy, she was now covered in filth, her hair like a bird’s nest, holding out a dirty steamed bun to me.

“My little Dorian… eat…”

Tears instantly poured out. I went mad, rushing forward.

Screaming, I swung my fists with all my strength at Lucian’s face.

Lucian screamed and fell to his knees before me.

“Dorian, I know I’ve wronged you… wronged Selene. But I’m not even thirty yet. I don’t want to spend my whole life with a fool.”

But I had clearly wanted to let him go and he had promisednover and over that he wouldn’t leave. So now he wanted both?

“Vivienne and I truly love each other. I won’t fight you for being his love. I’ll take care of your sister, but please let me stay by Vivienne’s side. Won’t the four of us still be together forever?”

I used to have my sister shielding me from all storms. This was the first time I was forced to face the malice and ugliness of human nature head‑on.

I raised my hand high, but Vivienne slapped it away.

My sister burst into terrified wails and despite her weakness, she threw herself again and again against the iron chain.

She actually snapped her own ankle in the struggle and broke free.

Dragging her broken leg, she spread her arms wide and shielded me tightly beneath her.

The wooden stool Vivienne hurled came crashing heavily down on my sister’s head.

Warm blood seeped into my hands.

Panicking, I tried to dial for emergency help.

Vivienne pulled on her clothes and calmly crushed my phone under her heel.

I had seen her playful, happy and even guilty expressions before—but this was the first time I saw such cold, merciless eyes.

“If you want this idiot to live, then obey and shut your mouth!”