That evening, at the start of the banquet, my father raised his glass and announced excitedly, “As Whitney is getting married soon, I shall grant all the real estate companies under my name as her bridal gift.”

Whitney’s face lit up instantly.

At that moment, mother said indignantly, “What about Layla? She’s getting married as well.”

My father replied without hesitation, “She’s getting married to Jonathan, so we don’t know if she’ll survive this marriage or not. It would be a waste to give her such valuable gifts.”

Although I already knew my father favored Whitney over me, it still hurt to hear that he didn’t take my life seriously.

When my mother heard this, her eyes welled up with tears. She was prepared to fight back for me, but I tugged her arm and said, “Forget it, Mom. I don’t need anything from them.”

Halfway through the banquet, William arrived in his bespoke suit. In front of everyone, he presented a diamond bracelet to Whitney.

“Whitney, this is a gift to celebrate your recovery.”

Whitney’s eyes lit up when she saw the bracelet, but she pretended to turn down his gift.

“Oh, how could I accept this? It’s too expensive.”

Ignoring her, William wrapped the bracelet around her wrist and said, “To me, nothing’s as precious as you.”

Those with a good eye knew that this was a family heirloom, passed down through generations for their daughters-in-law.

“Only a daughter-in-law of the Crawfords can wear that bracelet. If he has given that to Whitney, what about Layla?”

“Mr. Crawford and Whitney are in love with each other. Now that she’s recovered, it’s only right that it should go to her.”

“Doesn’t that mean he won’t be marrying Layla?”

Unable to bear the discussions of the crowd, I left the banquet on my own and went to the backyard.

To my surprise, Whitney came after me.

Under the pale moonlight, she fiddled with her diamond bracelet while looking at me disdainfully. “In the end, this is still mine. Did you think you could steal it from me while I was sick? Dream on!”

She was wrong. I wanted nothing to do with her.

I just wanted to watch her ruin her life quietly.

“I heard from Dad you’re gonna marry Jonathan Gray? The guy with a violent disposition and who's rumored to be impotent?”

Whitney sighed softly.

“What a shame. I can no longer bully you as I please anymore.”

I didn’t want to waste my time with her anymore, so I turned and prepared to leave.

Without a warning, she grabbed my wrist and leaped into the pool next to us.

“Help! Help!”

Her cries for help quickly attracted everyone’s attention.

William was the first to arrive. He jumped into the pool to drag Whitney to safety.

She was huddled in his arms while complaining, “Layla was upset, so I came to cheer her up, but she pushed me into the water!”

Without giving me a chance to explain, William kicked me into the swimming pool and left with Whitney in his arms.

I flailed around in the water for a while before I managed to climb out of the water.

My father came after hearing the news. He raised his arm and gave me a hard slap. “How cruel can you be? Picking on your own sister like this? Go kneel and repent in the family hall! Anyone who protects you will be punished altogether!”

I placed my hand over my now swollen cheeks and looked at my mother. I shook my head, signalling for her to stay silent.

In the family hall, my mother sobbed silently. “It’s all my fault, Layla. You got dragged into this because your father dislikes me.”

My eyes were red, but I kept my back straight. “If they don’t like me, I won’t like them either.”

Three days later, my mother managed to convince my father to let me out of the house so that she could prepare a bridal gift for me.

At the jewelry store, my mother picked out a pair of pink diamond earrings, which she placed above my earlobes.

“Fortunately, I’ve tucked away some money to be able to afford a bridal gift for you. With this, you won’t be looked down upon when you marry into their family.”

I shook my head and smiled. “I don’t care about these things.”

At that moment, Whitney and William entered the store. She pointed at the pink diamond earrings I was trying on and said, “I want those earrings.”

My mother immediately said, “I’ve already bought them for Layla.”

Whitney immediately looked at William with tears in her eyes. “If my mom were still around, she’d have bought them for me.”

With a grim expression, William looked at us. “In the end, you still choose your own daughter over Whitney. I can’t imagine the torture you’ve put her through while growing up.”

He then pulled out a black credit card from his pocket and slammed it on the table.

“I’ll buy everything you have for my fiancee,” he said.

My mother looked at them while shaking with anger.

I grabbed her arm and tried to calm her down. “Forget it, Mom. I didn’t like the design anyway.”

I pulled her out of the store, and Whitney and William followed behind us.

At that moment, an out-of-control car came hurtling in our direction and was about to hit Whitney.

William rushed up and pushed me forward to block Whitney from harm.

Before I could react, I felt my head slamming against the hard frame of the car. Before drifting off unconscious, I saw William walking up to me with a worried expression.

However, Whitney quickly pulled him back and buried her face in his chest.

“I was so scared, William!”

He proceeded to wrap his arms around her and turned away.

When I came to, I was lying on a hospital bed while my mother sobbed next to me.

“William’s no better than a beast! How dare he push you in front of the car!”

My face was pale as a sheet. I raised my arm to wipe away her tears. “Don’t cry, Mom. I’m not marrying him anyway. After this, we’ll stay as far away from them as possible.”

She cried even harder. “After what happened, your father still stands on her side. After the accident, not once did he come to visit you.”

This wasn’t the first time he had done this, so I had gotten used to it.

The next day, William came to the hospital and presented a pair of crystal earrings to me.

“Layla, I didn’t mean to push you yesterday. In the heat of the moment, I-”

I snorted sarcastically. “In the heat of the moment, you pushed me into the car’s path because you were worried for Whitney’s safety?”

With a guilty tone, he admitted, “It’s my fault. As long as you promise not to mistreat Whitney anymore, if you choose to follow me, I’ll give you a child, and you won’t have to worry about money for the rest of your life.”

I looked at him with a frown. “Follow you? Give me your child?”

William nodded.

“Whitney has regained her sanity, so our engagement will naturally resume. However, seeing how devoted you’ve been, and since your reputation has been ruined, your father has agreed to let me take you as my unofficial wife.”

“Hmph!” I snorted.

Unofficial wife? In other words, he was asking me to be his mistress?

I took a deep breath and was about to speak when Whitney entered the room dressed in designer clothes and the pair of pink diamond earrings from before.

“Layla, those earrings are made from the best lab-grown diamonds that William asked his assistant to pick for you. Do you like it?”

The cheap artificial diamonds couldn’t even compare to her pink diamond earrings that sparkled under the light. It was an accurate representation of my place in William’s heart compared to Whitney.

I forced a smile and nodded in agreement.

With a satisfied expression, Whitney led William away.

In the following days, in order to avoid stirring up trouble with Whitney, I remained at home.

Until my wedding day, I put on my bridal crown and wedding dress. I proceeded to whisper Whitney’s secret to my mother and asked her to complete the necessary arrangements.

Teary-eyed, she nodded along while sending me off.

William and Whitney had been vacationing for the past few days. While dropping her home, they happened to see a bridal entourage leaving our house.

William asked, “Who’s that in the car? Doesn’t your family only have two daughters?”

My mom wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. She replied coldly, “It’s Layla. She’s getting married to Jonathan Gray today.”

The news caught William by surprise.

“What?” he asked in disbelief.