My cafe's sales have doubled recently. On the day before the celebration party, my younger brother, Ian Kingston, comes looking for me.

"Vivian, I'm going to marry Louisa soon. We should dissolve our business partnership."

He adds, "Louisa mentioned that she and I work better together as husband and wife. She intends to open a cafe with me so that we can spend the rest of our lives together.

"Vivian, you'll marry into another family someday. This cafe is a business under the Kingston family, so you should withdraw from the partnership right away."

Louisa Nott has yet to become Ian's wife, but she is already thinking of taking over the Kingstons' assets?

I post an announcement on my family group chat right away.

"My own brother decides to dissolve our business partnership because of his girlfriend, so I shall be opening a branch of my own. When the time comes, everyone here is welcome to my cafe to sample my food. It'll be completely free of charge!"

"Vivian, as a woman, you're going to get married one day. This cafe is part of our family's assets, so just step aside."

Ian carefully glanced up at me, waiting for my reaction.

I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself down.

My dad, Edmund Kingston, had originally said that the cafe business would be split—half for me and half for Ian.

But ever since Ian graduated, he had done nothing but slack off. He hadn't lifted a finger for the business and just took his share of the profits while I worked tirelessly to build it up. I had played every role just to keep things running and save costs, leaving me completely drained.

Then, out of nowhere, Ian, who had done next to nothing, decided he wanted to take my half because his girlfriend, Louisa Nott, wanted to turn it into a "couple's business". The audacity!

I was livid. The anger hit me like a tidal wave.

"For three years, I've busted my ass while you just sat back. Now that the business is making money, your girlfriend wants to kick me out? Have you even thought about how I feel?"

Ian frowned. "What do you mean? I've been thinking about you! Louisa has experience, and together, we can make even more money. She said that if you want, you can come help us at the cafe too, and we'll pay you well."

"Help? Why should I help her? I built this place from the ground up! I've worked so hard, and now she wants to turn me into an employee for her business? This is insane!"

My whole body was shaking with rage.

Ian sighed, clearly annoyed. "You're being ungrateful. Louisa is offering you a chance. If you work with us, who knows? We might even make more money."

"In your dreams."

Just then, we heard our mom, Caroline Myers, call out from outside, "What's going on with you two? Keep it down. It's late."

I forced myself to calm down and asked Ian, "Do Mom and Dad know about this?"

Ian avoided my gaze. "Not yet. You know how Dad and Mom feel about Louisa asking for a 600-thousand-dollar wedding gift. But Louisa's already backed down. She said 300 thousand would be fine, as long as she gets a stake in the cafe."

He added, "Look, Vivian, why don't you just tell Mom and Dad that you want to step away from the business and give half of the cafe to Louisa? C-consider it a wedding gift for Louisa and me."

His whole plan was aimed directly at me.

He didn't want to pay the full amount for the wedding gift, didn't want to upset his girlfriend, and didn't want to deal with our parents' disapproval. So he came up with this ridiculous idea and wanted me to take the fall.

Did he think I was a pushover?

I sneered. Without saying another word, I stormed into the living room, opened the study door, and shouted, "Mom, Dad, Ian wants to partner with his girlfriend Louisa and kick me out of the cafe!"

Ian rushed over, trying to grab me. "What are you yelling about? It's just a small matter. Is it really that big of a deal?"

I took a step back. "A small matter? Let's switch places. You and your girlfriend can go and open a new cafe. Just do whatever you want, or go to the moon for all I care."

Ian's face immediately darkened. "That's impossible. Louisa's family is struggling financially, and they have no resources to open a new cafe."

I couldn't help but laugh in frustration. "Oh, so now you understand? And you still have the nerve to say that to me?"

Our argument grew louder, and soon, our parents rushed in to see what was going on.

I explained everything to them, recounting the whole situation.

Ian stood off to the side, looking nervous and guilty. He tried several times to interrupt me but failed each time.

After hearing the whole story, Dad turned red with anger.

"Is what your sister said true? Are you planning to marry Louisa and kick Vivian out of the cafe? Louisa's not even married to you yet, and she's already scheming to take over the family business. What's up with that girlfriend of yours?"

Ian shrank back, but he still tried to defend himself. "Dad, if Louisa marries me, she'll be part of the Kingston family, and any kids we have will carry the Kingston name. Giving her half the business is like giving it to your future grandkids. The cafe will still belong to our family.

"But when Vivian gets married, she'll be an outsider and no longer part of the Kingston family. Will you really hand our family business over to an outsider? Louisa has our best interests at heart!"

Dad's face turned red with rage, and his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked.

"Shut your mouth! I think you've lost your mind to put an outsider ahead of your own sister! What's wrong with you?"

He grabbed a broom and started hitting Ian, the sharp smacking sounds echoing through the room. After a few blows, red marks appeared on Ian's arms.

Mom rushed over and grabbed Dad's hand.

When Ian was born, she almost died during childbirth, so she had always had a soft spot for him.

"Stop it. Stop it! Do you want to hurt your son?"

Dad stopped, pointing at Ian. "Apologize to your sister right now and promise you won't ever do this again. And tell that girlfriend of yours to stop thinking she has any claim over this business."

Ian rubbed his sore arm, shivering in pain.

But he refused to back down.

"If Vivian won't give up her share of the cafe, then I'll need the 600 thousand dollars for the wedding gift. I can't afford that. Without it, Louisa won't agree to marry me. But Louisa is my soulmate. I won't marry anyone else. If you want to break us up, you might as well just kill me now!"

Dad's lips trembled with rage. He threw the broom, and it hit Ian in the forehead.

Seeing things get out of hand, Mom quickly stepped in to mediate.

"Enough! Everyone, stop fighting. I've been thinking about splitting the cafe business for a while now. Eventually, both kids will go their separate ways. Why not divide the business now and let them both do their own thing?"

Ian looked at Mom with renewed confidence and shot me a smug look.

"See? Mom agrees with me."

Mom turned her gaze to me, her expression complicated.

"After you do an inventory of the equipment in the cafe, you can take half. Your father and I have some savings, so we'll give you the money and equipment to start your own business."

She continued, "I know how much effort you've put into this cafe. But if Ian and Louisa are happy together, as family, we should support them. For my sake, take a step back. Siblings shouldn't fight over something like this."

Ian eagerly agreed. "Right. Mom's right."

Dad waved his hand. "No. Vivian has worked so hard for this business. I'm not going to let her feel like she's been treated unfairly."

Seeing Dad stand firmly with me gave me some comfort.

Mom stepped forward, speaking with finality. "I know this is unfair to Vivian, but Ian's right. The business has to be split."

Dad sighed heavily, looking like he wanted to say more, but Mom stopped him with a look.

They both turned to me, waiting for my response.

Ian's eyes were full of expectation, while Dad's showed concern.

I stayed silent for a long while before agreeing to the plan.

Ian, filled with excitement, said he'd go out to share the good news with Louisa right away.

That night, Ian didn't come home.

In the middle of the night, I was unable to sleep, so I got up to get some water. As I passed by my parents' room, I noticed they were still awake. Their voices were faintly audible.

Mom's tone was serious. "Today, you raised a huge fuss and even hit Ian. But that was just for show, right? You wanted to show Vivian that you're on her side.

"You know Ian is far too proud and isn't capable of succeeding on his own. Now, he's even blinded by Louisa and will probably amount to nothing in the future.

"You don't want them to have separate businesses because you want to make sure Vivian always backs Ian. With her support, even if he fails at everything, he'll always have a safety net and won't have to worry about going hungry."

Her voice was low, but each word hit me like a thunderclap.

My heart shattered.

I held my breath, covered my mouth, and peeked inside.

Dad was sitting on the edge of the bed with his head bowed. "You asked the two of them to run separate businesses. It looks like you're helping Ian, but in reality, you're just looking out for Vivian. You don't want Ian to become a burden to her, do you?"

I finally understood. If Ian and I kept running the same cafe, I would always be the one working hard, while Ian could do nothing and still have everything, because I'd never want to take his share, just like what I had done all these years.

My efforts hadn't gone unnoticed by my parents, but they had quietly accepted that I would always be Ian's safety net.

However, Louisa had made Mom change her mind. After all, Ian and I were both her children. How could an outsider take advantage of us?