I was the ornamental daughter of the Shaw family.

My father drove my mother to her death, and he had never once looked at me with anything but contempt.

Thankfully, I had two childhood sweethearts—two knights who always stood by me.

They pulled me back from the rooftop and stopped me from numbly destroying myself.

I treated them like a cure.

But after I finished studying abroad and came back home, everything changed.

They found a new princess, and suddenly I was the vicious witch who bullied her.

I watched them shield my father’s stepdaughter behind them, watched the wariness in their eyes when they looked at me.

What had once been my cure became a deadly poison.

My condition worsened, and in the end, I decided to give them what they wanted and leave.

…

Today was my birthday.

It was also exactly one year since I had returned to Norchester City.

I scrolled numbly through my social feed, watching those two flood Mira Walsh’s page with birthday wishes.

They were the friends I had grown up with.

And now, they had completely forgotten I even existed.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips. I could not tell whether my medication was kicking in or whether my physical symptoms were flaring up again, but deep down, I felt exhausted to the bone.

It was supposed to be a day of celebration.

Instead, all I could think about was dying.

I knew I could not keep putting off treatment for my illness. After hesitating for a moment, I finally called my grandfather, who was still overseas.

“Grandpa, I’ve made up my mind. I’ll come back and get treatment.”

He let out a sigh, his voice full of heartache. “Liana, why would you bring this up on your birthday of all days… Did they make you feel wronged again?”

That single sentence made my eyes sting with tears.

But I did not want him to worry, so I forced my emotions down and told him no.

“It’s alright, my good girl,” he said gently. “I’m old now, and there’s nothing I can do to Damon Shaw, that bastard. But I can still make sure you recover properly. I’ll arrange everything. In two weeks, I’ll come get you.”

“As for those two men… sigh, people change. Don’t grieve over them too much.”

I nodded, said goodbye, and hung up.

Staring out at the night beyond the window, I sank into silence.

People change.

I knew that.

But when I came back home and saw my two closest childhood friends ignore me for the sake of my father’s stepdaughter—the girl he had outside the family—and even believe her accusations so easily, looking at me with disgust, the pain still nearly suffocated me.

The more I had treasured what we had, the deeper the wound it left behind.

When I was little, I developed depression because my father, Damon Shaw, hated my mother and punished me with years of cold neglect.

At my worst, I had almost jumped from the top floor.

It was Nolan Gray and Owen Gray who pulled me back again and again, who took me out with them and slowly brought me out of that darkness.

Back then, they were my cure.

But now the medicine had turned to poison, and because of their distance, my condition had only grown worse.

I lay rigid in bed, nerves pulled tight, and swallowed two extra sleeping pills.

Just as I was finally about to drift off, the phone beside me rang.

Frowning, I picked it up. But when I saw Nolan’s name on the screen, my expression softened a little.

A part of me was still hoping.

I thought maybe it was a birthday wish from them.

Then I heard Nolan’s first words.

“We’re celebrating Mira’s birthday. She said it’s your birthday too and was worried you might be lonely, so she told us to call and check on you.”

The lively noise on his end stood in sharp contrast to the silence in my room.

The little hope I had left shattered instantly.

I opened my mouth, only to realize I did not even have the strength to speak.

After waiting a moment without a response, Nolan’s voice turned impatient.

“Say something, will you? What kind of attitude is that? Mira was being nice—she was worried you’d feel uncomfortable being alone. Can you stop targeting her all the time?”

A reproachful voice drifted over from beside him, as if Mira was telling him not to be so harsh.

Nolan let out a scoff, but he still obediently shut his mouth and handed the phone to Owen.

Owen’s cool voice came through the line. “Happy birthday. We prepared a gift for you. We’ll give it to you at the birthday party tomorrow... If there’s nothing else, we’re hanging up. The fireworks show Mira wants to see is about to start.”

His tone was all business. Only when he mentioned Mira did it soften with a trace of indulgent affection.

I hung up numbly.

I couldn’t understand it. I had only gone abroad to study for a while, so how had the affection that once belonged to me been given to someone else so quickly?

I had tried to win it back, but the outcome was always the same. I couldn’t even earn a single glance from them.

All I could do was leave in humiliation.

I wiped away my tears, knowing I was in for another sleepless night.

Every year, Damon held a birthday party for me.

He called it a celebration, but I knew exactly what it really was. It was just a way to polish his image and push me out to network for him.

At those parties, I had drunk so much so many times that my stomach bled.

All for Damon’s projects.

But no matter what, I couldn’t afford not to show up.

A sound came from the entrance, and I looked over to see Mira walking in, wearing an elaborate princess gown, flanked by Owen and Nolan.

Blushing, she hid behind Nolan as if she were uncomfortable with all the attention.

I glanced at her coolly and found it ridiculous.

If she was really uncomfortable, would she have dressed so ostentatiously and made such a grand entrance the second she walked in?

When Mira saw me, she ran over and grabbed my hand tightly. Pouting, she said with a wounded look, “Liana, I’m sorry... I know this birthday party was specially held for you by Father, but...”

Her eyes turned toward the two tall men beside her, half bashful, half accusing. “They said it’s my birthday too and insisted I come. They said I’m one of the stars tonight too...”

She clung to my arm, her words full of apology and helplessness, as if she were afraid I would mind.

But I could see it clearly—the smug satisfaction she couldn’t hide in her eyes.

I let out a cold laugh. I had no interest in playing along. I pulled my hand free and said nothing.

That simple motion, however, seemed unbearably offensive in Owen and Nolan’s eyes.

Nolan immediately pulled the aggrieved-looking Mira behind him.

Owen frowned at me, disappointment plain on his face. “Liana Shaw, how did you become this selfish after just a few years abroad?”

I looked coldly at the two brothers glaring at me with open hostility and felt exhausted to the bone.

At my own birthday party, in front of everyone, they were scolding me just because I hadn’t responded to Mira.

This kind of thing had happened countless times over the past year.

I had argued. I had cried. But no matter what I did, I couldn’t win back even one glance from Owen or Nolan.

Now I was tired. I didn’t want to keep tangling with them, so I turned to leave.

But Owen caught my arm.

I looked at him wearily.

His movement paused for a moment when he saw the expression on my face.

“Where do you think you’re going? Apologize to Mira!” Nolan snapped first, his temper flaring as always.

I tugged at my arm, but couldn’t break free.

I understood then.

Even Owen, with all his quiet calculation, meant the same thing.

The gazes gathering on me from all around were a mix of sympathy and ridicule.

Everyone knew it by now: the girl once cherished like treasure by Owen and Nolan had long since lost all of their favor.

They were all waiting to see how I would react.

I curled my lips into a mocking smile. “Why should I apologize?”

“Mira was an orphan growing up. It was only after Mr. Shaw adopted her that she got to celebrate birthdays properly,” Owen said, sounding maddeningly reasonable. “She’s never attended a birthday party this grand before. And you—you’ve had parties like this your whole life. It’s just this one time, sharing it with Mira. Do you really need to make that kind of face?”

Their words still left a dull ache in my chest.

An orphan? They had actually believed Damon’s polished story about adopting me.

But Mira was my half-sister—my father’s daughter too—only a year younger than me.

The tension in the room had stretched to its breaking point. After everyone had laughed at me to their heart’s content, Damon finally hurried over, acting like some peacemaker.

“Oh, come on, Owen, there’s no need for this.” He warmly took Owen’s and Nolan’s hands, trying to smooth things over. “Mira has always been such a good girl. I was planning to celebrate her at this year’s birthday party too.”

“Liana, stop being so willful. No matter what, Mira is still your sister.”

His tone was earnest, but every word painted me as nothing more than a selfish, spoiled rich girl.

His performance made me sick. I swept my gaze over the crowd, suddenly finding myself both ridiculous and pathetic.

Using all my strength, I yanked my hand free.

“Fine. Since all of you want it so badly, then let this birthday party be for Mira.”

If the party was for Mira, then maybe she would not have to keep drinking herself sick just to please everyone else...

I let out a bitter little laugh and walked toward the door without looking back.

“Liana Shaw! Don’t you want your gift?”

Nolan hurried in front of me. After hesitating for a moment, he pulled a gift box from behind his back.

Inside was an expensive jewelry necklace.

I was caught off guard. I had assumed they were just brushing me off, never expecting that they had actually prepared a gift for me.

I pressed my lips together, about to say something, when Mira walked over.

“Liana, hurry and take it,” she said with a grin. “The two of them were busy making a handmade gift for me, so I picked out this necklace for you. It wasn’t cheap either. But I guess this is more your style, right? Unlike me—I only like silly childish things, so they spent so much time making my gift.”

The warmth that had just softened my face faded little by little at her words.

I stopped her before she could put the necklace around my neck and said coolly, “No thanks.”

Inside, I laughed at my own stupidity.

So it was just some thoughtless gift after all, and I had foolishly believed for a moment that they had chosen it especially for me.

They were too busy trying to make Mira happy to spare a second thought for me.

“I don’t like wearing necklaces. If you like it, keep it.”

I walked out the front door, never noticing the two men behind me staring hard at my retreating back.

Since Damon had not arranged a driver for me, I walked home alone through the night.

When I passed the square, I saw three children huddled together setting off sparklers.

The only girl stood protected between the other two, her eyes shining as she stared at the bright sparks. Beside her, the boys held the sparklers up and looked at her with indulgent smiles.

I stopped to watch, and I smiled too.

But as I smiled, tears began to spill down my face, impossible to stop.

I remembered when my grades had slipped as a child, and the Shaw family had mocked me behind my back, looking down on me. Owen had patiently sat with me over and over again, helping me study.

I remembered hiding away at school and crying in secret after being bullied because no one was there to stand up for me. Nolan had been the one to step in and teach those people a lesson. Even when he came back covered in bruises, he still told me he was fine.

Back then, everyone around us said Owen and Nolan were my knights.

But what about now?

For Mira, they had chosen Damon’s side.

They had chosen the side that stood completely against me.

Lowering my head, I wiped away my tears, my heart aching so badly I could barely breathe.

I could not understand how, knowing everything I had gone through all these years, they could so easily make peace with Damon.

Or had everything in the past been a lie?