As the youngest daughter of the Costellos, I had always lived in my sister’s shadow.

That was until five years ago, when she betrayed the family and ran off with a street thug.

I took her place and completed the wedding with Elio Ross. Over the years, he loved and indulged me, but we never got a marriage license.

He always said family matters kept him busy, and that, with or without it, I was his wife in his and the family’s eyes.

I believed him. Until today…

I watched as Elio walked out of the church with my sister Alyssa, who had been missing for five years, both of them wearing the family rings that symbolized their union.

At the church entrance, three black SUVs opened their doors simultaneously, and my three brothers stepped out in tailored suits.

“The ceremony’s done? We’ve already booked Antonio’s to celebrate Alyssa’s return.”

They climbed into the cars, expressing their joy, while no one noticed my pale, shattered face across the street.

Later that night, under the guise of apology, my sister let a venomous spider bite me. “A substitute is always a substitute. Now that I’m back, it’s time for you to die.”

I screamed for help. However, my husband and my three brothers only rushed to hold my sister, who had pretended she had fallen, without a glance at me, writhing from the poison.

They called in every specialist from the hospital, only to tend to my sister’s scraped knee.

That was the moment my heart truly broke.

After being dragged back from death’s door by the doctors, I made my decision. I picked up the phone and called the International Private Island Exchange.

“That isolated, uninhabited island… I’ll take it.”

After being discharged from the hospital, I returned home to hear laughter pour into my ears the moment I opened the door.

All the prominent members of the family were there, and the air was filled with the scent of expensive perfume.

Elio and my three brothers gathered around Alyssa to celebrate her birthday.

In the center of the crowd, Alyssa was smiling brightly. There was no sign of weakness on her face, nothing that suggested she had needed the combined efforts of every top specialist in the hospital to save her life, let alone any trace of cancer.

When they saw me come back, the tenderness on the four men’s faces disappeared.

The way they looked at me turned cold again, just like it had been five years ago. It was as if the extreme affection I’d received during the time Alyssa was gone had never existed.

Now that Alyssa was back, the dream shattered.

“Didn’t you say you were about to die? Aren’t you perfectly fine?” Marcus, my eldest brother, looked at me coldly, as if he were judging a stranger.

My second brother, Sam, frowned impatiently. “In Alyssa’s final days, couldn’t you at least behave a little better?”

Jonah, my third brother, even scolded me. “Talking about Alyssa releasing poisonous spiders to bite you, even competing with her for doctors at the hospital… Luna, you’re a grown woman. Can’t you get rid of your habit of lying and fighting for attention?”

Elio walked over. His gaze was gentle, but what he said was still advice directed at me.

“Alyssa doesn’t have much time left. Luna, put away your little temper. Don’t keep making things difficult for your sister.

“You must understand that, although Alyssa and I have a past, you are my wife. Isn’t that enough?”

Wife?

My heart tightened in pain as I remembered what I had accidentally witnessed a few days ago.

We had lived under the same roof for five years. I had stayed by his side through family infighting, helped him defeat rival families, and survived countless near-death situations with him. Yet he never had time to register our marriage.

Now, however, he had secretly gotten a marriage license with my sister.

Still, he kept lying to me, calmly saying that I was his wife.

My nose stung, and I smiled bitterly.

Elio’s expression shifted slightly, as if something had stirred in him. He opened his mouth, about to say something, but Alyssa interrupted before he could speak.

“Elio, brothers, come cut the cake!”

As soon as she finished speaking, the large screen in the living room lit up. A pre-recorded birthday video began to play.

A warm and touching atmosphere spread through the room.

However, very quickly, an out-of-place moan rang out.

“Mm… give it to me… so good!”

The image on the screen changed to Alyssa in bed with the street thug from back then.

In the center of the screen, several blood-red words appeared.

“Do you like this birthday gift, Sister?”

The scene erupted in chaos.

“Turn it off! Immediately!” Marcus roared.

Sam rushed forward and pulled out the power cable.

Jonah scanned the room and warned the guests. “Everyone, please cooperate and check your phones. Whoever dares to leak this will be making enemies of both the Rosses and the Costellos!”

Alyssa’s face turned pale as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Luna, you already have Elio’s marriage and our brothers’ love. Isn’t that enough? I’m about to die. Why won’t you let me go?”

As she spoke, her body swayed as if she were about to faint.

“Alyssa!” Elio’s expression changed drastically as he rushed over and caught her.

“Where’s the doctor? Hurry!”

He held Alyssa tightly. The face that had always remained cold even in the face of life and death was now filled with panic.

Then he turned around and shot me a cold glare, freezing me in place.

My brothers gathered around immediately.

Marcus grabbed my wrist, his grip so strong that it almost crushed my bones. “How far are you planning to push Alyssa? She’s already dying. With so little time left, can’t you even wait?”

“It wasn’t me!” I shook my head desperately. “I didn’t release that video.”

Sam let out a bitter laugh. “Still arguing? Hurting family, habitual lying… You should know that in the Costellos, when someone does something wrong, they’re punished according to family rules.”

Punished according to family rules?

Those words instantly pulled me back many years.

I remembered when I was ten, Alyssa pushed me down the stairs, and my three brothers casually explained it away by saying she didn’t do it on purpose.

I remembered on my twelfth birthday, when Alyssa threw away my cake, my brothers told me it was just a small joke.

During the winter when I was eighteen, Alyssa locked me on the balcony all night, leaving me frozen stiff. However, my brothers only shrugged and said she was just in a bad mood.

Every time Alyssa hurt me, they always found a reason for her.

But just for being suspected of hurting her, I had to be punished according to family rules.

“Get on your knees!”

At Jonah’s cold command, I was roughly forced to the ground by a soldato.

“Do you admit your mistake?” Marcus asked coldly.

“I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Still lying,” Marcus concluded. “Since that’s the case, you’ll kneel in the punishment room until you realize the mistake you’ve made.”

I was left alone in the punishment room for three days. From upstairs, laughter and cheerful voices carried down clearly.

“Alyssa, be good and take your medicine.”

“I don’t want to. It’s too bitter.”

“I know you hate bitter things, so I prepared your favorite candy.”

“Still no… unless, Elio, you feed me.”

Those voices were like knives, stabbing into my already tattered heart.

I thought I was numb from the pain, yet the sharp ache in my chest remained painfully clear.

On the fourth day, I was released.

I leaned against the wall. My knees were bruised and purple from kneeling for so long, and I could only move forward one step at a time.

Elio’s cheerful voice reached my ears.

“I heard Alyssa’s favorite singer is having a concert today. Didn’t she always want to watch them?”

My brothers immediately agreed. “Then let’s go today. It’ll be good to take Alyssa out and lift her spirits.”

I froze where I stood, unwilling to move forward.

Alyssa suddenly looked up, her gaze locking onto me. “Luna, you finally decided to come out?”

I pulled at the corner of my mouth, feeling only bitterness.

Alyssa didn’t care about my response. She skipped over and warmly looped her arm through mine.

“Luna, even though you ruined my reputation and made the family lose face… I don’t have much time left, anyway. I don’t want to argue with you anymore.

“Let’s make up and go to the concert together, okay?”

Alyssa’s deliberate closeness pressed against my injury. I instinctively tried to pull my arm back, which immediately drew Elio’s anger.

“Alyssa is being generous and taking the initiative to reconcile, and this is your attitude?”

Jonah lifted his head and sneered. “Look at Alyssa, then look at you! The difference is obvious.”

I bit down hard on my lip until I tasted blood.

The four people who should have been closest to me now felt like strangers.

In the end, I was hurriedly changed and pushed into the car.

All just to make Alyssa happy.

Inside the VIP room at the venue, Alyssa watched the performance. As her mood lifted, she said she wanted to have a seafood party.

The four men immediately arranged for the freshest ingredients to be airlifted in by helicopter. Then they rolled up their sleeves and prepared everything themselves right there in the room.

“You’re not eating?” After the food was grilled, Elio suddenly asked me.

“I’m allergic to seafood.”

He looked embarrassed.

After all, when the soldati were instructed to prepare the ingredients, everyone had only thought about Alyssa’s love for seafood. The entire table was filled with food, yet there wasn’t a single thing I could eat.

Elio frowned, opening his mouth as if to give another order.

At that moment, several armed soldati suddenly burst in through the door.

Gunfire erupted instantly.

“It’s the Saalfelds!” Elio shouted, throwing himself toward Alyssa and shielding her tightly with his body.

My three brothers rushed over as well, nervously protecting Alyssa.

As for me, there was no one beside me. I was completely exposed.

A bullet hit my shoulder. As the bodyguards clashed with the attackers, another stray bullet grazed the back of my hand.

“Ah!”

I screamed in pain. However, no one turned around to even look at me.

The Saalfelds’ last soldati was killed on the spot.

Concerned, the four men immediately checked Alyssa for injuries. After a moment, they finally noticed that during the struggle, a small patch of skin on her arm had been pulled red.

“Alyssa is hurt!”

“Let me see!”

“It’s red already! Get the medicine, quick!”

In the end, it was a young bodyguard who noticed my gunshot wound and helped me up.

“Hang on!” the bodyguard shouted in panic as he looked at my terrifying injuries.

Meanwhile, the four men only focused on carrying Alyssa toward the car, as if she were the one who had suffered a life-threatening wound.

By the time I was carried back home, I was in so much pain that I couldn’t even speak.

The bodyguards hurried off to call a doctor, and in no time, I was left alone in the room.

My phone suddenly rang.

“Miss Luna, we still need some additional information for your private island order.”

Enduring the intense pain, I replied hoarsely, “Alright. Please handle it as soon as possible. I’m in a hurry to get to the island.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Elio’s voice sounded in the room.

“Who were you talking to?”

My expression didn’t change as I hung up the phone. “No one important. Just an ordinary friend.”

Elio frowned slightly, suspicion flashing in his eyes. Then his gaze landed on the gunshot wound on my body.

“How did you get hurt this badly?” He walked over quickly, rare panic showing in his eyes. “Why didn’t you call me?”

I lowered my head and let out a quiet laugh.

I had screamed so loudly back then, but he hadn’t turned around even once.

What was the point of asking now?

Since I was leaving forever anyway, I shook my head and didn’t argue. “It’s fine. The soldato already called a doctor. Go be with Alyssa. She needs you more.”

Unexpectedly, Elio stubbornly sat down by my bed. “She has people taking care of her. I’ll stay here with you.”

He reached out and gently brushed aside the loose hair on my forehead, just like he had countless times over the past five years during our ordinary moments together.

However, this time, my heart no longer reacted like it once did.

He had already registered his marriage to Alyssa.

Who would fall for someone else’s husband?

He asked softly, “Does it hurt?”

I only shook my head lightly. I didn’t even have the energy left to talk to him.

Elio stayed in my room until the doctor finished treating my wounds.

That night, when Elio finally left, my phone lit up.

“B*tch! You still have the strength to seduce men after getting shot? I’ll make you see who they care about more!”

There was no need to look at the profile picture. I knew exactly who sent it.

I turned off my phone and ignored my sister’s hysteria.

But early the next morning, my bedroom door was kicked open.

Elio dragged me out of bed. “Where did you send Alyssa?”

Sam rushed over as well, demanding, “Why did Alyssa only leave a note saying, ‘Since my sister can’t tolerate me, I’ll leave’? What did you say to her?”

“I didn’t say anything,” I replied hoarsely.

Jonah exploded with rage and slammed his fist down, cracking the bed frame. “Still lying?! She’s terminally ill, and you keep hurting her again and again! I’m telling you. If anything happens to her this time, I won’t let you off!”

“I’m not lying. This has nothing to do with me.”

No one believed my explanation. In the standoff, Elio’s underboss suddenly rushed in.

“We found Miss Alyssa! She’s on the bridge. She’s going to jump into the sea!”

In an instant, the four men’s faces turned dark.

Marcus grabbed me by the collar and raised his hand, trembling as if about to slap me. “Luna, you’re so vicious it disgusts me! Alyssa is terminally ill. How many days does she have left? You’re really this impatient to torture her to death?”

I struggled to pull out a bitter smile.

How ridiculous.

Leaving aside whether this so-called terminal illness was even real, over the past few days, the Rosses and the Costellos had joined forces to hire the world’s top medical team and develop the most expensive treatments for Alyssa.

Even if it were truly terminal, it should have been cured by now.

This was nothing more than an excuse to forgive Alyssa for running away from the wedding all those years ago with a clear conscience.

Seeing my silence, their anger only intensified.

Elio issued a direct order. “Bring her along, too! No matter what it takes, she must convince Alyssa to come back today.”

I was roughly thrown into the car before the vehicle sped all the way toward the bridge.