Valentine's Day with His Sister, We Broke Up

My best friend was getting married on Valentine’s Day and asked my boyfriend and me to be bridesmaid and groomsman.

Darian agreed on the spot, but when we got back, he looked troubled as he packed his luggage. “I have to go on a business trip, I really can’t attend the wedding. Help me turn it down.”

I told him to focus on his own matters first, but unexpectedly, I came across his adoptive sister’s Instagram.

[I am petty, I am willful, I won’t allow my brother to wear a wedding dress or suit with another woman, not even bridesmaid or groomsman outfits!]

That’s when I realized that their so-called sibling relationship had already crossed the line…

——

I sat on the bed holding my phone, stunned for a long time, until Darian called me from the doorway.

“Honey, have you seen my white short-sleeved shirt?”

I lifted my head blankly, meeting the face I had loved for eight years.

Numbly, I stood up, pulled a short-sleeved shirt from the wardrobe and handed it to him.

Darian’s expression suddenly changed. “This one won’t do.”

“Why not?”

This was our only matching couple’s T-shirt. A year ago, I had pestered him endlessly before he finally agreed to wear it.

When we ran into Selene while shopping, I greeted her, only to have her throw an entire cup of milk tea all over me.

And what did Darian do back then?

He left me standing there covered in stains, while he gently coaxed that red-eyed little girl for over half an hour.

Then he rushed into a store to buy a new T-shirt to change into.

We had a huge fight over it, but in the end, I still couldn’t let him go and accepted his apology.

“This one’s so old, it’s long past wearing.”

He took it and casually tossed it into the trash bin.

Somehow, I felt that our eight years of love, from campus days to wedding vows, had become just like that shirt—no longer so precious.

Seeing my unhappiness, Darian pulled me into his arms. “I can’t be with you on Valentine's Day, but I’ll be passing through Paris this time. Do you want a bag, or clothes…”

His tone was tender and one hand slowly slipped under my nightdress, guiding me toward the bed.

My mind was in turmoil. I shoved him away and said coldly, “Darian, let’s break up.”

Meeting my distant gaze, he pinched my earlobe nonchalantly. “Sulky girl, just because I can’t spend Valentine's Day with you, you want to break up? Then from now on I’ll make Valentine's Day a company holiday. I won’t go anywhere, I’ll spend it entirely with you, okay?”

Tears welled up in my eyes.

All these years, apart from his sister’s untouchable territory, he truly did grant my every wish.

When I said I liked roses, he flew in a whole plane of blue enchantresses from Kenya. When I said I liked water sports, even though he was afraid of water, he learned surfing and diving with me.

His love had always been vast and overwhelming, wrapping me up inside it, making everyone envious.

In that moment, a glimmer of hope stirred within me and I found myself wanting to ask him directly, “Darian, what’s really going on between you and your sister…?”

The phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and immediately stood up.

I lay on the bed, my nightdress half-slipped to my chest, feeling as humiliated as the day I was splashed with milk tea.

After hanging up, Darian’s expression was cheerful as he dropped a kiss on my forehead. “Something came up at the company. I’ll come back tonight to spoil my princess.”

He left in a hurry, forgetting that his computer was still at home, its notification sound chiming nonstop.

The wallpaper was a photo of us together. The password was my birthday—everything still looked like he loved me.

I tapped into WhatsApp and it happened to open right to the chat with [Princess Selene].

[Darian, this time when we go to the Maldives, I’m going to wear one of those three-piece bikinis. I’ll definitely be able to attract lots of abs-handsome guys by then.]