You Gave Me False Joy

During a family dinner, the older relatives smiled and encouraged Dylan Jenkin and me to sit together.

But once I sat down, he casually turned away and settled beside my stepsister, Ivy Langford.

One of the elders said teasingly, “Aren’t you and Nina joined at the hip? We thought you two might make it official today. Why aren’t you sitting together?”

Dylan chuckled and poured Ivy a cup of tea.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. Nina and I are just close friends,” he said with calm and casual ease.

His gaze swept over me without a hint of affection. Then, he turned to Ivy beside him. His voice grew gentler as he said, “I’ve always liked girls like Ivy.”

Laughter echoed around the table, yet a chill settled into my heart.

No one knew that we had been secretly dating for three years. After countless nights in each other’s arms, he reassured me that he would tell the family about us once his older brother had a girlfriend. He said they might see his brother as irresponsible and immature if he revealed his relationship first.

I finally saw the truth behind those excuses: he simply did not love me.

I forced a smile and nodded along with his words. “Yes, we’re just friends.”

Dylan exhaled in relief. He was clearly pleased with my response.

He had no idea that I was not actually playing along. With those final words, I stopped holding on and gave up on our secret relationship.

Dylan Jenkin’s mother, Meredith Jenkin, glanced at me and sighed softly.

“Nina’s a good girl. It’s my own son who’s missing out.”

She had always treated me kindly because she was grateful that I had saved Dylan four years ago when he fell into a lake.

That incident had brought our working-class family into contact with their wealthy and powerful family.

But I wished I had never saved him at all.

Dylan scoffed.

“What’s so good about her?” His eyes slid over me in disdain.

“Mom, you’re being fooled by her looks.

“She appears gentle and quiet, but she’s nothing like that in private. She drinks more than I do and goes to nightclubs.

“Ivy, unlike her, is truly innocent and sweet. She never mixes with the wrong crowd.”

Those words made my heart sink.

I once drank until I ended up with a bleeding stomach because Dylan had provoked a thug who threatened to break his leg.

I had gone to beg the thug for mercy, but he forced me to drink three full bottles of hard liquor before he agreed to let the matter go.

As for the nightclub, I worked there part-time to earn money for a pair of limited-edition collaboration sneakers that Dylan wanted for his birthday.

In his eyes, every sacrifice I had made for him had become flaws that he despised.

Ivy Langford blinked innocently as she said, “I’m so envious of Nina! She gets along with every guy so naturally. I get so shy around boys that I can’t even look them in the eye.”

My stepmother, Sheila Langford, quickly backed her up.

“That’s right! Whenever Nina picks on Ivy, I always tell Ivy not to take it to heart. Nina’s never been very thoughtful with her words or actions.”

The two of them sang the same tune so perfectly that Meredith’s opinion of me gradually changed.

The rest of the Jenkin family began whispering among themselves and quietly labeled me troublesome.

Dylan knew the truth, yet he did not say a single word in my defense.

My heart ached as though I had been stabbed with a knife.

Unable to endure it any longer, I shot up from the table.

“I’m sorry. I don’t feel well, so I’ll take my leave. Please continue without me.”

I had barely turned around when I collided with a broad, firm chest.

I looked up and met a pair of cold eyes.

It was Adrian Jenkin, Dylan’s older brother.

He loomed over me.

“You’re leaving as soon as I arrive. Do you hate me that much?”

My heart skipped a beat, and I instinctively stepped back.

Dylan had told me repeatedly that Adrian disliked me very much.

Because of that, he never dared to make our relationship public.

I had believed him and had always kept my distance from Adrian.