1

I had been in a relationship with Lucas for three years, yet he still wouldn't propose to me.

Then, he fell head over heels for my stepsister and started pursuing her fiercely.

This time, I didn't cry. I didn’t sit back and wait for him to come to his senses like I had in the past.

Instead, I threw away all the gifts he had given me, cut up the wedding dress he had secretly bought for me.

On his birthday, I left New York alone.

Just before getting on the plane, Lucas suddenly messaged me.

"Why aren't you here yet? Everyone's waiting for you."

I smiled, didn’t reply, and blocked all his contact details.

What he didn't know was that, just half a month ago,

I had accepted the proposal from my Senior, William.

After landing in the new city, we were going to get married.

---

"William, I've made up my mind."

I stood in front of the mirror, staring at my pale, frail reflection.

It turns out that making such an important decision in life wasn't so difficult after all.

"Jennifer... will you say yes to my proposal?"

On the other end of the line, William's voice came through, heavy and deep.

Suddenly, my heart ached a little.

As the tears fell, I nodded lightly. "Yes, I accept."

"Jennifer, I'm so happy."

"Do you know? I’ve been waiting for this day since college."

In the mirror, I didn’t notice when a faint smile had appeared at the corners of my lips.

"William, wait for me for half a month, let me finish dealing with things here."

"Okay, Jennifer, I'll wait for you."

As soon as I hung up, the door to my room was suddenly pushed open forcefully from the outside.

"Jennifer," my father coughed awkwardly.

"Your sister isn't feeling well, and your room gets a lot of sunlight. How about you swap rooms for a few days?"

I didn’t respond, my gaze landing on my stepmother and stepsister Lydia behind him.

My stepmother hurriedly spoke up. "Leo, there's no need to trouble Jennifer."

Lydia also looked pitiful. "Yeah, Dad, it's fine. Don't let me make my sister upset."

"There's no trouble at all. You’re also my daughter," my father said firmly, then turned his serious gaze toward me. "Jennifer, you're the elder sister, you should be more understanding."

I stood there, stunned, staring at my father.

I thought I would be heartbroken, that I would cry.

That my father, my own flesh and blood, would love a daughter with no blood relation to him more than me.

But not a single tear fell.

Instead, I smiled and nodded at them.

"Alright, I'll swap rooms with her."

In half a month, I would leave here forever.

Which room I stayed in no longer mattered.

2

Dad looked pleased with how obedient I was. My stepmother also had a satisfied smile.

After they left, Lydia stayed behind.

"Sister, let me help you pack," she said, standing sweetly in front of me.

But as she glanced around the room, there was a hint of undisguisable joy in her eyes.

"I didn’t expect Dad would agree to let us switch rooms," she added. "Are you mad at me, Sister?"

"After all, I just took Lucas away from you, and now I’ve taken the room you’ve lived in for ten years."

I ignored her, turning to get my suitcase.

Suddenly, Lydia gasped and fell hard to the ground. "Sister..."

Her arm had hit the edge of the table, leaving a bruised mark.

"Jennifer, what are you doing?!"

Lucas had come upstairs at some point and saw Lydia fall. His face darkened as he quickly walked over and gently lifted Lydia.

"Lucas, I’m fine," Lydia said, smiling weakly through her tears, trying to bear the pain. "It doesn’t hurt."

"It’s already bruised, and you’re saying it doesn’t hurt," Lucas said, looking at her pale arm, his eyes full of worry.

But when he looked at me, his gaze turned cold, like frost.

"Jennifer, if you have a problem, take it out on me," he said. "Don’t hurt Lydia; she’s already been through enough. Not like you—the pampered young lady who’s never faced any real hardship."

I thought my feelings would never be affected by him again. I thought I’d never shed another tear over Lucas.

But, in the end, I’m just an ordinary girl. I’m not made of steel, and my heart isn’t unbreakable.

The childhood friend I grew up with, the man I loved for three years... in just a few days, he’d fallen for a younger, more delicate girl, seeing me as nothing but cruel and heartless.

I didn’t want to cry. I even wanted to laugh. But my eyes reddened first.

"Lucas, we’ve known each other for so many years. Don’t you know what kind of person I am?"

Lucas frowned slightly, his gaze on my face, his expression shifting.

3

Suddenly, Lydia started crying. "Lucas, please don’t fight with my sister because of me. I’m fine. If Sister is mad at me, I understand...”

Her voice was soft, as if she had been deeply wronged.

Lucas looked at me, and his expression grew cold.

"You’re jealous that I love Lydia. Jealous of how kind I am to her. Jealous that everyone adores her."

"Jennifer, you’re not who you used to be. You’ve become twisted, haven’t you?"

With that, he held Lydia close and walked away.

I watched them disappear down the hall. At some point, I realized my tears had dried up. Maybe it was for the best. Over these past days, I’d already cried so many times over Lucas. Maybe this time, I really wouldn’t feel hurt or shed another tear for him again.

Later that night, our mutual friends’ group chat suddenly got lively.

Lucas posted, "What if I feel like getting married all of a sudden?"

The chat exploded.

"Lucas, you’re finally going to marry Jennifer, right?"

"Time to start calling her sister-in-law, huh?"

Messages started flooding in, tagging me with, "Congratulations, sister-in-law!"

"Lucas, when’s the wedding with sister-in-law?"

The group chat buzzed with excitement, messages flying by. I was just about to reply and set things straight: I wasn’t your "sister-in-law," and Lucas wasn’t planning to marry me.

But Lucas was faster.

"None of your nonsense!"

"I never said I was marrying Jennifer."

Then he added Lydia to the group and told everyone.

"Take a good look. This is your real sister-in-law."

The chat, once lively, fell silent. No one spoke for a long while.

Lucas finally broke the silence. "Why isn’t anyone saying anything?"

"Come on, say hi to your sister-in-law."

Slowly, people began offering greetings to Lydia, though awkwardly.

I thought for a moment and decided to send one last message.

"Congratulations. Wishing you both happiness forever."

Then, I left the group chat.