One week before the wedding, I stumbled across a sex tape of my sister and my fiancé. On a porn site. The video already had over a hundred thousand likes. One of the comments read: *”Whoa! Brother-in-law screwing his sister-in-law? Incest is so hot! Does her sister know?”* The uploader had replied: *”Of course not! Her sister and I are getting married next week. Vivi just begged me for one last thrill before the wedding. I couldn’t bring myself to say no.”* *”Was she the one who wanted the video posted?”* *”Absolutely! Vivi said that with the video out there, she’d still have something to remember me by after I got married. What can I say—she loves me too much.”* I didn’t hold back. I downloaded the video and sent it straight to Ethan. …… I don’t know how much time passed before my phone lit up again. But it wasn’t Ethan. It was Vivi. *”Cassie, I made it—got to see my boyfriend. Slept with him right after his birthday. It was AMAZING!”* She’d attached a photo. A shot from bed. In it, her chest and shoulders were bare, and she was lying against the sheets. A man’s right hand had slipped into the frame beside her. I knew the ring on that man’s finger. I knew it well. Ethan had been sent to London for a year on assignment. Before he left, he’d proposed to me. He said we’d get married the moment he came back. But now, there was no point in waiting. There wasn’t going to be a wedding. I stared at my chat with Vivi. I didn’t reply. I didn’t know what to say. What was there to say? Demand to know why she was sleeping with her soon-to-be brother-in-law? I’d always known Vivi had someone she was in love with. I just never knew who. For a whole year, she’d flown abroad two or three times a month, saying she was chasing a chance at love. Even this trip—she’d flown out under the excuse of celebrating her boyfriend’s birthday. When I’d mentioned it to Ethan, he’d scoffed. *”Only someone as dumb as her would fly halfway across the world chasing a guy. Total lovesick idiot.”* He’d never had any patience for Vivi. So I’d never let my mind go anywhere else—like the fact that Vivi’s destination was always the same city Ethan lived in. Or that the man she was in love with just happened to share Ethan’s birthday. It never once occurred to me that he might be with Vivi. The screen lit up. A message from Ethan. *”Cassie, wait until I get back. I’ll explain everything.”* He was admitting it. Of course he was—with a video like that in my hands, there was no denying it. My eyes drifted to the calendar on my desk. The 26th was circled in red, marked with an exclamation point. That was the day Ethan came back. Two days from now. Another message: *”Don’t confront Vivi, okay? She’ll feel terrible.”* Every word of it a shield around her. My eyes burned. What did the two of them take me for? *”She’ll feel terrible? Terrible about screwing her own sister’s fiancé?!”*
Ethan was quiet for a long time before answering. *”Cassie, just wait until I get back. You’ll understand then. Let me explain.”* What was left to understand? They’d already been in the same bed. What explanation could possibly change that? I stopped responding to him and messaged my real estate agent instead: *”Please arrange showings. I don’t want the apartment anymore.”* After I finished with the agent, I noticed Vivi had updated her Instagram. This time it was a photo of the two of them—hands intertwined. Just the image. No caption. I noticed Ethan’s ring had been swapped out for a different style, and there was a new ring on Vivi’s hand too. A matching pair. In the comments, a mutual friend asked: *”Wait, when did you two get MARRIED?!”* Vivi answered quickly: *”Ha, not married! It’s a proposal! It was his birthday, and he proposed to me~”* I stared at the post for a long time. I didn’t confront Ethan again. Didn’t message Vivi. I just quietly tapped like. Five minutes later, Ethan sent me another message: *”She wanted to know what it felt like to be proposed to. It wasn’t a real proposal.”* *”Don’t take it to heart.”* I stared at those two lines. Then typed a single *”Okay”* and left it at that. I switched off my phone and dragged myself to the fridge for some water. When the door swung shut, I saw the magnet Ethan had made. *Remember to take your meds. —E.* I’d had chronic migraines for years. When they hit, the pain was unbearable, and I always forgot my medication. So Ethan had custom-ordered that magnet and stuck it on the fridge, so I’d see it every time I reached for water. I looked at it for a moment. Then peeled it off and dropped it into the trash without hesitation. …… Ethan came back with Vivi. “Cassie!” She ran up and threw her arms around me, beaming. “Ethan happened to be flying home today too, so I came back with him.” I gave a flat “Mm.” My eyes went to Vivi’s hand. The ring was still there. Then I looked at Ethan. The ring on his hand—the one that had matched Vivi’s—had already been switched back to my engagement ring. Vivi’s brow furrowed slightly. “Cassie, are you not feeling well?” She was looking at me with a completely normal expression. Not a trace of guilt on her face. As though she and Ethan had never happened. If not for the ring still on her finger. I took a step back. “I’m fine.” Vivi’s expression stiffened for a moment before smoothing over again. Ethan spoke suddenly. “Vivi’s just worried about you.” I laughed under my breath. Worried? How could he even say that with a straight face? “Really?” My voice was quiet, but the sarcasm cut through. “If she’s so worried, then why did she—” “Cassie!” Ethan cut me off. The words *become the other woman* lodged in my throat, unable to go either up or down. I met his warning glare, feeling completely hollow inside. He was that afraid I might even *mention* it. He turned to Vivi. His voice softened. “It’s late. Just stay here tonight.” Vivi glanced at me hesitantly. “Is it a bad time?” She shook her head. “Never mind, I’ll head home.” Ethan frowned. “It’s not safe to go back this late. Just go tomorrow.” Vivi stayed. No one asked me. Ethan made the decision. I didn’t say a word. I got up and went to my room. Ten minutes later, Ethan opened the door and came in. Neither of us spoke first. He poured himself a whiskey, downed it in one swallow, and finally said, hoarsely: “Don’t worry. It’s not what you think. You’re still the only one in my heart.” “Vivi’s never expected anything real from me.” “Cassie, she’s hurting too. She didn’t want any of this either.” I looked at Ethan. Said nothing. I didn’t know what to say. My own sister, the one I’d grown up with, had slept with him. And he was standing there telling me *she* was hurting. The truly laughable part—he was still insisting *I* was the only one in his heart. “Cassie,” Ethan went on, “just give us a little more time. I’ll sort things out with her soon, and then we can get married.” I asked, flatly, “When did it start?” His expression shifted. He answered honestly. “Seven months ago.” That would have been the fifth month after Ethan left for London. Around then, Vivi had been flying out two or three times a month, always coming back looking wrecked—then locking herself in her room for an entire day. Ethan closed his eyes, then opened them and looked straight at me. “At first, I said no. But then…” He trailed off, unwilling to continue. He only said, “Cassie, just wait one more month.” “At least, give her some time. Please?” I looked at him, and for the first time, I felt like I was staring at a stranger. A stranger so foreign I wasn’t sure I’d ever known him at all. “No.” My voice came out barely above a whisper. “Ethan, if she’s suffering that much, then be with her.” I slipped the ring off my finger and set it on the table. “Let’s break up.”
Ethan froze. The color drained from his face. “You want to break up?” I didn’t answer him. I just looked at him. “You and her won’t have to sneak around anymore. And that ring on your finger—you can switch it back to the matching one.” “Cassie, don’t talk nonsense,” Ethan said in a low voice. “Vivi never intended to take anything from you. Stop being ridiculous. I already told you—once this passes, everything will be fine!” I finally laughed. There was no visible wound, yet my heart was breaking. “Fine how?” I looked at him. “After you two break up, I’m supposed to pretend nothing happened, stay with you, and marry you?” “Ethan, I can’t do it.” “And I can’t pretend nothing happened either.” I couldn’t accept that my fiancé had gotten involved with my sister. And I couldn’t bring myself to *understand* them. Frustration crept across Ethan’s face. “Then what do you want? Vivi is already miserable. Cassie, can’t you have a little sympathy for her?” I almost laughed until I cried. How was I supposed to have sympathy? Sympathize with the fact that Vivi flew to London every month to see him? That they ate dinner together, went on dates, slept together? That he proposed to her? “Ethan, I can’t understand it,” I said. “My sister and my fiancé got involved behind my back. How exactly do you expect me to understand?” The more I said, the more it hurt. I closed my eyes. Opened them again. “Ethan, let’s just end it.” The words had barely left my mouth when the door was pushed open. Vivi stood in the doorway, her eyes red-rimmed. “Cassie, it’s my fault. It has nothing to do with Ethan. I’m the one who fell for him. I’m the one who kept pushing—” Tears rolled down her cheeks one after another. “But I swear I never meant to take him from you. I know it was wrong, but—but I couldn’t help myself.” “Every night I hate myself for what I did. I’ve been wanting to tell you.” Ethan walked over and pulled her into his arms. The image was almost unbearable. “Cassie, I promise you—I’ll break up with Ethan. I’ll never come near him again,” she said, voice trembling. “Please don’t break up with him…” Ethan cut her off. “Don’t talk nonsense. Look at yourself right now.” I looked at Vivi. For as long as I could remember, I’d given her everything. Been good to her. Any treat, any toy—she got it first. We’d never once fought. Never even raised our voices at each other. She loved to cling to me, to be spoiled by me. When she’d first met Ethan, she’d even mocked him with disdain: “Who do you think you are? *I’m* my sister’s little shadow. I take better care of her than you ever could.” Ethan hadn’t backed down either: “No one knows Cassie better than I do—not even you.” The two of them had competed to dote on me, arguing over who got to pour my water, pass me things, rub my shoulders. And those same two people had ended up together. Behind my back. “You two don’t need to break up,” I said quietly. “I’ll be the one to leave.” “Cassie, enough already!” Ethan snapped. “Can’t you see how upset she is? Can’t you be a little more understanding?” I said nothing. He seemed to realize how sharp his tone had been. His voice softened. “Once you’ve cooled off, we’ll talk properly.” “Get some rest tonight.” He didn’t spare me another glance. He wrapped his arm around Vivi and led her out of the room. The moment the door clicked shut, the tears came. The engagement ring lying on the table looked more like a joke than anything else. I picked it up and dropped it into the trash without a second thought. I didn’t want the ring anymore. And I didn’t want Ethan anymore either.
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