“Mom, Mr. Sterling, my application to study abroad has been accepted. I’m leaving.” In the quiet living room, Willow’s voice was light and soft, like a single drop of water falling into a still pond. My mother, Eleanor, across the sofa, beamed with joy. “It’s already accepted? When are you leaving?” “In ten days.” Eleanor hadn’t expected it to be so soon. Amidst her excitement, a hint of reluctance flickered in her eyes. “Then I’ll go pack your bags right away. It’s your first time going so far, and to a foreign country at that. I’m just so worried. I contacted a friend from years ago; her son is in London too. If you need anything, just reach out to him. Don’t worry about bothering him, we kind of set you two up as a joke when you were little. See if you get along; if you do, that’s great, if not, just be friends.” Willow nodded. “Okay, Mom.” Eleanor looked surprised. “Willow, you agreed? And your previous boyfriend… did you finally break up?” Willow immediately fell silent. Mr. Sterling instantly understood something and slammed his hand on the table. “He never wanted to come back and meet us. He clearly wasn’t serious about you. It’s good that you broke up with a boyfriend like that!” “Boyfriend? What boyfriend?” A voice abruptly shattered the heavy atmosphere in the living room. The three of us turned at the sound and saw Julian, who had just pushed open the door. He was all in black – a crisp black shirt, tailored black trousers – tall, lean, and exuding an aura of effortless, almost dangerous elegance. Every move he made, every glance, spoke of a refined, almost arrogant grace. Willow’s body trembled slightly. She stood up and greeted him, “Brother.” Julian hummed meaningfully, dropped his car keys, and went upstairs. That evening, Eleanor prepared a lavish dinner and even opened a bottle of red wine. She raised her glass, smiling warmly at the three of us, ready to announce the good news. “Come on, come on, let’s all celebrate tonight, celebrate Willow who’s about to…” Willow sensed something was off and quickly interrupted her. “Mom, this wine tastes a little bitter. Is it expired?” Expired? Eleanor looked surprised; it definitely wasn’t expired. But Willow had already used the excuse of getting new wine to pull her into the kitchen. “Mom, please don’t tell Julian about my plans to go abroad yet.” At first, Eleanor found it a bit strange. But remembering her stepson’s constant care for her daughter, she gradually understood the inseparable bond between siblings. She nodded in agreement. After quickly eating a few bites, Willow got up and returned to her room. After showering, she lay on her bed and slowly drifted off to sleep. Until precisely midnight, when someone else appeared beside her. A scorching breath fell on her neck. The next second, soft lips pressed against her, gently nipping, and a cool dampness completely woke the drowsy Willow. Her body stiffened. She instinctively pushed him away, her voice urgent and resistant. “Julian!” “What’s wrong? Your family’s setting you up with a boyfriend, so your brother can’t touch you anymore?” In the darkness, Julian curved his lips, but no warmth reached his eyes. His voice was lazy to the extreme. “All these years with your brother, and you think you can just freeload?” Willow knew he misunderstood, but she didn’t explain. Julian’s face, in that endless silence, turned cold. He reached out and pulled her into his embrace. “Willow, have I ever told you not to date other guys? You’re mine, and only mine.” Feeling the burning heat from behind, Willow didn’t want to argue with him, so she lied, “It’s my period. I don’t feel well.” Upon hearing her soft explanation, Julian’s expression softened slightly, but he still frowned. “Didn’t your period just end? Is it back again? Fine, I won’t touch you tonight. Get some sleep.” With that, he held her tightly in his arms. Listening to his calm, peaceful breathing beside her, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. No one knew that her boyfriend was her brother, Julian Sterling! At twelve, when Mom remarried into the Sterling family, she and Julian, Mr. Sterling’s only son, became step-siblings. At fourteen, she called him brother, he called her sister. To outsiders, we were the picture of perfect siblings. At eighteen, her secret crush diary, filled with his name, was discovered. He leaned casually against her desk, eyes sparkling with amusement, reading the diary again and again. Then he caught her hand as she tried to snatch it back, and kissed her blushing cheek. At twenty, we tasted the forbidden fruit for the first time. Once we crossed that line, there was no turning back. We developed a taste for forbidden fruit, and it became an uncontrollable craving. By day, we were siblings. By night, we secretly entwined, bound to each other against all odds. Willow had always been a good girl. Being with Julian was the only wild thing she had ever done in her life. She loved Julian so much that she even thought it wouldn’t matter if they never made their relationship public. They could secretly go abroad and get married someday. But all those fantasies came to a crashing halt half a month ago when she overheard him talking to his friends. It was pouring rain that day. She ran to bring Julian an umbrella. Just as she was about to open the private room door, she heard his friend’s voice. “Julian, what are you going to do about your stepmother’s daughter? Didn’t you say you’d just play with her for a bit and then dump her? Why haven’t you broken up yet?” “Yeah, weren’t you just getting with her to get back at her mom for marrying into the Sterling family? Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft.” Revenge? He was with her not because he liked her, but for revenge! Willow’s face went completely pale. Her head buzzed, and her whole body started to tremble uncontrollably, but she stubbornly refused to leave, wanting to hear Julian’s reply. Until the next second, Julian’s cold, cruel voice reached her ears, word by word. “If I don’t play with her a little longer, how can I make her suffer more?” In that moment, everyone in the room burst into laughter, and I stood outside the door, feeling like the bottom had dropped out of my world. So, he didn’t like her. Being with her, calling her his girlfriend, spending every night entangled with her—it was all just an act of revenge because he resented her mother for taking his mother’s place?! Mom still had to live in the Sterling household, and she couldn’t cause a huge scandal. After much thought, the only solution she could come up with was to escape, to leave this home, and to leave him. So she applied to study abroad. Now, only ten days remained until her silent departure. Looking at the countdown reminder on her phone, Willow raised her hand and pulled Julian’s arm from around her waist. A few minutes later, he hugged her again. When she pulled away, he unconsciously pulled her back. Her patience was exhausted after repeatedly pulling away. She simply grabbed a pillow and placed it between them. This time, he finally settled down. Willow also had some peace. She knew that soon, their story would come to an end. She no longer belonged to him, nor was she his private possession anymore. The 8 AM alarm clock promptly woke Willow from her dream. She opened her eyes and saw that the spot beside her was empty. Fearing their parents might find out, they had agreed that Julian would come at midnight every night and leave promptly at 5 AM. They had lived this way for five years. But soon, they would just be siblings. He wouldn’t have to sneak around anymore. After changing, she went downstairs and immediately saw a strange woman sitting on the sofa. Eleanor warmly waved her over, calling her closer, and excitedly introduced her. “Willow, come here, this is your brother’s girlfriend. Go pour our guest a glass of water.” Serena stood up cooperatively, extended her hand, and smiled, her eyes crinkling. “You must be Julian’s sister, right? Nice to meet you. Even though it’s our first time meeting, I often hear your brother talk about how great you are.” Willow’s palm trembled slightly. She glanced at Julian but said nothing, turning to get water for Serena. She poured a cup of hot water. Just as she was about to carry it out, Julian walked in. He wrapped an arm around her waist, leaning down as if to kiss her. Willow quickly turned her head, dodging him. “Don’t mess around. Your girlfriend is outside.” Julian raised an eyebrow, pecking her lips. “Are you mad? I forgot to tell you, she’s just a childhood friend. She moved abroad when she was little and only came back a couple of days ago. My dad’s been pushing me to get married, so I just brought her here to act as a distraction.” “You should know best who my real girlfriend is, right? Hmm?” Willow listened quietly for a while, showing no expression, just a casual nod to humor him. Seeing her indifferent reaction, a hint of surprise flashed in Julian’s eyes. He had expected to spend a long time coaxing her this time. After all, in the past, when other girls sent him love letters and she found out, she would get so jealous she’d cry until her eyes were swollen shut. When he discovered it and asked, she wouldn’t admit it, and he had to try every trick to get one or two honest words out of her. She had convinced herself that their forbidden relationship was unacceptable to the world, and she could never openly stand by his side as his girlfriend. So she never dared to question him, nor did she ever get angry. She would just hide under the covers and sulk alone. This time, it was the exact same situation, yet her reaction was so calm. It made Julian feel a pang of doubt. He was about to ask, but Willow didn’t give him a chance to speak. She just took the cup of water out. After breakfast was ready, the family sat down as usual. Serena was seated next to Julian. They chatted and laughed, reminiscing about childhood memories, looking incredibly close. Serena had lived abroad for several years and loved runny fried eggs. When Julian found out, he picked up the fried egg from his bowl and placed it in hers. She immediately showed a shy, girlish expression, then put her partially eaten fried egg into his bowl. Julian instinctively glanced at Willow.
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