My adopted brother, the one who had raised me for seven years, was drugged on his birthday. That night, he pinned me against the bed, taking me over and over again. I never imagined the media would capture the scene. To protect the company’s reputation, he was forced to marry me. On our wedding day, his first love found out and, in her agony, jumped into the sea, dying by suicide. Julian Ashton, in a fit of rage, set the entire ballroom ablaze, burning me alive inside. When I opened my eyes again, I was back in college. I had been reborn. This time, Julian sent me straight abroad. Five years later, he was as successful as he had been in my past life. When we met again, he was standing at the company’s annual gala, with Serena Monroe, her belly swollen with pregnancy, nestled in his arms. The moment our eyes met, he sneered, pinching my jaw. “Mia Sterling, it’s been five years. Don’t tell me you still can’t forget me?” “I’m your brother. Your twisted thoughts actually disgust me.” Just then, a clear, cool voice echoed from the phone in my hand. “Sweetheart, when are you coming home? Our son misses his mommy.” …… Five years later, I saw Julian again at the company’s annual gala. As the host, he stood elegantly under the spotlight, dressed in a custom-tailored suit. “Julian, congratulations! You’ve secured the project with the Hayes Group this year. Achieving so much at such a young age, your capabilities are truly admirable!” A man beside him chuckled, raising his glass and walking over with a deferential smile. “If you ask me, Julian has a wonderful wife. Isn’t there a saying that behind every successful man is a supportive wife?” Serena Monroe blushed at the compliments, tightening her grip on Julian’s arm. “Julian deserves everything he has today. I just feel useless, like I can’t help much.” Hearing her, Julian immediately pulled her into his embrace, his voice softening with a deliberate coaxing tone. “Serena, don’t say that. My achievements today are all thanks to you being by my side.” “If it weren’t for you, I probably would have given up a long time ago.” I stood in the corner, almost laughing out loud at Julian’s words. In my past life, I had also stayed by his side, selfless and asking for nothing, just like Serena. But in the end, he treated my love for him like trash. That night, it was clearly *him* who knocked on my door. He shoved me onto the bed without a word. Completely disregarding my feelings, he vented his desires on me. “Oh, by the way, Julian, what about your adopted sister? I remember she used to follow you everywhere. How come we haven’t seen her in the last few years?” The moment my name was mentioned, Julian’s face stiffened, but the disgust in his eyes was impossible to hide. “She went abroad.” He was silent for a moment before slowly uttering those three words. “After all, we’re not blood-related. I raised her to adulthood; I’ve done right by her.” “Besides, I’m married now and have my own child. If she had any self-respect, she should stay abroad and build her own life!” Julian’s tone was dismissive as his gaze swept across the crowd, finally landing abruptly on me. In that moment, the surroundings seemed to fall silent. The complex emotions in his eyes intertwined with mine. The people around us noticed and turned to look at me. “Mia Sterling?” “Who allowed you to come back?” Julian’s accusing words came before mine. He instinctively stepped in front of Serena. “Mia, why didn’t you tell your brother you were coming back? What if something dangerous happened? We’d be heartbroken.” Serena smiled, walking past Julian to stand before me, her hand deliberately resting on her slightly bulging belly. It was as if she was showing off to me. She was now the mistress of the Ashton household. 2. Before I could even speak, Julian strode over and slapped me across the face without a word. The stinging pain immediately made half of my cheek swell with a red mark. “Your sister-in-law is talking to you, are you deaf?” My head snapped to the side from the blow, and the business partners around us began to whisper. “Mia, you were such a good girl. How did going abroad make you lose all your basic manners?” “Serena is Julian’s beloved wife, you should at least greet her!” I clenched my fists, fighting back the rage bubbling inside. “I have my own reasons for coming back to the country…” Hearing this, he scoffed. He looked at me with a mocking expression, as if I were a joke. “Mia Sterling, you really can lie through your teeth.” “You have no parents. If I hadn’t taken you in and raised you all this time, you’d be six feet under by now!” Serena also feigned sympathy, taking my hand. “Mia, I know you don’t like me.” “After all, you’ve never been able to forget him…” “What?” At her words, a murmur of shock rippled through the room. “Can’t forget? Is it what I think it is?” “I can’t believe Mia has *those* kinds of feelings for her own brother!” “That’s disgusting. If she were my sister, I’d disown her immediately!” They pointed at me, gossiping openly, completely disregarding my feelings. They stood on their moral high ground, relentlessly tearing down my character. Julian just narrowed his eyes, watching me with a cold smirk. “Mia Sterling, five years later, you still haven’t moved past *those* feelings for me, have you?” “Julian, don’t say that. Mia’s love for you, no matter what, was sincere. Don’t hurt the girl’s feelings.” When Serena said this, she looked a little angry. But the smile at the corner of her lips couldn’t be suppressed. “Serena, you’re too kind; that’s why you’re fooled by her innocent facade! You don’t know, she’s rotten to the core!” “A year ago, I had someone clean Mia’s old bedroom, and guess what? They found a diary. It clearly detailed all her dirty, disgusting thoughts.” As everyone stared in stunned silence, Julian’s assistant pulled a pink leather-bound diary from his briefcase. My gaze fell on the cover, and I froze for a moment. That was a secret I had hidden in my heart, recorded during every sleepless night in my past life. It was the unspoken affection from five years of secretly loving Julian. The moment that diary was opened, I felt as if I had been stripped naked, exposed under everyone’s gaze. “Brother, I have a secret, one only I know.” “I think I’ve really fallen for you.” “Not a sister’s love for a brother, but a girl’s love for a boy.” Julian held the diary between two fingers, as if repulsed by it. He wished he could stand on stage, wished he could grab a microphone and brutally tear open the scabbed-over wound in my heart. 3. “Julian, can you please not date anyone?” “Can you please be with me?” “Can I… sleep with you…?” He laughed, cruelly and unrestrainedly. His eyes, when he looked at me, were devoid of any warmth. It was as if a deep hatred lay between us. My nose stung. My eyes welled up, feeling dry and raw. My heart felt like a dull knife, twisting violently inside me. I fought back the tears, desperate to leave this place. But the next second, Julian grabbed me, pulling me back. “Mia Sterling, do you even realize that what you thought was your love, to me, was nothing but a nuisance?” “Even if Serena had never appeared, I would never, ever be with you. Your twisted, filthy mind makes me genuinely sick every single moment!” He gripped my jaw, sneering as he spoke each word. “Damn it, Julian was so good to you, and you tried to get into his bed!” “Even without blood ties, he’s still your brother! He raised you for years, and you want to ruin his family!” I couldn’t retort, so I just tried to bury my head. That diary was indeed the trace of my five-year secret crush from when I was eighteen. I guess I never could have imagined. The man I once cherished. Would now, in front of everyone, use that diary to mock my twisted affection. “Mia, don’t be sad. Julian is just angry; he didn’t mean to read your diary out loud to everyone. Try to understand him, after all, he’s only ever felt a brotherly affection for you. Anyone would struggle to accept something like this…” Serena walked to my side, reaching out to pat me gently in a comforting gesture. I stood stiffly. My teeth felt like they were chattering. I didn’t understand. I had tried my best to avoid Julian. Why wouldn’t he just let me go? “Julian Ashton, I *did* like you.” “But that’s in the past. Now I just want to cut ties with you. Just as you said, I’m an adult, and I know myself better.” Hearing this, he didn’t get angry; instead, he laughed. “Mia Sterling, are you serious? You want to cut ties with me?” “You’ve eaten and drunk at the Ashton’s all these years, and now you want to pretend none of it happened? Even a dog I raised for this long would at least wag its tail for me!” Harsh and piercing accusations echoed repeatedly in my ears. Suddenly, a girl roughly my age burst out of the crowd and shoved me to the ground without a word. “You little slut! I’ll teach you for seducing Julian!”
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