Three months before our wedding, Kael suddenly announced online that he and my adopted sister Morwenna would be “living together for a while.” Photos showed her moving into his apartment, her suitcase neatly stacked beside his bed. The caption read: “Family should help each other.” Morwenna replied with a blushing emoji. My mom commented: “Good girl, take care of Kael for Echo. You two look like such a perfect pair.” I typed a single question mark. Kael immediately called. “Don’t overreact,” he snapped. “She needs a place to stay during her pregnancy. I’m just helping her. Once the baby’s born, I’ll come back to you.” Before I could speak, he added, annoyed, “Mom said we should get our marriage license after you give birth to a son anyway. So relax. We’ll have the wedding first. Morwenna staying with me is no big deal.” I gave a quiet “Mm.” Then I opened Instagram, deleted every trace of him, and posted: “I need a new groom. Who’s free?” Kael was the first to comment. [Echo Young, are you insane? You think this stunt will work on me? Stop embarrassing yourself—and stop making things difficult for Morwenna.] Morwenna chimed in immediately. [Sis, please don’t be upset. Kael is only helping my baby have a stable environment. After you and Kael get married, I can move out. My child can even call you mom.] My mom scolded me publicly. [Morwenna’s giving you a baby without you having to suffer through pregnancy. She’s doing you such a big favor—why can’t you appreciate her kindness?] Then came Kael’s friends. [Sister wives! You two can just take turns—Morwenna gets him Mon–Wed–Fri, you Tue–Thu–Sat!] Laughter filled the comments, all at my expense. I stared at the screen, tears hitting the phone one by one. They were the ones crossing the line. Yet somehow, I became the unreasonable one. Ridiculous. They didn’t deserve my tears. I wiped my face, opened the comments again— and one reply caught my eye. Griffin White: “Can I be your new groom?” Griffin and I grew up together. After college graduation, I stayed in the city while he chose to study abroad. We’d avoided each other since I started dating Kael in college. It had been years since we last spoke. As I pondered this, Griffin called me directly. “Echo, I’ve liked you for a long time.” “You know I’ve always hated your adopted sister, so I would never have anything to do with her. I don’t have a bunch of shady friends either. These past few years, I’ve been focused on my career and haven’t dated anyone.” As he spoke, I suddenly received a contract. When I opened it, I saw it was the transfer of rights to all his assets and shares. While I was still in shock, Griffin nervously said: “Echo, this is all the sincerity I have to offer. Will you give me a chance?” My nose stung with emotion. Suddenly, I remembered when we were kids. Our teacher rewarded us with two candies that Griffin loved. He was clearly craving them, but he didn’t eat a single one. He saved both for me. He had always given me his utmost sincerity. I choked up a bit as I said: “I will.” Love had always seemed so elusive. I tried to grasp it, only to end up hurt and scarred. I had thought… I had thought being alone would be fine. But my grandmother’s dying wish was to see me married, to know someone would take care of me after she was gone. Kael wasn’t worthy. But if the groom was Griffin, I think Grandma would be truly at ease. Griffin’s voice was full of joy. “Then I’ll wrap things up at work and come back to marry you within two weeks.” “Echo, you’ll wait for me and won’t change your mind, right?” His tone held a hint of pitiful pleading. It reminded me of when we were kids and I promised to be his bride when we grew up. I made a sound of agreement. Suddenly I felt the urge to cry. “Griffin, let’s pinky swear on it.” After hanging up, my mom pushed open my bedroom door. “Where’s that sapphire necklace your father left you before he died?” I remained silent, not answering. Mom frowned in displeasure. “What’s with that attitude? Your sister just thought it was pretty and wanted to borrow it for a few days. Hurry up and get it out, don’t be so stingy!” Morwenna hung on Mom’s arm, saying dejectedly: “It’s okay, Mom. Sis has never seen me as real family. If she doesn’t want to lend it, I won’t force her.” “She wouldn’t dare refuse! That necklace belonged to my husband, your father. I’m making the decision to give it to you today.” Mom hugged Morwenna and glared sternly at me. “If you don’t hand it over, don’t blame me for having people search your room.” I stared at her blankly, my smile more painful than crying. The once gentle and loving mother in my memories. Had ultimately transformed into this harsh, scolding face in reality. But I was about to leave this place forever anyway. I no longer had the heart to argue pointlessly with her. Silently, I took the sapphire necklace out of its velvet box and handed it to her. Mom smiled with satisfaction. “That’s more like it. Morwenna is your sister, so you as the older one should let her have the nice things.” After Mom left, Morwenna put on the necklace right in front of me. “Sis, don’t blame Mom for favoring me. To be honest, this necklace looks better on me anyway.” “Just like how Kael is more suitable as my boyfriend.” “What belongs to me, others can never have.” Seeing Morwenna’s smug expression, I didn’t say a word. People like her – the more you engage, the more they push it. I picked up my purse and walked past her down the stairs, ignoring her completely. “Ah! Sis, why did you push me…” Morwenna suddenly darted in front of me, pretending I had shoved her as she stumbled towards the stairs. I may despise her, but I instinctively reached out to grab her. After all, falling down over 20 steps was no joke. “Echo Young, you vicious woman!” Kael violently smacked away my hand that was steadying Morwenna’s arm. My hand slammed into the railing with a loud “THUD.” The pain instantly brought cold sweat to my brow. “Kael, thank goodness you came in time, or else I…” Morwenna hid in Kael’s arms, her face streaked with tears and fear. “It’s okay, don’t be scared. I’m here.” Kael stroked Morwenna’s head, comforting her softly. “I won’t let anyone bully you.” I looked at my own hand, already bruising and swollen from the impact. Then I looked at Morwenna, who had only gotten a little scare but was being held tight and fussed over by Kael. Suddenly it all felt so ironic. The boy who once showered me with love and promised to treat me well forever. The man who was supposed to marry me in just three months. How could he have changed his heart so suddenly? After soothing Morwenna, Kael glared at me darkly. “I know you’ve been unhappy about me marrying her and having a baby behind your back. You can take it out on me if you want, since I didn’t tell you beforehand.” “But you can’t hurt Morwenna. Her health is fragile, she’s pitiful enough as it is.” “All she wanted was a chance to be a mother. What’s wrong with that? Why should she bear the brunt of your anger?” He pointed at me angrily. “You have to apologize to Morwenna today!” I struggled to control my trembling body. Through gritted teeth I asked: “Then what did I do wrong?” “What exactly did I do wrong?” Kael stared at my reddened eyes, taken aback for a moment. “Never mind, Kael. Even though I almost fell to my death…” “I don’t blame Sis, and I don’t need her to apologize.” “You two are still getting married in the future. I don’t want you to fight because of me.” Morwenna cried pitifully. Kael sighed, looking at her with tender affection. “Morwenna, sometimes your kindness breaks my heart.” He turned to me with cold eyes. “At the end of the day, you’re just jealous of Morwenna. You can’t stand to see her doing better than you.” “I’ll let it slide this time since Morwenna spoke up for you. But if you dare hurt her again, I won’t go easy on you.” He picked Morwenna up in his arms. Before leaving, he looked at me with disappointment and said: “You don’t measure up to your sister at all.” Only I remained in the silent living room. I stared blankly at the withered leaves drifting outside the window. Finally unable to hold back, I crouched down and sobbed into my hands. One last time… This was the last time I would cry over Kael. That afternoon, Kael posted on Instagram. It was a 9-photo collage. The photos showed different corners of a house. The caption read: “Every room, every piece of furniture, every decoration here was carefully chosen by me. I just want to give my baby a warm and comfortable home.” Many people offered congratulations in the comments. “Congrats to Mr. Brown on becoming a father so soon!” “So you and Echo are having a shotgun wedding! Congratulations!” “The bride is so lucky to have such a good husband in Kael. So envious!” “I wouldn’t miss your wedding in three months for a billion-dollar deal.” Just as the comment section was buzzing with well-wishes, Morwenna suddenly chimed in: “Please don’t misunderstand, everyone. This isn’t Kael’s marital home, it’s my house.” The comments section instantly fell into awkward silence. I was the first to break it, posting: “Three’s a crowd. I’m out. Wishing you two happiness.” With that, I couldn’t be bothered to see what else they might say. I directly deleted Kael and Morwenna from my friends list. Within minutes, Kael called me. “Echo Young, have you had enough of this tantrum?” I calmly replied: “I’m not throwing a tantrum.” Kael fumed. “That comment you left on my Instagram was clearly trying to smear dirt on Morwenna.” “Do you have to paint her as the other woman to be satisfied?” “If you keep slandering her, we can just call off the wedding!” I listened to his cold, heartless accusations, my heart as still as dead water, unmoved. “Kael Brown, what makes you think I’d still want someone’s sloppy seconds?” I hung up the phone. Perhaps the words “sloppy seconds” stung him. He called me countless times after that. When the calls wouldn’t go through, he bombarded me with messages. I ignored them all. In ten days I would be marrying Griffin. These people would all become part of my past. I had hoped to spend the remaining days coexisting peacefully with them, but I never expected Morwenna to knock over my father’s urn. The ashes scattered on the floor. Not only did she show no remorse, she even let her pet cat urinate on them. Then she looked at me with glee. “Sis, look! The ashes can even be used as kitty litter for my cat!” In that moment, the grief and rage I had been suppressing exploded. I snatched up the baseball bat by the door and swung it viciously at Morwenna. She took one hit and ran away screaming, her face pale. “Echo Young! You’ve really gone too far! How dare you hit your sister!” Mom’s appearance made Morwenna feel like she’d found a savior. She hid behind Mom, trembling. Sobbing, she said: “Mom, I’m scared. Sis tried to kill me!” Mom shielded Morwenna like a mother hen protecting her chick. She berated me harshly: “I’ve let your bullying of your sister slide before, treating it as harmless squabbling. But this time you’ve gone too far.” She was my mother, yet she always stood against me, defending an adopted daughter with no blood relation to her. Nothing could be more heartbreaking than this. I stared at Mom through tear-filled eyes. “She knocked over Dad’s urn!” “That was Dad! My Dad! Why? Why!” Why did they have to destroy the last memento Dad left me, even though I had already been so tolerant? Why didn’t my own mother love me? Morwenna quickly knelt down to explain. “Mom, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry Mom… If Sis won’t forgive me, then I’d rather die!” Morwenna cried heartbrokenly. “Morwenna, don’t you dare-” SLAP! Before I could finish, Mom’s hand struck my face. “Enough!” “It’s just ashes! The person is already dead, are ashes more important than the living?” “If you bully Morwenna again, you can get out of this house.” That slap knocked away the last shred of attachment I had for her. This was for the best. I could leave without any lingering sentiments. I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth without sparing another glance at Mom, who stood there stunned. Then I turned and went upstairs. Since Mom thought I was an eyesore, and Morwenna had taken over my room, Rather than stay in this house that no longer had a place for me, I might as well move out. I packed a few clothes quickly. I didn’t take anything else – not the things Mom had given me, nor the expensive gifts from Kael. I didn’t even bring the photos I’d taken with them before. I burned them all. I wasn’t one to dwell on the past. Since I was leaving, I would leave cleanly. As I dragged my suitcase downstairs, Mom was applying medicine to Morwenna’s bruises. She glanced at me coldly. “Just because I scolded you a bit, you’re running away from home? How petty.” “Fine, go stay somewhere else. It’ll give this house some peace and quiet.” “Come back on your wedding day with Kael!” I said nothing, taking one last look at Mom. I wouldn’t tell her I had changed my groom. Nor would I tell her my wedding was in just ten days. Because she was no longer someone I could be close to. And I didn’t want her, or Morwenna and Kael, to show up and ruin my wedding. I called a car on my phone. While waiting, Kael pulled up in his car. “Echo Young, what are you doing with that suitcase?” “Moving out.” Kael frowned. “What for? I already gave that house to Morwenna. Don’t make trouble for her for no reason.” “I’m looking for a new place. Wait until I find one, then you can move.” I said nothing, walking past his car expressionlessly. Kael abruptly grabbed my arm. “Echo, do you have to make things so unpleasant between us? Can’t we be happy like before?” “You cheated on me with my adopted sister, yet you have the gall to hope we can be happy together? Where do you get the nerve?” “Why do you keep harping on about that? I’ve explained it to you countless times. Why are you still being so petty about it? Can’t you be more understanding like Morwenna?” Seeing him blame all the wrongdoing on me, criticizing and belittling me with such a self-righteous look on his face, I witnessed the epitome of shamelessness incarnate. “Since you find Morwenna so understanding, why don’t you just marry her then.” Kael didn’t believe a word I said. After all, everyone knew how much I loved him. They all thought I would never let him go. They certainly wouldn’t believe I would choose to leave when the wedding was so close. Including Kael himself. So he said dismissively: “Fine, you said it yourself. Don’t come crying back to me later when you regret it.” “Kael, you came to see me?” Morwenna’s voice interrupted our conversation as she came out. “Aunt said you had a scare earlier. What happened?” Morwenna pretended to be afraid, glancing at me before nestling into Kael’s arms. “Sis went crazy today, chasing after me with a baseball bat…” Kael’s brows furrowed. He was about to scold me when Morwenna tugged on his sleeve. “Kael, don’t yell at Sis. I don’t blame her anymore. It’s my fault, really. If Mom hadn’t adopted me, I wouldn’t be here bothering her.” “How could it be your fault? She’s the one who’s petty and can’t tolerate others. She’s the one in the wrong.” Kael put his hand on Morwenna’s shoulder in an intimate gesture. “Echo Young, I can overlook you hitting someone this time for Morwenna’s sake. But you must kneel down and apologize to her.” Their shameless act made me laugh in anger. “Apologize to her? Keep dreaming!” My ride had just arrived. I slammed the car door and left without a backward glance. Living in a hotel for the next few days, away from those toxic people and situations, I felt very at ease. But then Mom sent me a text message. “Echo, it’s my birthday today. Come home for a bit. I wasn’t going to let you come, but Morwenna begged me to invite you. Remember to thank her when you see her.” Of course I hadn’t forgotten her birthday. But I would no longer be like before, starting preparations a week in advance to organize the venue and gifts, determined to give her a pleasant birthday celebration. Of course, I wouldn’t be going back either. That place was no longer my home, and she was no longer my mother. Around noon, I was enjoying a nice meal. Probably because she hadn’t seen me show up, Mom impatiently sent another text: “Why aren’t you here yet? Even Kael has arrived. What kind of daughter are you, not showing up for your mother’s birthday?” “I’m not blaming you for not preparing a birthday party for me this year. Are you still upset about that slap?” “Can’t you learn to be kind and forgiving like Morwenna?” I read it with a cold laugh. What kind of birth mother would say such things? It was ruining my appetite. I promptly blocked her number. My phone had barely been quiet for a moment when Kael called. “Where are you? Stop being difficult and hurry over. Otherwise people will think your mom and Morwenna did something to make you skip your own mother’s birthday party.” I replied flatly: “We’ve broken up. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to go.” He caught my implied meaning and laughed. “Come on! That thing with your adopted sister was just a joke! How could you take it seriously? You’re the only one I like.” “Whether you like me or not doesn’t matter to me anymore.” “Echo Young, who do you think you are?” Kael snatched the phone from his friend and spoke coldly. “Break up if you want. You’ll be the one regretting it.” I listened expressionlessly, about to hang up. Suddenly his tone softened. “Echo, how can you be so heartless? Leaving just like that, breaking up just like that…” If this had happened before, I definitely would have softened when he spoke to me gently like this. No matter how badly he treated me, I would have easily forgiven him. But now, I was revoking that privilege. So I hung up the phone indifferently and deleted the contact information for all his friends. From now on, we would go our separate ways, never to meet again. Griffin, Sophie and I chatted for a while longer outside the bar. Sophie wanted to take a cab home by herself. She said she didn’t want to be a third wheel. But she had been drinking, and it was so late. How could I let her go alone? So we drove her home first. After she left, only Griffin and I remained in the car. The enclosed space and ambiguous atmosphere Made the temperature rise steadily. My head, already fuzzy from drinking, felt even dizzier. He inched closer to me bit by bit. I bit my lip shyly, not knowing what to do.
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