The Woman Who Stopped Loving Him

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My brother felt sorry for meten years of pining after Kerry Henson with nothing to show for it. So he took matters into his own hands, slipping something into his buddy's drink and delivering him straight to my hotel bed.

I'd been dosed with the same thing. My body burned, too weak to fight back. I became Kerry's cure whether I wanted to or not.

When he woke, the disgust in his eyes was impossible to hide. Still, he agreed to marry mecold as ice about it. I only learned later that he was terrified the scandal would leak and derail his plans to accompany his first love, Sophie Stewart, overseas for her art exhibition.

Three days after the wedding, he walked out with his suitcase and left me alone in that empty house.

By the time I discovered I was pregnant with our daughter Tessa Abbott, I video-called him with the news. His only response was a flat "Noted."

I waited three years.

When Tessa was three, she was diagnosed with a rare heart condition. The doctors said surgery was urgentwe needed a fortune for the procedure and access to specialized medical resources that were nearly impossible to find.

I emptied our savings. I borrowed from everyone I knew. But the critical connection to foreign specialists? Only Kerry could make that happen.

I called him. Again and again. Hundreds of messages, begging him to come home, just this once.

His reply: "Sophie's exhibition opens soon. She needs me. Figure it out yourself."

Then he blocked me.

By the time I scraped together the surgery funds and found alternative resources through desperate connections, it was too late. Tessa had missed her window. She stopped breathing in my arms.

I sat in that hospital corridor, clutching my daughter's cold body, sobbing until I couldn't breathe. My phone screen lit up. A message from Kerry:

"Stop bothering me with this. You couldn't even keep a child alive. You don't deserve to be a mother."

It got worse.

Shortly after, a fire broke out at Sophie's exhibition, destroying several of her key pieces.

Kerry decided instantly that I was responsiblethat grief had driven me to revenge. He showed up with his people, accused me of being vicious and heartless without hearing a word I said. Then he set my home on fire, saying I deserved to know what burning felt like.

In the chaos, the crowd shoved me down the stairs. As my body cracked against each step, the last thing I heard was Kerry's voice, cold and distant:

"You had it coming."

The flames consumed me. Only then did I understand how deeply Kerry Henson despised me.

In my final moment of consciousness, all I could see was Tessathree years old, reaching out with tiny hands, crying "Mama"and Kerry's eyes, frozen with hatred.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back.

The night Kerry was drugged.

This time, I would stay far away from him. I would not make the same mistakes.

He stood in the room, face flushed, black shirt half-unbuttoned, breath ragged. His unfocused gaze locked onto me as he stumbled forward.

"Nora Sutherland... come here..." His voice was hoarse, thick with the drug's effects.

In my past life, I would have rushed to him without hesitation.

Now, ice shot up my spine. I stumbled backward, heart pounding with terror.

This was the night that started everything. We were both drugged. Everything that followedthe hollow marriage, the neglect, Tessa's death, my own murderit all began here.

He married me but saved every scrap of tenderness for Sophie, thousands of miles away. When our daughter was dying, he wouldn't come home. After she was gone, he blamed me. Cursed me. Burned me alive.

But none of it had happened yet.

If someone else became his cure tonight, I wouldn't have to marry him. Tessa would never be born into this cruel world. She would never suffer that fate.

The heat in my body was becoming unbearable, but I bit down hard and forced myself to think clearly.

I dialed Sophie's number.

"Sophie, come to Harborline Hotel right now. Kerrysomething's happened to him."

I pressed my back against the door, using every ounce of strength to keep the scalding, desperate man on the other side from breaking through. My fingertips went white from the pressure.

I knew exactly what Sophie was doing right nowdrowning in preparations for her exhibition, needing Kerry more than ever.

If he went to her instead, our paths would never cross again.

That's what I want.

A memory surfaced unbiddenmy brother's words as he'd shoved me into this room in my past life:

"Nora, I've watched you two dance around each other for years. You obviously like each otheryou're just too slow to do anything about it. Consider this my wedding gift. He'll be your brother-in-law before you know it!"

I had been horrified. "You're going to get me killed! Let me out!"

But he just laughed, pushing me into Kerry's arms. "Your drink was spiked too. Enjoy yourselves. You'll thank me later."

A bitter smile twisted my lips.

My brother had no idea. Kerry Henson's heart had never, not for a single moment, belonged to me.

Fifteen minutes later, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Sophie arrived, face pale as paper, clutching scraps of torn canvas in her trembling hands. Her eyes swept over memy disheveled clothes, my flushed skinthen flicked to the door, where heavy breathing seeped through the cracks.

Her expression hardened with contempt.

"What exactly are you playing at, Nora?"

"Everyone in our circle knows you're obsessed with Kerry. The hand-knitted scarves, the photo albums you stayed up all night makingyou've been throwing yourself at him for years."

"Now that he's about to leave the country with me for my exhibition, this is how you try to keep him? Drugging him?" She let out a sharp, derisive laugh. "You think pulling a stunt like this will make me back off?"

I gripped Sophie's wrist and shoved her toward the room, my knuckles white from the force. My voice trembled without me even realizing it. "No time for chit-chat, Miss Stewart. You and Kerry have always had feelings for each otheryou can't let some other woman swoop in and take advantage of tonight, can you? He's barely holding on."

I knew exactly how potent my brother's drug was. In my past life, I'd experienced its devastating effects firsthand. Back then, Kerry had clung to his last shred of reason, biting through his tongue until his mouth filled with the taste of blood, gripping so hard his finger bones crackedbut in the end, even that wasn't enough to resist.

Now Sophie was here. He wouldn't have to fight it anymore.

And I wouldn't have to be tangled up with that madman ever again.

A strangled groan escaped from inside the room. From the corner of my eye, I caught Kerry's temple throbbing with visible veins, the tendons in his neck straining into rigid lines. Sophie's steps faltered for just a moment before a coy blush crept across her face. Still, she lifted her chin deliberately, assuming the posture of a woman who owned the place.

She smoothed her elegant slip dress, and when her gaze swept over me, she suddenly pointed at my face. The contempt in her voice practically dripped. "At least you know your placedidn't dare take advantage of Kerry while he wasn't himself. But why is your face so red? Don't tell me you caught a whiff and got a little... excited?"

Her words were needles, piercing the softest part of my heart. I turned away and pushed her harder toward the door. "Enough. Get in there."

The rustle of fabric came from inside. The moment Kerry tore Sophie's strap from her shoulder, I squeezed my eyes shut and pulled the door closed behind me, my hand pressing flat against it.

The heavy wood blocked my view, but it couldn't block the soundsthose soft, intimate noises that seemed to grow legs and crawl through the gap beneath the door. Each one struck my eardrums like an ice-coated blade, carving into my chest until I could barely breathe.

I slumped against the cold wall, my fingernails scraping at the paint, until the sounds grew clearer, sharper, impossible to bear. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I turned and stumbled out of the hotel.

The wind slashed at my face, but it couldn't cool the heat churning inside me. The drug had found its way into my system too. In my past life, I hadn't been able to push Kerry awayhalf because of his strength, and half because the drug had stripped me of all reason, turning me into a puppet with no will of my own.

I won't make the same mistake twice.

I bit down on my tongue, using the sharp taste of blood to force myself to stay conscious. I staggered forward until I found myself at the entrance of an exclusive private club, and pushed through the doors on pure instinct.

The moment I stepped inside, I crashed straight into a man's chest. In my panic, I reached out to steady myselfand my palm landed squarely on his pectoral.

He was tall. I didn't get a look at his face.

The receptionist hurried over, her smile cooling slightly as she took in my disheveled collar. Still, her tone remained polite. "Miss, how may I assist you?"

I gripped the counter, my head swimming. My lips quivered as I forced out the words: "I need... a male escort."

She blinked, but didn't ask questions. She led me to a private room and left to fetch someone.

The lighting inside was dim. The heat in my body grew more unbearable by the second. I collapsed onto the sofa, my consciousness starting to blur.

I don't know how long it was before the door opened. A tall figure stepped inimpeccably dressed in a tailored suit, his bearing refined and out of place in a venue like this.

Through my haze, a thought drifted across my mind: Since when did escorts look this good? He's got a better build than Kerry, that's for sure.

His gaze landed on my torn, twisted clothes and the flushed skin exposed beneath. He froze.

I didn't wait for him to speak. I pushed myself off the sofa, threw my arms around his neck, and crushed my lips against his. My voice came out broken, pleading. "Someone drugged me... please, help me..."

His body went rigid. He seemed to frown, his hands moving to push me away.

"Is it money you want?" I fumbled blindly for the bank card in my pocket and shoved it into his hand. My fingers, beyond my control, went to his belt. "Name your price. Whatever it is, I'll pay."

Through the fog, I thought I heard him say my name. His voice was low, threaded with something like resignation. "Nora, don't do anything rash..."

So noisy.

I frowned and kissed him again, swallowing whatever he'd been about to say.

No wonder this place had such an elite reputation. Even their escorts knew how to play hard to get. Handsome face, gorgeous voice.

The next second, a quiet sigh drifted from above mepart indulgence, part helplessness. "Since you started this... don't say I didn't warn you."

Then he flipped me beneath him, and his kiss crashed down like a storm, drowning out the last of my reason.

A night of tangled passion. I woke before dawn, jolted by a sudden chill.

My muddled thoughts slowly reassembled. The softness beneath me. The unfamiliar warmth beside me. The telltale marks scattered across my skinall of it a reminder of what I'd done.

I had slept with a stranger. An escort from a club.

The man still had his eyes closed, long lashes casting shadows, his features so striking they seemed almost unreal.

I didn't dare look too long. I scrambled into my clothes, forgetting my bank card, not even noticing I'd lost an earring. I crept out of the room and fled the club.

What I didn't know was that the moment I stepped out, the man opened his eyes. He picked up the earring I'd dropped and watched my retreating figure, his expression unreadable.

The early morning streets were deserted. As I passed the massive glass storefront of a shopping district, I caught a glimpse of my reflectionhair a tangled mess, clothes torn in several places, collar hanging loose. My neck, my collarbone, covered in a constellation of red marks so vivid I couldn't bear to look.

Shame crashed over me like a wave. I clutched my collar tight, ducked my head, and ran toward home, desperate to cover these traces with concealer, to pretend last night had never happened.

But the moment I stepped through the door, a cold, detached voice fell on me from above.

"Where were you last night?"

My head snapped up. I found myself staring into Kerry Henson's fathomless eyes.

He stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the entryway doorframe. He was still wearing last night's clothes. A ring of unmistakable kiss marks circled his neckSophie's handiwork.

His gaze swept over me, clinical and cold.

I froze, my throat tightening. Shouldn't he still be tangled up with Sophie at the hotel? How was he back so soon?

Kerry's new villa was being renovated. Because of my brother, he'd been staying at my place for the past few months.

I glanced around. "Where's Miss Stewart? Didn't she come back with you?"

The next instant, Kerry's gaze darkened, settling on me like a storm cloud.

"Nora." His voice was ice. "Where exactly were you last night? And who gave you those?"

It took me a moment to realize he was talking about the marks on my neck.

"It's nothingjust mosquito bites." I tugged at my collar instinctively, trying to cover them. "I... I went out for a walk."

My head dropped, fingers twisting the hem of my shirt. I'd thought that pushing him toward Sophie last night would finally draw a clean line between us. From now on, we'd be nothing more than acquaintances who happened to share the label of siblingsa polite nod in passing, nothing more.

But the way he was looking at me nowlike a wolf sizing up its preymade my heart pound.

"A walk?" Kerry let out a cold laugh, his mockery unhidden. He stepped closer, his tall frame casting a shadow over me, his gaze fixed on my hastily raised collar. "Nora, don't you ever get tired of playing hard to get?"

I froze. Why was Kerry so angry?

I'd given him exactly what he wantedI'd handed him to Sophie on a silver platter.

"What's wrong? Did you and your brother cook up that little scheme together? Couldn't get me into bed, so you ran off to find someone else?"

"Nora, did you really think calling Sophie over and disappearing for the night would make me worried about you? You played the wrong game."

My head snapped up, eyes wide with disbelief. "What are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about?" He raised an eyebrow, his voice dropping colder. "You push me toward Sophie, then turn around and spend the night with some other man. Nora, are you really that desperate for attention? Couldn't have me, so you went hunting for a replacement?"

His words hit me like a bucket of ice water, drenching me from head to toe, extinguishing the last flicker of hope I'd been holding onto. I opened my mouth to explain, but my throat felt stuffed with cotton. Not a single word would come out.

He didn't believe me. Worsehe was convinced that everything I'd done was just a ploy to get his attention.

The realization left a bitter ache spreading through my chest. So that's what he thought. He actually believed last night's sacrifice was me playing some twisted game of push and pull.

"Sophie got quite a scare last night. Since you live nearby, I had her stay here. Go make her some congee later to warm her stomach." He spoke again, each word like a blade twisting into my heart. "As for yougone all night, reeking of some stranger. Nora, have you no self-respect at all?"

For Sophie, he was gentle and protectiveescorting her home, making her soup. For me, there was only cold suspicion and cutting words designed to wound.

I stared at him, feeling the sting behind my eyes, but I forced the tears back. I managed a bitter smile, my voice coming out hoarse. "Kerry, you're overthinking this. I pushed you toward Sophie because I genuinely don't have feelings for you anymore. From now on, you're you, and I'm me. We have nothing to do with each other."

I thought that would make him back off. Instead, he looked at me like I'd just told the most ridiculous joke. His hand shot out, gripping my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes. His fingers dug in so hard I thought my jaw might shatter.

"Don't have feelings for me?" His voice was ice. "Nora, your feelings really are cheap, aren't they?"

His detached tone continued, relentless.

"Just so we're clearSophie and I were together last night. I'm going to marry her. A word of advice: whatever little tricks you're planning, I suggest you drop them."

I lowered my gaze and let out a soft laugh. "Fine."

"About my brother drugging youI'm sorry. But..."

"I really don't have feelings for you anymore."

Kerry's eyes lifted to study me, clearly unwilling to believe it. His brow furrowed deeply.

Everyone in our social circle knew I'd been pining for Kerry Henson for years. I'd refused to date anyone else, turned down countless matchmaking attempts, cut off every potential suitorall for him.

But now I knew better.

I couldn't go through it again. I couldn't watch my daughter be born into hope only to die in despair.

Just then, footsteps echoed from the staircase. My brother came down rubbing his eyes, spotted Kerry and me standing in the entryway, and paused for a moment before breaking into a smile.

"Kerry! You're here? Thanks for last nightI figured you two would sleep in today. Didn't expect you up so early." His gaze shifted to me, concern flickering across his face. "Nora, what's wrong? You look terrible. Didn't sleep well last night?"

His words were the final straw that snapped my already fraying nerves.

He still thought Kerry and I were in love. He believed last night had been the natural, beautiful culmination of our feelings. He had no idea that the drugged drink he'd prepared had destroyed my entire previous lifeand left me in this humiliating mess in this one.

Kerry released my chin and glanced at my brother, his tone casual. "Just checking on Nora. Looks like she had quite the eventful night."

Ethan missed the mockery entirely. He just laughed and waved it off. "Young people, right? Totally normal." Then his expression brightened. "Hey, Kerrywhen are you and Nora going to make it official? I'm waiting to toast at your wedding."

"Nora and I won't be"

Kerry had barely started when a shriek cut him off.

"AHHH! What thethere's someone else in the house!"

Ethan rushed over, his finger trembling as he pointed upstairs.

"Sophiewhen did she start sleeping here?!"

Kerry's expression turned serious as he closed the bedroom door, then explained with infuriating calm.

"I brought her over last night. She was exhausted and doesn't sleep well in hotels. I brought her back here to rest properly."

"What?!"

Ethan's face cycled through a dozen emotions as he looked from Kerry to me. "So you two... last night you didn't...?"

His suspicious gaze landed on both our necks.

I bolted. "I'm going back to bed."

I fled to my room and shut the door, but their voices still drifted throughmuffled, but audible.

Ethan was probably demanding answers from Kerry about what the hell was going on.

When noon came around, my brother knocked on my door to call me for lunch. I didn't move.

"I'm not hungry yet. You guys go ahead."

Soon I heard Sophie's light, tinkling laugh from outside.

"Let me go get Nora. After all, I have her to thank for how quickly Kerry and I got together last night."

A gentle knock on my door.

"Nora, it's Sophie. Come out and have lunch with usconsider it doing me a favor."

My parents and brother had always taught me to be polite, to treat guests with respect. So I steeled myself and opened the door.

At the table, Kerry said nothingbut his hands moved constantly, placing food in Sophie's bowl with tender care.

Within minutes, her dish was piled into a small mountain.

"Kerry, Nora's right here. She's probably already upset about last nightif you keep this up, she's going to get jealous."

Kerry lifted his head, his cold gaze finding mine. "Jealous of what? You're the one I'm going to marry. To me, Nora is the same as she is to Ethanjust a sister."

I ate in silence, mechanically shoveling rice into my mouth. It tasted like sawdust, but my ears were full of Sophie and Kerry's every nauseating exchange.

Sophie picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork with her chopsticks, took one bite, and wrinkled her nose in exaggerated distaste. She pushed the plate toward Kerry with a pout. "Kerry, it's too sour. I don't like it."

Without a word, Kerry took her chopsticksthe ones she'd just usedand popped the pork into his own mouth. Then he ladled a spoonful of pumpkin soup into her bowl. "Try this instead. I had the kitchen go easy on the sugar, just the way you like it."

His movements were so natural, so intimatelike he'd done this a thousand times before. The tenderness in his eyes was something I'd never seen in ten years of loving him from afar.

My brother opened his mouth to say something, but one glance at my lowered lashes and tight-pressed lips made him swallow the words. He let out a heavy sigh, grabbed his teacup, and drained it in one gulp. The cup hit the table with a dull thud.

Kerry and Sophie didn't even flinch. They carried on as if no one else existed.

A smear of food clung to the corner of Sophie's mouth. Kerry reached over to wipe it away, but she stopped him with a coy smile.

She leaned in closeso close her nose nearly brushed his chinand her voice dripped like honey. "Kerry, I want you to use your mouth to clean it off."

Kerry blinked, then let out a low chuckle, his eyes brimming with indulgence. He leaned in and kissed her.

The air at the table turned to stone.

Ethan's face flushed crimson. Beneath the table, his hands clenched into fists, knuckles white. His eyes blazed with barely contained fury, as if he wanted nothing more than to leap across the table and tear them apart.

I just kept pushing rice around my bowl.

Sophie turned to me with a triumphant smile. "Oh, Nora, don't mind us. Ever since that night, Kerry just can't get enough. We can't help being a little... close." She tilted her head, feigning innocence. "You're still single, so you wouldn't understand. But once you get a boyfriend, you'll know what it's like."

Her words were a dull blade, sawing back and forth across my heart. It wasn't enough to flaunt their relationship in my faceshe had to drag that night into the open. A bright, shining reminder: the opportunity I'd handed her on a silver platter had become her trophy. And my ten years of silent devotion? Just a joke she found amusing.

Ethan slammed his palm on the table. Bowls and chopsticks clattered.

"That's enough, Sophie!" He glared at her, finger jabbing toward her face. "We're eating dinner. Keep your garbage to yourself. Nora is right here!"

Sophie flinched at his outburst and immediately burrowed into Kerry's arms. Her eyes welled with tears on cue. "Kerry, did I say something wrong? I didn't mean toI was just... I was just so happy."

Kerry's expression hardened. He fixed Ethan with a cold stare. "Ethan, Sophie was just making conversation. There's no need to snap at her like that."

He turned back to Sophie, his voice softening to a murmur. "Ignore him. Let's just eat."

Then his gaze shifted to me, sharp with reproach. "Nora, your brother's temper is out of line. You should talk to him. Sophie shouldn't have to put up with this."

I finally stopped pushing my food around. Slowly, I raised my head.

The man before me was the one I'd loved for ten years. And here he wasshielding another woman, scolding my brother, all while living under my roof.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips. In the end, all I said was: "I'm full. Take your time."

As I walked away from the table, I heard Sophie's stage whisper behind me: "Kerry, did I upset her? I shouldn't have said anything..."

And Kerry's gentle reassurance: "It's not your fault. She's just being difficult."

I'd barely closed my bedroom door when Ethan came storming up, pounding on it.

"You little fool!" His voice was raw with frustration. "Last night was the perfect chance, and you just handed it to that scheming witch?"

"I've had her number from day onesweet as sugar on the surface, rotten to the core underneath!" He was practically shouting now. "Kerry's too blind to see through her act, but I'm not! That whole performance at dinner? Every word was designed to twist the knife. She wanted to hurt you!"

"I set this up because I could see you two had feelings for each otheryou were just both too stubborn to make a move! And what do you do? You gift-wrap him for someone else!" His voice cracked with something like betrayal. "Ten years, Nora. Ten years you've loved him. All that waiting, all that hopingand just when things were finally coming together, you let go?"

I leaned against the door, listening to every word. My nose stung, but I forced the tears back down.

I opened the door and met his flushed, furious face. "Ethan," I said quietly, "please don't say things like that anymore."

He stared at me, bewildered. "What are you talking about?" His brow furrowed. "Nora, don't be stubborn about this. A woman like Sophie doesn't deserve Kerry. You"

"I'm not being stubborn." I smiledand for the first time in as long as I could remember, the smile felt light. "Ethan, I don't love Kerry anymore. I mean it."

He searched my eyes, still skeptical.

How could I explain? In my past life, Kerry had abandoned me the moment we married, disappeared for years. Our daughter died because he delayed her treatment. And in the end, he set the fire that killed me. These weren't things I could tell my brother.

I let out a hollow laugh. "Actually, I need you to arrange some introductions for me. I want to start fresh." I paused. "And since I don't have feelings for Kerry anymore, there's no reason for him to keep living here."

Ethan studied me for a long momenthalf a minute, at leastsearching for any trace of wounded pride or spite. When he found none, he exhaled slowly. The anger drained from his face, replaced by relief and a tender ache.

"Finally." He squeezed my shoulder, his touch careful, protective. "I've been telling you for years not to pin all your hopes on one man. Kerry's accomplished, sure, but there are plenty of men out there who are just as impressivebetter, even. You don't need to waste another second on him."

"I'll reach out to Karl Fox right now!"

He was already pulling out his phone, thumbs flying across the screen. "Remember him? The one you turned down before? The Fox family's empire dwarfs the Hensons'. He's handsome, he's kind, andlike youhe's never dated anyone. Solid, dependable."

"You two should meet. Who knows? Maybe you'll hit it off." He dialed as he talked, words tumbling out. "Don't worry, I've done my homework. Karl's character is impeccable. He'll treat you righta hundred times better than that clueless idiot Kerry ever could!"

I obediently took out my phone and added Karl's contact.

Staring at the unfamiliar profile picture on my screen, I felt... nothing. No flutter, no anxiety. Just the quiet relief of setting down a weight I'd carried too long.

I'd thought letting go of Kerry would tear me apart. But now that I'd actually done it? It was surprisingly simple. This time, I could finally escape the shadows of my past life. This time, I could change my daughter's fateand my own.

If I was going to move on, I had to cut every last thread.

I turned to clear out Kerry's belongings. Over ten years, this house had filled with memories of usevery corner, every shelf. It was time to purge all of it. The objects. The man. Everything had to go.

That's when Sophie's syrupy voice floated in from the living room, bright with undisguised glee: "Kerry, could you carry my suitcase to your room? I brought so much stuffit's too heavy for me!"

I moved through the house, room by room, shoving Kerry's belongings into cardboard boxes.

His old shirts left draped over chairs. The pen he'd tossed carelessly on my desk. A keychain printed with a photo of us together.

Each item I touched felt like ripping away another thread of the decade-long crush I'd nursed in secret. My chest ached with a bittersweet pangyet beneath it, something lighter stirred. Relief.

When I reached the bottom of the closet, my fingertips brushed against a hardcover notebook. My breath caught.

The sketchbook. The one I'd hidden for years.

I drew it out carefully. The cover was worn at the edges, the spine softened from agebut this was the most precious thing I owned.

Inside were ten years of Kerry, captured in stolen moments. His profile glistening with sweat during basketball games. The focused furrow of his brow in meetings. A silhouette of him laughing, head ducked, caught in a slant of afternoon light. Every sketch held a piece of my heart, each line drawn with a love I'd never dared show anyone.

I ran my thumb over the yellowed pages, about to turn to the final drawing, when footsteps sounded behind me.

"Nora, sweetie! Packing up?" Sophie's voice dripped with manufactured warmth. "Need a hand?"

She was wearing my dressthe one I'd treasuredand had already sidled up beside me before I could react.

I shifted away instinctively, moving to close the sketchbook. But she acted as if my resistance were invisible, reaching toward me with eager fingers.

"What's that? Looks fancy."

Before I could answer, her body "accidentally" lurched sideways, slamming hard into my elbow. Her hand shot out, snatching the edge of the sketchbook, and yanked.

Riiip

The book flew from my grasp and crashed to the floor. Pages scattered everywhere, spreading across the hardwood like fallen leaves. Every secret I'd poured into those lines lay exposed to the air.

My heart seized. I dropped to my knees to gather them

But Sophie was faster.

Her eyes reddened on cue. She stumbled backward with a theatrical gasp, and collided directly into Kerry's arms as he walked through the door.

"Kerry!"

Her voice quavered with tears. She clutched his arm like a lifeline. "I just wanted to see what Nora was looking atI wasn't trying to grab it! Why did she push me? Did I do something to upset her?"

Kerry's gaze snapped to me, cold fury already hardening his features. His voice cut through the room like a blade.

"Nora! Do you have to be so petty?"

He didn't spare a single glance at the pages strewn across the floor. His hands moved to Sophie's back, soothing, protective.

"Sophie was just curious. She wanted to get closer to you. Did you really have to be so vicious?"

I stood frozen, staring at the sketches scattered at my feet. Ten years of secret devotion, torn apart and trampled in plain sight.

"I didn't push her." My voice shook. "She crashed into me on her own."

Damn it. This was exactly how it had happened beforein my past life, Kerry had twisted everything the same way, interrogating me like I was the villain.

"If you didn't push her, why would she just fall?" Kerry's laugh was ice. His gaze swept over the drawings on the floor, and his lip curled with derision. "Don't think that just because Sophie's a real artistsomeone who actually holds exhibitionsyou can scribble a few pictures and suddenly I'll pay attention to you."

Each word landed like a slap.

"This amateur garbage couldn't compare to a single strand of Sophie's hair. Did you really think hiding these would move me?" He scoffed. "You said you wouldn't cling anymore. Turns out you just switched to a more pathetic tactic."

Sophie nestled deeper into his embrace. For a split second, a smirk flickered at the corner of her mouththen vanished, replaced by wounded innocence.

But her feet never stopped moving.

She stepped directly onto the scattered pages. Deliberately. Her stiletto heels ground down, twisting left and right. Paper crumpled and tore beneath her.

My vision blurred red. In my past life, Sophie had been exactly like thisobsessed with taking everything I had and destroying it piece by piece.

I lunged forward, trembling with rage. "Stop! Don't step on them!"

This was ten years of my life. Even if I no longer loved Kerry, my youth didn't deserve to be crushed under someone's heel.

But she acted as if she hadn't heard. Instead, the water bottle in her hand "slipped"

Crash.

Half a bottle of water splashed across the sketchbook. Ink bled and spread, blurring those carefully drawn silhouettes into unrecognizable smears.

A few drops splattered onto her dress. She burst into tears immediately.

"Oh no!"

"Kerry!" She threw herself into his arms, jabbing a finger at the wet spots on her bodice. "This dress was the gift you just gave me! How could Nora do this? She pushed me and splashed water on purposelook, it's ruined!" Her sobs grew louder, more theatrical. "She must be jealous that you're good to me, jealous that you're sponsoring my exhibition. That's why she's targeting me!"

Kerry stared at the water stains on Sophie's dress, then at the soaked, footprint-covered pages on the floor. His rage ignited.

He pulled Sophie behind him, shielding her, and fixed me with a glacial stare.

"Nora, you really have become vile. Sophie was kind enough to help you pack, and youout of pure jealousypushed her, threw water, and ruined her dress?"

"I didn't!" I was shaking so hard I could barely speak. "She crashed into me herself! She stomped on the sketchbook herself! She spilled her own water! That bookI kept it for ten yearsit's my"

"Enough!"

Kerry's roar silenced me.

"Your worthless junk isn't worth a single dress of Sophie's!" He turned to Sophie, his voice dropping to a tender murmur. "Don't cry. If the dress is ruined, I'll buy you ten more. A hundred. Every luxury brand, custom-made, your pick." He shot me a look of pure contempt. "I'll throw out this garbage personally. It shouldn't offend your eyes."

The door slammed open.

Ethan stormed in. His gaze swept the scenethe destroyed pages, the soaked sketchbook, my red-rimmed eyesand understanding dawned in an instant.

"Kerry! Sophie!" He positioned himself in front of me like a wall, jabbing a finger at Sophie's face. "You have some nerve, twisting the truth like this! I know my sister better than anyoneshe would never do something like that! You started this on purpose!"

"Ethan, how can you say that to me?" Sophie's tears flowed harder, her voice trembling with injury. "I really didn't mean toNora just"

"Save the performance!" Ethan was shaking with fury. "This is our house. You two had no right to stay here in the first place! Pack your things and get outnow. Nora already told you she doesn't want you here, Kerry. Stop bringing your woman around to bully my sister!"

Kerry's expression darkened. "Ethan, don't push it. Sophie's been wronged. I won't let this go."

"Wronged?" Ethan snatched up a crumpled page from the floor. On it was a sketch of Kerry's profile from years agonow torn, stained, barely recognizable. "The only one wronged here is Nora! She spent ten years on these. Ten years of her heart and soul. And you destroyed them like they were nothing." His voice cracked with rage. "You don't deserve her feelings, Kerry. You never did. And you sure as hell don't now."

I stood behind my brother, watching him shield me with everything he had. Then I looked at Kerry, still cradling Sophie like she was something precious.

The last fragile thread connecting me to the pastto the girl who had loved himfinally snapped.

I wiped my tears away.

When I spoke, my voice was calm. Steady. And utterly final.

"Kerry. Sophie. Get out of this house. Now."

I drew a breath.

"I'll clean up my own things. As for yourstake them and go. Don't dirty my home any longer."

My gaze dropped to the ruined sketchbook at my feet.

"And from this moment forward," I said, "we have nothing to do with each other. Ever again."

"Nora, when did you become so vicious? Just because I didn't choose you, you're targeting Ethan like thisusing the threat of kicking us out to force me to be with you? Why can't you learn to be gracious like Ethan? After we're married and have children, I might consider giving you a position as my mistress. That's not unreasonable. Why are you being so difficult?"

Ethan and I stood frozen, stunned into silence by Kerry's words.

I had loved this man for so many years in my past life, lost in my own beautiful illusions about him. Only now, having let go, could I see Kerry for what he truly was.

Fury burned through me. I turned and walked away.

My arranged match, Karl, was waiting to meet me. We'd been chatting for days now, and it had been pleasanteasy, even. It was time to meet face to face. Time to start my new life.

That day, I went to meet Karl with anticipation fluttering in my chest. But something unexpected happened, and our date didn't end the way I'd planned. I had no idea how to face him now.

After getting the scrape on my arm bandaged, I returned to the villa. Karl walked me to the door, but I couldn't quite meet his eyes. I didn't invite him in.

Inside, I found the entire house draped in pink. Kerry was down on one knee, proposing to Sophie.

The moment she spotted me, Sophie's face crumpled into a pitiful almost-crying expression.

"Oh no, Nora got hurt! Kerry, do you thinkdo you think she did this to herself because of our engagement?"

"This is all my fault," she whimpered, wringing her hands. "If I hadn't insisted you propose today, Nora wouldn't have"

"Shh, it's not your fault, sweetheart." Kerry pulled her close, his voice dripping with tenderness. "Be good now. Your milk tea just arrivedgo get it."

The second Sophie left the room, Kerry's expression hardened. He turned on me, his voice sharp as a blade.

"Nora, did you really have to pull something on the day I proposed to Sophie? Is that how desperate you are to tear us apart? I've told you a thousand timesgive up. You and I will never happen."

I smiled faintly.

"You've misunderstood, Kerry. I used to think of you as a brother. Now I think of you as a stranger."

"And you're flattering yourself. My car accident had nothing to do with you. The only thing I want is for you to move out of my house."

Kerry's eyes narrowed, unconvinced. "Sophie and I are getting married soon. Nora, I can only see you as a sister now. But wait a few yearsonce Sophie's had children and feels more secure, I could let you stay by my side as a mistress. Consider it compensation for all these years. Or, if you can move on, find yourself a boyfriend and forget about me."

"I already have a boyfriend."

"Don't lie to me just because you don't have one."

His gaze turned cold, settling on my face with an intensity that seemed to irritate even himself. For a moment, he looked like he couldn't breathe.

But then Sophie pushed through the door, milk tea in hand.

She smiled sweetly as she offered me a cupwhile making sure I got a good look at the diamond glittering on her ring finger.

"Nora, stop wasting your energy. No matter how many stunts you pull, you'll only make Kerry despise you more. See this?" She waggled her finger. "Kerry put this ring on me himself. His heart belongs to me. Give up already."

As they left, Kerry gave me one last lingering look.

"Even if you don't have a boyfriend, it doesn't matter. You're Ethan's sister, which makes you my sister too. As long as you don't harbor any inappropriate feelings, I can take care of you for the rest of your life."

Sophie's eyes flashed with venom at his words, though she quickly masked it with a magnanimous smile.

"That's right. You can think of me as your big sister. Kerry and I will both look after you."

But I wasn't lying.

I really did have a boyfriend.

My gaze drifted to the gardenias on my nightstanda gift from Karl.

I hadn't expected him to be that man, but I was more than satisfied.

At first, I'd only agreed to the blind date to humor Ethan. But when I arrived at the coffee shop, I discovered that Karl Fox was the same man from that nightthe one I'd thought was a model.

The moment I recognized him, heat flooded my cheeks. But he only smiled, as if he'd been expecting this all along, and backed me gently into the corner.

"Shy now? That's funnyyou weren't shy at all last time we met."

I'd wanted to die of embarrassment and never contact him again. But then one night, walking home late, I realized someone was following me.

Karl appeared out of nowhere, threw a few punches that sent the creep running, and drove me home.

"I thought you were a model," I said in the car.

He kept his eyes on the road, one eyebrow arching. "Who told you that?"

"You were the one who grabbed the first man you saw and had your way with him that night. Lucky for you, I was only there to inspect the club. Otherwise, who knows which poor soul you would've corrupted."

I punched his arm in indignation, but he caught my hand and pressed it to his chest.

"Nora, I've liked you for a long time. Be my girlfriend."

Even the car accidentthat had happened because I heard Karl was planning to propose. I'd been so distracted I didn't see the road.

Every time I thought of his face, warmth bloomed in my chest.

After leaving the hospital, I was barely home anymoreout early, back late. It was past eleven when I returned one night to find Kerry waiting by the door in casual clothes.

His expression was complicated. "Nora, have you been avoiding me?"

I blinked, then laughed. "You're overthinking it."

But he blocked my path, his brow furrowed as his fingers closed around my wrist. "I'd better be. My wedding to Sophie is coming up. I'm warning youdon't try anything."

I pulled free of his grip and met his eyes with complete sincerity. "I wish you both a happy marriage."

Kerry's face finally relaxeduntil his gaze dropped to my neck. His expression shifted, darkening.

"What's that on your neck? Don't tell me it's another mosquito bite."

It was a mark Karl had insisted on leaving that morning. Staking his claim, he'd called it.

Before, I would have hidden it, afraid of misunderstandings. But now I had a boyfriend, openly and officially. There was nothing to hide.

"That's none of your business."

Kerry's face turned to stone.

I walked away without looking backand didn't notice Sophie lurking in the shadows, her face pale, jealousy burning in her eyes.

"Baby, let me take you somewhere special."

Karl's message made me smile. I was just about to leave when I spotted Sophie in the yard, swinging on my swing.

"Nora!"

Kerry's voice rang out behind me. I pretended not to hear.

But when I came home that night, Kerry kicked my bedroom door open, his face twisted with rage.

His palm connected with my cheekhard enough to make my head snap to the side.

"Nora! How can you be so cruel? Sophie just wanted to play on your swing, and you were so jealous you sabotaged it? She fell and she's in the hospital noware you satisfied?!"

"What swing?"

The slap left me dizzy, my cheek burning, my ears ringing. I staggered back two steps before finding my footing.

My phone was still clutched in my hand, the screen lit up with a photo Karl and I had taken at the park that afternoon.

Kerry's eyes flicked to the screen. His face went dark as a thundercloud. He snatched the phone from my hand, his voice rising to a roar of disbelief.