My Stepsister Was His Engagement Eve

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The night before our engagement, Marcus had my stepsister Olivia pinned down on our wedding bed, tangled up together.

He didn't answer my calls. Only after finishing sex did he bother to text me back.

I'm having dinner with a client. My phone died earlier. What's up?

I uploaded the surveillance footage I'd just downloaded straight to Twitter and announced the cancellation of our engagement.

Marcus hadn't noticed my Twitter post. He was too busy cuddling with Olivia in his arms for another round.

Less than a minute after I posted, my notifications blew up to 99 messages.

Marcus's cousin Lester messaged excitedly:

"Shit, this content is R-rated! No minors allowed!"

"Sophie, did you get hacked?"

"You and my brother should watch this kind of porn video under the covers, not post it publicly~"

"Wait a second! Why does this guy look like my brother??"

I sneered and replied:

"It looks like him because it IS him. Your brother's starring in it himself."

I didn't bother replying to the other comments. Instead, I posted another pinned tweet:

"Thank you all for your concern. My engagement to Marcus tomorrow is cancelled."

After posting that, I logged out of Twitter.

My mom called me several times in a row. I didn't answer.

She was extremely satisfied with Marcus, practically wanting to announce to the whole world that I was about to marry into a wealthy family.

Now that she'd suddenly seen I was calling off the engagement, she'd definitely make me delete everything.

My phone kept vibrating in my palm.

I simply turned it off. Out of sight, out of mind.

After driving to a bar, I ordered a whiskey and waited patiently.

Someone like Marcus never checked Twitter. It was normal that he hadn't seen my messages yet.

But I knew it wouldn't be long before someone with a loose tongue would notify him.

My friend asked why it took me so long to arrive.

I laughed bitterly: "I was helping someone catch cheaters."

And speak of the devilhere came the cheater himself.

Marcus pushed through the noisy, crowded bar toward our private room.

His brows were furrowed, his expression dark.

He kept pulling out his phone to make calls, like he had urgent business.

And the woman who'd just been desperately entangled with him in bed was following right behind him, step for step.

She wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and said something I couldn't hear, tears in her eyes.

Marcus looked extremely impatient. He pried her arms off and shoved her aside, turning to leave without a backward glance.

The woman burst into tears, sitting on the ground crying her heart out.

I hadn't been able to see her face clearly in the surveillance footage earlier. Now, as the bar lights flashed, I finally got a good look at her.

Fair skin, beautiful features, big eyes, an oval faceexactly Marcus's type.

And as it happened, I knew this person too. It was none other than Olivia, the daughter my stepmother had brought into the family.

I stared at her in a daze. My friend patted my shoulder.

"Sophie, is your phone dead?"

The bar was too noisy for me to hear her clearly.

Seeing this, she sighed and leaned closer.

"Marcus is going crazy looking for you! He even called me!"

She held her phone in front of me, showing an active call.

The bar was blasting DJ music at that moment, making my head throb.

My friend very considerately held the phone to my ear. I could faintly hear Marcus's voice on the other end.

"Sophie, it's not what you think! Let me explain!"

I snatched the phone and threw it into the ice bucket.

My friend shrieked, "Sophie, my phone! Why are you dragging me into your fight!"

My gaze swept over the woman who'd been crying her eyes out moments ago. I snorted coldly:

"I'll buy you a new one later."

"Men are like phones. When they don't work right, you throw them out."

At three in the morning, I dragged my exhausted body home.

Sure enough, Marcus was waiting at my door.

He crushed out his cigarette and quickly walked toward me.

"Sophie, where were you? Why didn't you answer any of my calls?"

Smelling the alcohol on me, his tone turned concerned:

"You're drunk. Let me carry you inside."

I shoved away his embrace.

"Don't touch me. You're filthy." Marcus's hands froze in midair.

"Sophie, let me explain. It's not what you think."

"That video must be AI-generated. I absolutely didn't do anything to betray you!"

I looked at him coldly, my face full of mockery:

"Marcus, can you stop treating everyone like idiots?"

"I downloaded that video from the surveillance system myself. I'm not blind. I saw everything crystal clear."

Marcus's expression froze instantly on his face.

His body went rigid, and his eyes dodged mine in panic.

The alcohol hit me, and my stomach churned violently. I shoved past the man in front of me and rushed into the bathroom to throw up endlessly.

Marcus followed me in. He gently patted my back, handed me tissues and water.

I even accidentally threw up on him.

Marcus had a cleanliness obsession. If he'd done this for me before, I would have been touched.

But now, images of him and Olivia tumbling together in bed played on repeat in my mind like a movie.

I just found this man utterly hypocritical.

"Marcus, leave my house. I don't want to see you anymore."

Marcus didn't answer me.

He just silently cleaned up the bathroom, then went to the kitchen to make hangover soup and placed it by my bedside.

"Sophie, remember to drink the hangover soup."

"Let's not talk about this right now. Get some rest, and we'll talk after you've sobered up."

I closed my eyes to avoid looking at him and coldly spat out one word.

"Get out."

I couldn't sleep all night. And my mom showed up right on time at eight in the morning.

She literally dragged me out of bed.

"Sophie! You still have the nerve to sleep!"

"Who gave you that video? That absolutely cannot be Marcus! Don't let people manipulate youthey just can't stand to see you happy!"

"You called off the engagement without consulting your family. Do you know how many people are laughing at us? You've completely humiliated me!"

I rubbed my throbbing temples and sighed:

"Mom, I downloaded the video from the surveillance system in our new house myself. It can't be faked."

"Marcus cheated. He..."

My mom didn't let me finish. She cut me off directly:

"Don't give me your lectures! Who is Marcus? When he stomps his foot, all of Los Angeles shakes!

It's completely normal for a man like that to have women throwing themselves at him!

You eat his food and wear his clothescan't you show him some understanding? You think calling off an engagement is like playing house when you were three?

Where are you going to find another man with such good conditions after leaving Marcus!"

I wasn't at all surprised to hear these words from my mom's mouth.

Her low standards for men were legendary. But I was different from her.

"Mom, if you like Marcus so much, why don't you marry him yourself? The engagement can go on as planned."

My mom's face turned red with anger. She raised her hand to hit me.

My stomach churned violently. I pushed her aside and rushed into the bathroom to hug the toilet.

Behind me, my mom cursed that I was outrageousnearly thirty years old and still getting drunk, not knowing how to take care of my body at all.

Finally, the topic circled back to Marcus.

"The Williams family is prestigious. Marcus is handsome and rich. If you miss him, think it through yourself!"

My mom's words, spoken word by word, made me think again of Olivia lovingly entwined with Marcus.

"Look at youthis room is a complete mess. Can't you clean up a bit? Why is there blood on the sheets?"

"Look how sloppy you are. Who would want you besides Marcus! And you're still not satisfied!"

I silently closed the bathroom door, blocking out her voice.

Curled into a ball, I buried my face in my arms and let my tears flow freely.

The story between Marcus and me wasn't what outsiders sawhim chasing novelty, me chasing money.

We'd been together for eight years.

We got together back in high school when the school was cracking down hard on teen dating.

When we celebrated our eighth anniversary, I couldn't help asking him while cutting the cake if there'd be another anniversary to celebrate.

He smiled and pinched my nose, pulling out a diamond ring and slipping it on my ring finger.

"Next time we'll celebrate our first wedding anniversary together."

"Sophie, will you marry me?"

No. I regret it. I should have refused then.

Marcus, you said you'd love me forever.

You said I was your first love, your first kiss, and I'd be everything for the rest of your life.

Then who is she to you?

My mom made a huge scene at my place, trying to get me to reconcile with Marcus.

But when she found I was completely unmoved, she eventually cursed at me a few times and left.

I stayed home for two days with my phone off, refusing to look at any messages about him.

Trying to patch up my heart that was riddled with holes.

On Monday, I pulled myself together and went to work as usual.

As soon as my coworkers saw me, they congratulated me and asked for wedding candy.

"Sorry, my engagement is cancelled. I'll bring you some another time."

My coworker's smile froze on her face.

"Oh, that's okay."

"Um... are you alright?"

I nodded and smiled:

"I'm fine. Really good."

With that, I opened my computer and started working.

During lunch break, I overheard several coworkers chatting together in the hallway.

"Why did Sophie suddenly call off her engagement?"

"Her boyfriend is so handsome and rich. Did he dump her?"

"Don't talk nonsense. I've met her boyfriend. Last time when it was snowing and the roads were so slippery, her boyfriend came to pick her up in a Porsche.

When he saw Sophie wearing high heels, he got out of the car and just picked her up. They seemed so in lovehow could they just break up like that?"

"Then what else could it be? Did Sophie cheat?"

"I told you not to spread rumors. We've worked with Sophie for so longdon't you know what kind of person she is? Sharp tongue but soft heart. She's a really good person."

I didn't keep listening.

I turned back to my workstation to continue working. Two messages popped up on my phone screen.

My mom was nagging at me again.

[I heard from Marcus that you blocked him?]

[You're too old for this kind of behavior. Hurry up and add him back. Apologize. Talk through whatever misunderstanding you have.]

I stared at her messages in a daze.

My heart was completely calm. Coming back to my senses, I clicked on my mom's profile and put both her and Marcus on my blocklist together.

After work, it started drizzling.

I opened a rideshare app. It showed 120 people in the queue.

I stood in front of the building, waving goodbye to my coworkers one by one until I was the only one left.

I suddenly thought of Marcus.

All these years, whether it was windy or rainy, he always came to pick me up.

Because I depended on him, I'd stopped even carrying an umbrella.

Habits really are a terrible thing.

Holding my bag over my head, I took a breath and rushed into the rain.

I'd barely run a few steps when someone grabbed me and pulled me under an umbrella.

The moment I looked up, I met Marcus's eyes.

"Sophie, I came to take you home"

"Get lost!"

I pushed away his hand and ran toward the bus stop without looking back.

But Marcus persisted.

He kept following behind me, desperately holding the umbrella over my head.

"Sophie, be good. What if you get sick from the rain?"

"Even if I die, it has nothing to do with you!"

I turned around and couldn't help hitting him several times with my bag:

"Can't you understand human language! I don't want to see you anymore! Every word you say to me makes me sick!"

"Stop bothering me! We have nothing to do with each other anymore!"

"Get lost! Just get lost!"

My hysterical appearance in the rain made me look like a madwoman.

Turns out losing control of your emotions really does happen in an instant.

I'd had a pretty good day up until then.

The weekly meeting went smoothly, my boss praised me, and I'd even treated everyone to coffee.

But the moment I saw Marcus, he so easily shattered all my strength.

Marcus seemed nailed to the spot. He stood motionless, letting me hit him until it hurt.

My bag fell to the ground. He bent down to pick it up and placed it in my hands.

His lips moved like he had something to say, but ultimately it was all swallowed by the rain.

I flagged down a taxi and got in without looking back.

In the rearview mirror, Marcus's figure grew farther and farther away.

Finally, I couldn't see anything clearly anymore.

After getting home, I took a hot bath.

While I was in the kitchen making soup, I received a call from an unknown number.

"You dare block me! Marcus just got in a car accident, do you know that?!"

"Los Angeles Hospital, get over here now! Any later and you won't even see him one last time!"