I went to pick up my older brother who was out at a gathering. That was when I overheard him ask Nathan, "Haven't you been dating someone? It's been so long, and I still haven't met her."

I suddenly tensed up. Nathan and I had been together for three years, but we had always kept it a secret, so no one knew.

Nathan replied lazily, "She's not my girlfriend, just a pastime. It's not like I plan to marry her."

I clenched my fists and pushed the door open without hesitation.

Nathan Ridges immediately shut his mouth when he saw me.

All eyes in the room turned to me.

"What are you doing here?" My brother, Lucas Everett, put down his glass and moved aside to make room for me.

"Mom and Dad are out for a business dinner. I was bored at home alone." I tried to keep my voice steady, but my hands trembled uncontrollably.

He nodded and warned the people in the private room, "My sister doesn’t drink. None of you better force her."

His friends laughed and teased, "Lucas, you treat your sister so well. What will you do when she gets a boyfriend?"

Lucas rolled his eyes with a grin. "I’ll have to check him out thoroughly. Not just any man is good enough for her."

The group burst into laughter.

"What kind of man would be good enough, then? Do any of us qualify?"

Lucas glanced around the room, then jokingly settled his gaze on Nathan, who had been silent the whole time. "I guess only Nathan barely makes the cut."

"But he doesn’t even take his girlfriend seriously. No way I’m letting my sister date him."

Lucas was joking, but Nathan’s expression was stiff. He turned to glance at me, then quickly looked away.

"Don’t joke around. I see Sienna as a sister."

I stared at the side of Nathan’s face, feeling an unbearable pain in my heart.

Noticing my gaze, Lucas waved his hand in front of me. "Sienna? Why are you staring at Nathan like that?"

I quickly lowered my head and took a sip of water to cover my panic.

The others continued with their teasing.

"Sienna, sure, Nathan is good-looking, but he’s a total player. Don’t fall for the wrong guy."

"Yeah, just now, he was saying his girlfriend is easy to fool because she’s naive and soft-tempered. Can you believe that?"

"I thought he was actually serious after dating her for years. Turns out, he said she chased him too hard, and he couldn’t shake her off."

"Right! And he never brings her around. Why do you think that is? Because he never planned to have anything long-term with her. Just earlier, he—"

"That’s enough. Stop talking." Nathan’s face darkened, and his voice turned cold.

Lucas, being the closest to him, noticed his mood shift and asked, "What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you’re still upset about Bianca coming back?"

My hand trembled suddenly.

Bianca was coming back?

Nathan quickly glanced at me before looking away just as fast. "What does her return have to do with me?"

Lucas chuckled. "How does it not? You don’t care about your girlfriend because you still have Bianca in your heart, don’t you?"

Everyone knew he had a girlfriend he never introduced, but no one knew that person was me.

He would take calls from her at gatherings, speaking softly and sweetly. He sent her gifts every week—never the same, always thoughtful.

Even Lucas thought he was serious about her.

For three years, Nathan had treated me well—gentle, considerate, generous. He was the perfect boyfriend. The only condition he had was that we kept our relationship a secret.

His reason? "You’re still young."

I believed him.

Until just now, when I heard him say in a completely indifferent tone that I was nothing more than a pastime to him.

Just a pastime.

I really couldn’t stay any longer, so I made an excuse to go to the restroom.

I had barely stepped out when Nathan followed me. The warmth in his eyes from before was gone, replaced by an unreadable mix of cold indifference.

My eyes stung, and before I could stop them, tears started falling. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t accept that the man in front of me had only ever seen me as a pastime.

"Sienna."

My heart trembled. He was calling me by my full name now.

He looked at me, raising a hand as if to wipe away my tears, but I turned my face away to avoid him.

"I’m sorry."

Just three simple words, yet they made everything between us clear.

Nathan had been abroad for over a month. I had missed him so much that I couldn’t even wait until the next day, so I had rushed over excitedly to join his friends’ gathering. I never expected to uncover such a cruel truth.

"Sienna, I’m really sorry."

I wiped my tears away in frustration. "Nathan, don’t you have anything to say to explain yourself?"

He didn’t look at me, his gaze fixed on the window outside. "I've never wronged you. In these three years, I think I’ve treated you well enough."

I let out a bitter laugh. "If you liked Bianca all along, why did you stay with me?"

At the mention of her name, his expression instantly turned cold. "You knew I loved her. Why did you still stay with me? Isn’t that just pathetic on your part?"

His words sent a chill through my entire body. I opened my mouth to curse at him, but no sound came out.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

He glanced at the screen, and in an instant, his expression softened.

"Bianca…"

I had been right. It really was her. However, I had never guessed that Nathan never loved me.

Not wanting to hear his conversation, I lowered my head and returned to the private room.

Lucas and the others were still talking about Nathan.

"I bet he lashed out just now because of Bianca," Lucas said before taking another sip of his drink, looking like he had everything figured out. "He went abroad this time just to see her but didn’t even get to meet her. He only dared to watch her from a distance, in secret."

"I thought he was in a relationship to move on from Bianca, but turns out that girl was just a distraction. His heart still belongs to Bianca."

So that was why he went abroad. That was why he traveled abroad every month, telling me it was for work.

"Nathan has liked Bianca for years. He used to secretly draw portraits of her and lock them away in his cabinet, never letting anyone see them."

My mind buzzed as I listened to them praise how deeply Nathan loved her, how much he had sacrificed for her. I forced myself to smile, but my body trembled uncontrollably. I bit my lip so hard that I tasted blood.

Then, Lucas suddenly changed the topic.

"But his girlfriend is the real victim here. He wasted her time for years and never even gave her a proper title."

Lucas suddenly patted my shoulder.

"Sienna, I was just joking earlier. You can’t be with Nathan, and you definitely can’t believe anything he says. He’s a complete piece of trash."

His words sent a dull ache through my heart.

It was too late. I had already believed him.

Nathan never came back after answering the call.

"Bianca called him. No idea what she said, but Nathan's arranged a private jet for her."

Everyone laughed at Nathan, but I was the only one who wanted to cry.

Despite him treating me well, I was never the special one. All of his tenderness, his devotion, his favoritism—it was all for Bianca.

The gathering ended hastily, and I drove Lucas home.

Lying in bed, I kept replaying his words in my mind. I had always been quiet and reserved since I was young. On the other hand, Bianca was beautiful, lively, and sweet-talking.

I had nothing, but Nathan had noticed me, the girl always in the corner.

I still remember the day he said, "Wait up, Sienna! Don’t walk so fast!"

Those words had stayed with me for years.

At first, I only dared to steal quick glances at him. Then, I couldn't take my eyes off him. Even though I knew Nathan loved Bianca, I still opened my heart to him.

Three years ago, he gave me a bouquet of white roses, his eyes filled with warmth.

"Sienna, let’s be together."

That moment felt like it had happened just yesterday, yet today his indifference was a cruel contrast.

For days after the gathering, Nathan didn’t reach out to me. Of course, he wouldn’t. He never loved me. He had someone new.

I was in a daze, and Lucas, who was ever perceptive, noticed. He started coming into my room more often, trying to chat with me.

One day, he paused when he saw the diamond jewelry scattered across my desk.

"Sienna, I remember you love pearls. Why do you have so many diamonds?"

I couldn’t tell him they were all gifts from Nathan. While Lucas knew my preferences, Nathan never did, even after three years together.

I got up and threw them all into the trash.

"Why are you throwing them away? They’re perfectly fine."

I forced a bitter smile. "No matter how beautiful something is, if you don’t like it, there’s no point in keeping it."

Lucas didn’t understand the deeper meaning behind my words. Instead, he urged me to get dressed.

"Bianca’s back. We’re going to her welcome party. You should come too. It’ll help take your mind off things."

My heart twisted painfully.

So that’s why Nathan hadn’t contacted me. He must have been with Bianca all this time.

Before long, Lucas and I arrived at the Mayne family’s house.

The moment we stepped inside, I was met with a breathtaking sight—white roses filled the entire hall.

Bianca lifted her dress and ran toward me, smiling brightly. "Sienna! Long time no see!"

I tried to smile back, but I couldn’t. I had never hated her. We had grown up together as childhood friends, but she was also the woman Nathan loved.

That lingering thorn in my heart began to ache again.

I didn’t know what to say, so I forced myself to find a conversation topic.

"So many white roses… how romantic."

Bianca smiled sweetly. "Nathan arranged all of them. He knows they’re my favorite, so he practically emptied the entire city to get them."

My heart clenched.

I suddenly thought back to the day Nathan had asked me to be his girlfriend.

Something clicked.

He had wanted to give Bianca these roses, but she had gone abroad, so he couldn’t. Therefore, the flowers he couldn’t give her… he gave them to me instead.

I lowered my head, trying to hide the tears threatening to fall.

So that was the truth.

Even the flowers from his confession—I had only been given what she left behind.