Lucille jolted slightly and turned to glance sideways at Sophia. Sophia smirked at her and then set an alarm on her phone.

A minute later, the alarm rang on the dot. Sophia pretended to pick up a call and then forced out a few tears, looking at the driver’s seat tearfully. “River, the butler said my puppy fell sick. I’m so worried! Could you send me home first?”

River stopped by the roadside and frowned at the rain pouring outside. When he turned around and saw Sophia’s teary face, however, he hesitated for a few seconds before finally addressing Lucille.

“I’ll send Lucille home first. Her house is in the other direction, so why don’t you get down and take a cab to your destination?”

Sophia did not give her time to say no, hurriedly offering her an umbrella.

Lucille looked at River and then Sophia. Finally, she got out of the car without a word.

There were some holes in the umbrella. The rain leaked through and drenched her immediately.

The bad weather meant there were no cabs on the streets, either. She had no choice but to run with her bag over her head. She ran in the rain for half an hour before she finally reached the embassy.

There were still no cabs after she got her visa. Lucille walked an hour home, the rain beating on her the entire time.

She knew she had a fever once she got home. Her body hurt all over, and she practically passed out on her bed.

She had a few strange nightmares as she broke out in a cold sweat. It felt like a monster was chasing her the entire time.

When she desperately opened her eyes, she saw that River was the monster.

He held her in his arms, feeding her the medicine sip by sip. His tone was gentle and pained. “Drink the medicine, okay? You’ll get better in an instant.”

Lucille could not tell if this was a dream or reality. She instinctively swallowed the medicine and drifted back to sleep.

When she next woke up, her fever had broken. She looked next to her, but there was no one there except for a phone vibrating on her bedside table.

She unlocked the phone and saw it was River’s friends spamming their group chat.

[You should win Best Actor, bro. I heard you turned down a project worth millions just to go home and take care of your little sister.]

[I feel like River’s fallen for real! He ran twenty red lights to rush home when he heard she had a fever. Has he actually fallen in love with her?]

[Agreed, I don’t think that anxiety was an act.]

River replied, [Me, fall in love with her? Over my dead body. I’m just doing this to make her even more devoted to me. That way, won’t her heart be shattered once she finds out the truth.]

Every word shook Lucille’s heart. She thought, ‘Over my dead body? Is that what you say to me after five years of dating? River, you’re heartless.’

All the strength drained from her body. Her hand fell limp by her side.

The next second, her bedroom door opened. Walking in with a basin of warm water, River stiffened and then quickly grabbed his phone back.

His usually lazy drawl was a touch nervous. “What did you see?”

Lucille lowered her head to hide her reddened eyes. Her voice was hoarse. “Why? Is there something I’m not supposed to see?”

She did not understand. He knew she was already irresistibly in love with her. Why did he continue the charade? Was there any need to prolong this act?

He was still on edge, worried she would discover the truth. Wasn’t he tired after pretending all this time?

Enough! He had achieved his goal! Her heart was already broken!

River did not know what she was thinking. He just assumed she was in a bad mood because she was sick, so he hugged her soothingly. “Of course not. I’m just preparing a surprise for you. Since you’re upset, I’ll tell you what it is right now!

“I found out a place that we can get married without any hindrance. Lucy, why don’t we move there and get married? I’m already making the arrangements.”

They had been discussing a future like this for countless nights. Hearing him say it now, however, Lucille no longer felt any trace of emotion. Her heart was dead and still.

She knew that they would no longer have a future.

Ten days from now, she would be gone from his life… and he from hers.

The first thing Lucille did once she got better was calculate how much the Dortmans had spent on her over the years.

She sat at her table, adding up all the expenses she had incurred since she joined this household. Everything from her living costs to tuition fees added up to three million dollars.

Her late father’s inheritance and old property were worth two million dollars, and she had saved a few dozen thousand from her part-time work. It seemed she had to find more work before she left to make up the difference.

Lucille’s expertise was photography. With that in mind, she found some freelance jobs online. Before long, she had eight offers for everything from wedding photos to graduation shoots.

She accepted every job and worked from day to night. She was too tired to even stand up straight, yet she did not breathe a word of complaint.

It was because her mother told her Dan had been divorced even before they met. He just never made it in public.

In other words, they had dated and married as consenting single adults. She was never his mistress.

Neither she nor her mother had ever wanted the Dortmans’ fortune. Lucille was planning to leave now, but she did not want River to keep misunderstanding her mother, not when Victoria was staying put.

That was why she had decided to pay back everything she owed her stepfather.

She worked her butt off for a week and managed to scrape together three thousand dollars. Just when she was about to slow down her hustle, she suddenly received a huge order.

Someone wanted her to take some photos at a birthday party. They offered her two thousand dollars for it.

Of course, the high commission came with a price. Apparently, the photos had to impress the birthday girl, and they would only pay up once she was a hundred percent satisfied with them.

Lucille took the offer without hesitation. She needed to gather the money ASAP.

On the day of the birthday party, she arrived at the location with her camera only to see a bunch of familiar faces.

The one in the princess dress and crown was none other than Sophia. River stood next to her in a black suit, and Lucille’s heart jolted when she saw them together.

River frowned when he saw how exhausted she looked. “Why are you accepting jobs like this? Isn’t it your dream to become an award-winning photographer? Our parents give you an allowance, don’t they?”

“I’m an adult, and I like this kind of work. That’s why I accepted the job.”

River’s expression turned colder. He was about to tell her off when Sophia hastily interrupted. “Lucy, River’s just worried about you. Don’t pick a fight with your brother.”

Sophia even hugged her arm and pulled her into the party hall, saying she wanted to see what Lucille’s photography skills were like.

Despite her polite praises, she worked Lucille to the bone. Lucille could not stop for even a second all night, pressing the shutter until her finger went numb.

She took almost five thousand photos, but Sophia still was not satisfied. She insisted on Lucille taking a bird’s eye view shot even though the latter was exhausted.

Lucille carried her heavy equipment to the third floor, put up her tripod, and then aimed her camera at the center stage.

Looking through her camera, she watched River step onto the stage. He personally put the necklace that was allegedly a family heirloom around Sophia’s neck.

Sophia smirked in the direction of the third floor and then jumped into his arms. Lucille knew she was doing this to show off to her.

The entire night, Sophia had done everything to publicly display her affection with River. She brought her glass of champagne to his lips, dragged him to the dance floor amidst cheers from the crowd, and complained that her calves were sore so he would give her a massage…

Lucille had thousands of photos of them like this, close as lovers. She was already numb.

She quickly took a photo of them hugging. Before she could click the shutter again, Sophia stood on her tiptoes and kissed River.

Lucille’s hand paused. Her hollow eyes briefly cleared up, and she focused her lens.

In the HD footage, River froze up too. After three short seconds, however, he pulled Sophia into his arms.

He put his hand on the back of her head and pressed her close, deepening the kiss!

“Wow, what a sweet couple!”

“Looks like they’ll be getting married soon. Hahaha, I’ll finally get a daughter-in-law!”

Her stepfather’s voice behind her woke Lucille from her daze. She quickly took a few more pictures of the highlight of the night.

River and Sophia soon parted. Sophia waved toward the third floor with a bashful smile. “Thanks for everything, Lucy! Let’s stop here!”

Lucille heaved a sigh of relief and brought her equipment downstairs, returning to her parents’ side.

Victoria was holding Sophia’s hand and smiling at her. “Dan and I encountered some delays along the way and ended up a little late. I hope you don’t mind, Sophia.”

“Of course I don’t! You came right on time. We haven’t distributed the cake yet.”

Dan patted his son’s shoulder with a proud smile. “I’m glad you found the love of your life, River. Since you gave Sophia that necklace, isn’t it time you invited her family over? We should start discussing your wedding.”

Sophia turned bright red, looking at River with love overflowing in her eyes. She then looked at Lucille. “I’m okay with anything, but I don’t have many friends here. I may ask Lucy to be my bridesmaid.”

Lucille was busy rubbing her sore hands, so she did not hear what Sophia said. It was only after Victoria nudged her and repeated the request that she understood.

She raised her head, her expression still calm and even. “Sorry, I may be busy from now on. I won’t be able to attend the wedding, but I wish you and my brother all the best. Welcome to the family, Sophia.”

Sophia, Victoria, and Dan’s smiles widened. On the other hand, River gave Lucille a dark look, his smile slowly fading.

Having completed her long and painful commission, Lucille went straight to her bathroom as soon as she got home. After washing up, she dragged her weary body to her bedroom.

The moment she opened her door, before she could even go in, a powerful pair of arms pinned her against the corridor wall. River rained kisses down her neck, still wet from the shower, leaving a trail of red marks in his wake.

His sudden assault almost caused Lucille to scream. She pressed her tongue to her throat, swallowing her cry as she tried to dodge his kisses.

The more she tried to evade him, however, the harder he kissed her. In the end, he even grabbed her chin.

She struggled desperately, the terror in her eyes deepening with the footsteps coming up the stairs. “You’re crazy!”

River scoffed, his eyes bloodshot as he whispered into her ear. “Yeah, I’m crazy. Go on, why don’t you scream? Show everyone our relationship. Show them how you melt under your stepbrother’s kisses.”

The footsteps stopped and then headed back down the stairs. Lucille’s heart finally settled back in her chest.

She used all her strength to push away his arm pinning her to the wall and ducked away from him, her voice still trembling with fear. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

River followed her with his dark gaze. “I should be asking you that. ‘Welcome to the family?’ What the hell was up with that?”

Lucille paused. She did not get it. He only approached her to get revenge, so why was he bothered by something so trivial?

“What’s wrong with me saying that? You two are getting married, aren’t you? You even kissed in front of me!”

“Lucille Shaw! I told you, we’re just acting! I only kissed Sophia because I saw our parents!” He seemed to be actually angry now, his tone brash and harsh.

Lucille could not tell if he was just pretending. Even so, she instinctively believed he was still acting, so she nodded. “Yes, I know. You’re an amazing actor!”

So when was this show going to end? He had already broken her heart. Wasn’t that enough?

Lucille did not say the rest out loud. She just blinked, the tears she had been holding back spilling forth.

She was too tired to continue this charade with him anymore. Why wouldn’t he let her go?