After my foster brother, Wren, stumbled drunkenly into my bed, he missed a crucial call from his first love, Daniella. That night, she was killed in a car accident. When Wren heard the news, he murmured about fate’s cruelty.
Later, I found out I was pregnant, and my parents naturally suggested Wren and I marry. For all those years, I believed he genuinely cared for me. But on our wedding night, he drugged my entire family and set our estate ablaze. Amid the dancing flames, he glared at us with hatred.
"You took my beloved Daniella from me, and now you're after my family's wealth," he snarled. "Let's all go down together!"
Suddenly, reality snapped back as I lay on the floor, recalling Wren's abrupt departure. The sharp ache in my arm reminded me this was a second chance at life.
Wren threw me a disdainful look before racing out of the hotel, frantically dialing his phone. In my former life, at that party, he’d drunk too much with friends. Afraid he’d feel awful the next day, I brought him coffee to sober him up. When I opened the door, he drew me into a heated embrace, whispering that he liked me.
I realized he’d been drugged and hesitated before responding. Meanwhile, Daniella had her fatal accident. The next day, he seemed unaffected by her death.
A month later, upon discovering I was pregnant, my parents were overjoyed, urging us to marry and strengthen family bonds. Wren agreed without a second thought. But I never imagined he’d betray us on our wedding night, maliciously insisting he had always loved Daniella.
Saying I’d ruined his happiness, he wanted my family to pay the ultimate price. Although he’d ended things with Daniella long before, he seemed haunted by her memory.
Daniella was the daughter of our neighbor, Rowan. He favored sons over daughters and often mistreated her—a fact my parents witnessed multiple times. Out of compassion, they often took her in when she was thrown out, urging me to befriend her because she was "so alone."
Still, I never liked Daniella. Even as a child, I sensed she wasn’t genuine. Later, I caught her bullying classmates and mistreating animals. I told my parents, and they tactfully distanced themselves from her.
I thought that was the last I’d see of her until I discovered Wren’s growing attachment to her, the affectionate gaze he reserved for her. When I confronted him with her misdeeds, he dismissed them.
"Daniella is kind, diligent, and incredibly helpful," he insisted. "She couldn’t possibly be the person you’re describing."
It took my father compiling a detailed dossier on her to finally open his eyes. Wren was silent the entire night but broke up with her the next day. Our family celebrated his freedom from her, never suspecting Wren’s heart was still tied to Daniella.
I sat in a guest room all night. At dawn, a message from Wren arrived: "Come to the estate, or else."
I stared at the text, a chill running through me as Wren’s burning gaze remained vivid in my memory. I slowly got up, took a cab to the estate, and found the door code changed, my fingerprint access revoked. The winter wind was bitter, though it couldn’t match the coldness in my heart.
Since Wren was adopted, he’d always doted on me. We were inseparable growing up. He often vowed to marry me when we were older, promising I’d be the happiest bride. In high school, I confessed my feelings, and he didn’t reject me.
Wren used to call this estate our secret haven, the place for our future together. Now, I wasn’t welcome. Tears burned in my eyes, a dull ache in my chest.
I called him repeatedly, each call unanswered. Defeated, I stood shivering in the cold for nearly two hours until the door finally opened, and I stepped inside.
As I entered the living room, Wren stood on the stairs in a bathrobe, his chest marked with suggestive traces. I froze, staring at the marks, while he glared at me.
"The only woman I love is Daniella, and I plan to marry her soon!"
I swallowed my bitterness. After my family’s tragic end, how could I still love him?
“Keep your twisted plans to yourself,” he warned coldly. “I’ll let it go this time, but if you try anything again, don’t blame me for kicking you out of the house!”
His disdain cut deep, the pain in my heart sharp and relentless. I managed to ask, “What plans have I supposedly devised?”
“I haven’t done anything!” I insisted.
Wren’s sneer grew. “Still playing the innocent card?”
“Can you honestly say you didn’t drug me for my inheritance or try to harm Daniella?”
My mind buzzed at his accusation. Drug him for his inheritance? I loved him openly and honestly, never resorting to such measures.
“That hotel is under your name. Who else could have drugged me?” he demanded.
His mocking disbelief left me speechless, my heart aching from betrayal. After nearly twenty years together, didn’t Wren know my character at all? His love for Daniella blinded him, even at the cost of his own life.
Just then, Daniella emerged from a bedroom, wearing my pajamas, looking at me with feigned terror.
“I’m sorry,” she pleaded. “Please don’t hurt me.”
Wren quickly pulled Daniella into his arms, giving me a fierce glare. "Get lost! Don’t ever show your face around Daniella again."
I glanced at Daniella, who looked so helpless, and couldn’t help but smirk. It was true, I had arranged for someone to teach her a lesson, but only after discovering she’d tormented a girl to the brink of despair. That lesson had curbed her behavior quite a bit.
But now, with her distorted version of the truth, I was the one labeled as the bully.
"No need, Jeremiah. If I marry you, I’ll have to spend more time with your little sister," Daniella smiled at me, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "I believe your sister has turned a new leaf and won’t bully people recklessly anymore."
Wren, still holding her, said to me coldly, "I'll give you a chance to make amends. Say good things about Daniella to Mom and Dad at Thanksgiving, and I might consider forgiving you."
"Fine," I replied softly. In this life, I just want my loving parents to be happy. As for Wren, if he’s blind enough to love this manipulative person, then so be it. In this lifetime, no one will stand in their way.
"Jeremiah, you were too rough last night. My back is still aching!" Daniella pouted playfully at Wren, adjusting her clothes to deliberately reveal suggestive marks on her skin. "Isn’t Laylani pretty skilled at giving massages?"
Wren immediately ordered, "Did you hear Daniella? Why are you just standing there?"
I looked at him, feeling wounded. I had learned how to give massages just for him. He used to be possessive and insisted that I should only massage him. Now he’s telling me to give a massage to Daniella right after they’ve been intimate!
Seeing I wasn’t moving, he gave me a harsh glare and roughly pushed me towards Daniella. "What are you waiting for?"
"Fine, I'll do it," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper as I mechanically gave Daniella a massage. Seeing the red marks on her skin made it hard for me to breathe.
After the massage, Daniella said smugly to me, "Laylani, this villa is going to be Jeremiah's and my marital home, but I noticed there are still a lot of your things here. You should find a time to move them out. Otherwise, if people find out, they might start gossiping that you’re some kind of weirdo who’s in love with her brother."
Wren nodded in agreement, "Hurry up and get your stuff out of here. It makes me sick just looking at it."
I clenched my fingers tightly in my sleeves, nodding slightly. "I’ll call the moving service right now."
The movers arrived quickly and started packing under my instructions. The dining table Wren and I had picked together, the decorations I had personally chosen... one by one, they were moved out, and eventually, everything was tossed into the dumpster outside the villa.
With them went the last trace of love I had for Wren.
The next day, my mother called me in tears, saying my foster brother had upset my dad so much that he had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital. I was so shocked that my phone slipped from my hand and clattered to the floor as I dashed out the door to the hospital.
Fortunately, Dad received timely medical attention and was out of danger. As soon as I entered the hospital room, I saw my father angrily grabbing something beside him and hurling it at my foster brother.
"Get out! If you want to marry this woman, then leave this house."
"Dad, Wren and I truly love each other. I know you have reservations about me, but please give me a chance; I will prove myself," Daniella Kelly pleaded with an earnest look.
Wren held her protectively, his eyes cold and fixed on my dad. "I am going to marry her, no matter what," he declared, his tone defiant. "Old man, you're getting on in years. Stop trying to control us, or you might find yourself without anyone to care for you in the future."
Dad's face turned pale with anger, and he yelled, "You're ungrateful! Get out!"
My mother, equally furious, picked up a broom, ready to chase the two out of the house. I caught Wren's eyes as he turned to leave, my face impassive.
"Dad has taken care of you for over twenty years; how could you do this to him?" I asked.
"Taken care of me for over twenty years? Are you sure it wasn't because there was something in it for him?" Wren replied cryptically before leaving.
His words left me puzzled; what did he mean? But there was no time to ponder as I rushed to comfort my dad by his bedside.
"Dad, Wren is an adult now. If he has feelings for Daniella, let's just let him make his own choices," I suggested.
"Let's not concern ourselves with him," I added.
Mom was nearby, shedding tears. "We worked so hard to raise him, and he turned out to be so ungrateful," she lamented.
Dad heaved a sigh. "Let him go; I've done my duty by raising him."
Seeing their reluctant acceptance of Wren's decision to marry Daniella came as a relief. This time, without obstacles, my parents shouldn't have to worry, right?
When I returned home, the moment I stepped inside, someone pushed me against the wall, startling me. I looked up to see Wren glaring down at me, his expression thunderous.
Before I could explain that my parents had agreed to his marriage with Daniella, he suddenly flung a piece of clothing at my face, his voice seething with anger. "Laylani, are you really this shameless? Stuffing lingerie into my clothes?"
"I told you I don't have feelings for you anymore," he sneered. "Do you have to resort to such cheap tricks to get my attention?"
"Falling for your own brother—don't you find that twisted?"
His words cut deeply, and tears spilled from my eyes. Clenching the lingerie in my fist, I shouted back, "I didn't do it; it was a mistake by the housekeeper!"
Wren's gaze grew even colder. "Do you think I'd believe that? Don't show your face around me again; you disgust me!"
"Believe what you want; it's true, I've stopped liking you," I retorted, meeting his glare with a steely one of my own before turning and leaving the house.
