I was adopted by the Nelson family, yet I fell in love with my brother.

Each time I confessed my feelings to him, he'd show up with a new girlfriend. On my twentieth birthday, I decided to make one last attempt.

The setting I'd carefully arranged for my confession turned into the scene of his proposal. I watched as my brother kissed Nalani Ward and asked her to marry him. She nodded with tears in her eyes and a blush on her cheeks, and that’s when I knew it was time to move on.

---

That evening at the birthday party, I presented a cake and declared my feelings to Jaxton for the twelfth time. The cake had both our names on it, with a card wishing, "Elyse wants to be with Jaxton forever."

The room burst into applause, almost like crashing waves. Friends egged me on, and I decided to make a bold move. "Brother, will you finally say yes?"

I held my breath, waiting for Jaxton's answer, only to see him lazily look up and meet my eyes.

"Elyse," he said, his voice devoid of warmth, "are you being childish? We’re siblings, not a couple."

"I'd rather not be labeled a creep."

An awkward silence filled the room.

I gripped the hem of my blouse as I watched Jaxton leisurely get up from the couch. He turned and gave Nalani, seated next to him, a tender smile.

"But there's something I do want to do," he added.

I felt a tight knot in my stomach and instinctively tried to stop him.

But it was too late.

Jaxton pulled out a ring from his pocket, wrapped an arm around Nalani's waist, and asked her, "Will you marry me?"

Nalani blushed deeply, nodded while crying, and threw her arms around his neck. Jaxton kissed her intensely, leaving me to feel like the fool.

Birthday wishes might not come true, but they sure can be ironic.

My brother once said, "Every time you say you love me, I'll bring home another woman."

Jaxton was notorious for his charm, attracting a constant stream of women eager to become my sister-in-law. He didn't love any of them. Yet with each confession, he'd use the opportunity to show me, unmistakably, that we could never be.

As Nalani swooned from the kiss, Jaxton abruptly let her go and fixed me with a cold gaze. "Elyse, are you still going to make a fool of yourself?"

The pain in my heart was unbearable, but I forced myself to stay composed and asked, "Why do you treat me like this?"

"What else? I don't like you."

"Elyse," he continued, contempt clear in his eyes, "I've had enough of your obsession. Can't you have some self-awareness?"

With Nalani nestled in his arms, she playfully tapped his chest, her tone more teasing than reproachful. "Don't speak to Elyse like that; she's your sister."

Jaxton smiled at me.

Tears blurred my vision as the birthday party turned into a farce, making me the butt of the joke.

Jaxton casually pinched Nalani’s cheek, adding with a playful smirk, "Sister? She's just an adopted girl who can't figure out her place. Did she really think she was something special?"

Suddenly, I felt the air being sucked out of the room. Overcome with suffocation, I fled the room, sobbing.

From a young age, I was adopted by the Nelson family. In their household, I quickly became aware of their charming young master, Jaxton. He was known for his temper and rarely showed kindness to anyone—except me.

The first time I met him, he reached out and gave me his favorite toy car, saying, "Elyse, from now on, we're family."

Later, on a stormy night when the school bus got stranded and I couldn't make it home, Jaxton was the one who walked through the pouring rain for over two hours to find me. As he stood tall above me, his smile was gentle. "Silly sister, I knew you'd be stuck, so I came to get you."

On my eighteenth birthday, I drank wine for the first time with my classmates and ended up completely drunk. Tearfully, I called my brother to come pick me up. As he carried me on his back, I boldly nibbled his earlobe and murmured, "Brother, I don't want to be just your sister."

That night, Jaxton pressed me against a tree and kissed me so passionately that my lips were swollen, leaving me breathless and tearful. Holding me close, he said, "I've never thought of you as just my sister."

I believed Jaxton felt the same way about me. It felt like a dream—as if the person I loved loved me back. Excited, I blushed and dressed up, ready to tell him our bond was more than just sibling affection and we could try being together.

However, I was confronted with the sight of my brother coming out of his bedroom with another woman. She was wearing his clothes and greeted me casually, "Good morning, little sis."

In that moment, my heart, which had soared so high, came crashing down. I desperately grabbed Jaxton, demanding to know why. His expression was indifferent as he pushed me away. "Why what?"

He refused to acknowledge what happened that night, denied ever kissing me, and even when I forced a kiss on him, he shoved me away, shouting, "You're out of your mind!"

From then on, whenever I showed any affection or said I liked him, Jaxton would find a new girlfriend and bring her home, completely indifferent to my feelings. Even at night, with our rooms next to each other, I could hear the sounds of intimacy through the wall.

The pain felt like a knife twisting in my heart, and I crouched down, unable to comprehend why. The night of my eighteenth birthday was still clear in my mind, but the Jaxton before me seemed like a different person.

My phone buzzed in my pocket incessantly. Still in tears, I answered the call.

"Elyse, did you have a good birthday today?"

Choking up, I sobbed into the phone, "Mom, I want to go abroad. I don't want to stay here any longer—I need to leave as soon as possible."

A month ago, my biological parents found me, revealing that I wasn't abandoned but had been kidnapped by traffickers during a train transfer. After a long journey, I ended up in an orphanage and was ultimately adopted by the Nelsons.

When my parents found me, they brought gifts and met with the Nelsons to discuss taking me back. They offered financial support to help the Nelsons gain prominence in London society.

Yet, I hadn't wanted to leave because of Jaxton. My obsession with him had been deeply rooted over the years. Now, it was time to let go.

So, when I mentioned going abroad, my mom was taken aback and asked, "Did something happen? Did someone hurt you?"

Hearing the concern in her voice, a wave of emotions washed over me, but a sense of warmth began to seep in. I sniffed and wiped away my tears, assuring her that everything was fine. After hanging up, I hailed a cab and returned to the Nelsons'.