"Mom and Dad always taught us never to settle for anything less than what we deserve," Tracy said coldly.

Then, she gave Lionel and me a look full of disgust. "You're going out to eat with him? Why don't you skip that and just book a hotel already?"

Before she could lecture me any further, I shoved her aside and linked my arm through Lionel's.

"Well, he invited me for a meal. It'd be rude to turn down an invitation."

What was wrong with having dinner with my own husband, anyway?

Seeing me act close with Lionel made Tracy furious. She pointed a shaking finger at me. "How did I end up with a sister like you? Are you really that eager to jump into bed with him?"

Her angry face only made me feel sick.

With Lionel looking at me, clearly confused, I got into the car and said, "Only people with dirty minds see everything as dirty. If you think dinner means something else, maybe you shouldn't go for dinner ever again. What if a guy looks at you while you're eating and you think he's trying to sleep with you?"

Tracy banged on the car window in frustration. "Are you just gonna leave like this?"

I rolled the window down halfway. "You like honest guys like Jamie, right? I'm just giving you two some alone time."

Once Lionel got in, I quickly hit the lock before Tracy could try to open the door. "I'm taking my husband out, and we're gonna get a hotel room after. You sure you want to come with us?"

Using her own words against her left her speechless.

Ignoring her yelling behind us, Lionel and I ended up having a nice evening together.

But when I got home and tried to unlock the door, I realized the marriage certificate that had been in my purse was gone.

I tore the place apart, checking every pocket and corner, but it was nowhere to be found.

Then I remembered—Tracy had tried to grab my bag right after we got the certificate.

I stormed into her room and kicked the door open, but she wasn't home yet.

I called her over and over, but she didn't pick up.

With no other choice, I sat in the living room and waited.

When Tracy finally came back, looking all frazzled, she spotted me on the couch and immediately switched to her smug, fake smile.

"Well, if it isn't Mrs. Andrus. What, couldn't satisfy your incubus husband? He kicked you out already? You can't seriously think that marrying Lionel will make him fight his incubus nature. Do you really believe you can handle a man like that when he's in heat? Come on, we're sisters. I'd never hurt you. You've always been too gullible—if I don't keep an eye on you, you might end up in a ditch someday."

I stood up and grabbed her arm, sick of her fake concern. "Did you take my marriage certificate?"

For a second, she looked shocked, but quickly recovered. "Isn't it in your purse pocket? Why would it be with me?"

She was clearly lying. I had put it in my purse, but I never told her it was in the pocket.

"It's not there," I said coolly. "Maybe I should call Lionel and have him send a few people over to help me look."

Just as I was about to dial, Tracy snatched the phone from my hand. "You two shouldn't have gotten married! Now that you lost the certificate, it could be a sign."

I stared at her coldly, remembering my miserable past life. Then, I grabbed the phone back. "Give me my marriage certificate, or I'll have Lionel come get it himself."

Tracy showed no guilt at all. Instead, she lifted her chin as if she were proud of herself. "That certificate is useless to me. I did it for your own good."

"Oh, really?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

She smirked, as if she thought she had outsmarted me.

"You're enjoying yourself now because you're still new to this, but once he's done with you, he'll toss you aside. I'm your sister; I can't let you make a fool of yourself. Let me teach you a few—hey, what are you doing?"

Ignoring her, I tore open her bag—and there it was, my marriage certificate.

Tracy lunged at me, grabbing the other end. "I'm doing this for you! When he's finished with you, no one will want you again!"

We pulled hard from both sides until the certificate ripped clean in half.

Tracy's face lit up with twisted satisfaction. She stood tall, as if she had just won a fight.

This girl must've slept through over a decade of school if she thought tearing a certificate would cancel a legal marriage.

After that day, Tracy made it her mission to brainwash me every chance she got. She wouldn't stop preaching about her idea of "true love".

She even started messaging Lionel every day.

[Only two people who truly love each other deserve to be together.

[It's okay to meet the right person later in life.

[Until I meet the right one, I'll never settle for less and just marry whoever.]

Of course, Tracy blocked me from seeing all those texts.

I only knew about them because Lionel told me during one of our dates.

Tracy kept telling me not to let Lionel turn me into a "wild girl" and that I should just settle down and marry Jamie. But behind my back, she was waiting outside a hotel, pretending to be me on social media to add Lionel as a contact.

What she didn't know was that every woman Lionel met at that hotel was actually me. So there she was, waiting for him by the door. When Lionel came out, she rushed into his arms, pretending it was a coincidence.

"You shouldn't feel like you have to marry Shirley just because you slept with her. That's not real love. As her sister, I have to say you two aren't right for each other. You'd never be happy when you're stuck in a loveless marriage."

I hid by the stairwell, watching Lionel's face twist in disgust before yelling for security to drag her out. I laughed so hard I could barely stand up.

Ten days later, Lionel came to pick me up so we could move in together.

Tracy saw the camera feed by the door, rushed back home, and blocked our way just as we were about to leave.

"Shirley, you have to stop this. What you two have isn't healthy—it's twisted. If you stay with him, I'll cut ties with you. And I'll tell everyone in the family about it!"

I held onto Lionel's arm and ignored her, but as Lionel walked past her, she leaned in on purpose, pressing her chest against him.

Lionel immediately stepped back in disgust, and she stumbled into the table beside her.

Even though she had been the one who made the move, she looked at Lionel with a pitiful expression and said, "I knew it! You're just like all the others—chasing after every pretty girl you see. You even try to flirt with your sister-in-law. Don't think I don't know what's going through your head!"

Her act was pure manipulation, just like those pick-me girls who played innocent to hide their schemes.

Lionel pointed toward a few big guys standing outside.

"I'm not into you," he said flatly, "but they might be."

Tracy froze in shock, completely forgetting her "injury". She quickly hid behind me but still tried to sound righteous.

"Shirley, are you really okay being one of his many women? You'll never find true love that way. You shouldn't let him use you to satisfy his needs. You and Jamie should be together. I really think he's the most suitable man for you."

I grabbed Lionel's hand and hurried out before she could keep talking.

After that, it became Tracy's daily routine to either lecture me about breaking up with Lionel or show up in front of him, acting like some martyr for true love.

When she saw me packing my bags one day, she ran over and said, "Shirley, have you finally made up your mind? You can't keep being that incubus's toy."

I really didn't want to argue anymore, so I said casually, "Don't worry. I'm just going abroad for a while."

She brightened instantly and hugged me. "So you finally saw his true colors and want to get away from him?"

I gave a helpless nod, and she kissed my cheek, looking all happy.

"Don't worry. I'll cover for you! I'll tell Jamie you're coming back soon so you two can get married and build something real."

Seeing how happy she looked, I didn't have the heart to tell her the truth.

Lionel had cleared his schedule so that we could finally take our honeymoon trip. But halfway through our world tour, I found out I was pregnant.

As soon as Lionel heard, he brought me back home so I could rest.

Not long after, we accidentally walked into the wrong private dining room at a restaurant—and there was Tracy, whom I had blocked not long ago.

She was tangled up with some flashy businessman from our social circle, kissing like nobody was watching. When she saw us standing in the doorway, she scrambled to fix her clothes, her eyes wide as she stared at my belly.

Then, she shouted furiously, "Shirley! Didn't you get divorced from Lionel? What's with your belly?!"