Instinctively, I turned off my phone and looked at him calmly.

"Nothing. Just a friend."

Emmett frowned, clearly wanting to ask more. But at that moment, Leanne's cry of pain came from behind him, and his expression instantly changed.

"Camille, why did you push Leanne?" he demanded. "Do you know she was almost hit by a car?"

On hearing his words, my chest tightened as if I couldn't breathe.

After a moment, I took a deep breath and intoned coldly. "Believe it or not, I didn't push Leanne. If I had, why is it me lying here after the accident?"

The mockery on my face was unmistakable.

Emmett's gaze fell on the wounds covering my body, and a trace of concern flashed across his face.

He reached out, as if wanting to touch my cheek.

"Camille, you've loved lying ever since you were a child. If Emmett hadn't pushed you away back then, the one in the accident would have been Leanne!"

Jace's sharp voice cut in from the doorway.

He strode over and yanked Emmett aside, then looked at me sharply.

"Emmett, Camille has always been good at playing the victim. Don't be fooled by her. Leanne is already ill, and she's still competing for attention like this—so immature. Leanne would never lie. It must have been Camille who pushed her."

He looked at me with undisguised disgust. With just a few words, he sentenced me to guilt.

Leanne had been gone for seven years, and for those seven years, Jace had treated me kindly.

It made me believe that I had finally become the sister he liked.

But a single car accident stripped everything away and returned me to reality.

My brothers had never truly liked me. Neither had Emmett.

The nurse standing nearby couldn't hold back her anger.

"Are you Ms. Mcallister family? How can you treat her like this?"

"She was the most seriously injured in this accident—and she just suffered a miscarriage..."

Before she could finish, Antonio rushed in, panic written all over his face.

"Emmett! Jace! Come back quickly—Leanne's illness has flared up. She fainted!"

Emmett reflexively glanced back at me.

Jace grabbed his wrist.

"There's no need to care about Camille. She brought this accident upon herself."

Antonio shoved the two of them toward the door, then turned back to look at me with open scorn.

"Camille, you tried to get Leanne into a car accident so Emmett would stay devoted to you. I never knew you were this vicious. If anything happens to Leanne, I will never let you off."

I lay stiffly on the hospital bed, enduring pain multiplied by the cruelty of both family and the man I loved, until their figures disappeared from sight.

...

From that day on, until I was discharged from the hospital, Emmett and my brothers never appeared again.

It was as if they had completely forgotten my existence.

Yet the moment I opened my phone, I could see their radiant smiles.

While I struggled alone in pain at the hospital, they took Leanne on a trip.

The photos were taken in the Maldives—a place I had always wanted to visit. Golden sunlight bathed their faces, making their smiles dazzlingly bright.

The caption read: [Seven years later, our family is finally reunited. May our little sister stay with us forever.]

I tried my best to hold back my tears—but they still streamed down my face.

Whether it was family or love, I was never the one who was chosen.

The moment I pushed open the villa's front door, Leanne's shrill laughter greeted me.

My entrance shattered the cozy atmosphere in the living room. Everyone frowned at once, as if I were an uninvited stranger who had suddenly intruded.

My husband, my brothers, my sister... Not a single one of them remembered that I had just been discharged from the hospital.

To this family, I was less than a stranger.

Emmett stood up, hesitation flashing across his face.

"Camille, I'm sorry I didn't pick you up from the hospital. There's been too much going on at the company."

I looked at him indifferently and stepped aside, avoiding the hand he reached out to me.

His expression stiffened. Before he could say anything else, Leanne clung to him and walked over.

She wore that familiar smile—sweet on the surface, but a hint of provocation gleamed in her eyes.

"Sister, you're back," she said softly. "I'm sorry we didn't go pick you up. I really wanted to go to the Maldives ever since I saw the travel guide you made."

The smug glint in her eyes told me everything.

This was just another one of her plunders.

Taking what I cherished had always been Leanne's favorite thing to do.

"If you like it, then take it," I replied calmly.

She clearly hadn't expected that reaction. The smile on her face faltered for a split second.

She reached out toward me, malice flickering in her gaze.

"I heard you wanted to take the baby traveling too. Maybe next time," she whispered, leaning close to my ear.

"As long as he isn't already a pile of rotten flesh..."

I shoved her hand away violently, fury surging through my eyes.

"Get lost!"

Leanne curled her lips smugly and, following the force of my push, staggered back and fell to the floor.

Jace shot to his feet, rage exploding across his face.

"Camille! Have you lost your mind? Leanne's body is so weak—how could you lay hands on her?!"

Antonio was even more furious.

"You just caused her to get into a car accident, and now you're hurting her right in front of us! I should've sent you to the police station to clear your head!"

"The one who was in the accident was me!" I shouted. "If anyone should be reported, it's Leanne!"

I thought I could stay calm. But when everyone stood firmly on Leanne's side, I finally broke.

Emmett looked at me with disappointment and bent down to help Leanne up.

"Camille, even now you're still lying," he said firmly. "Leanne has cancer. How could she possibly have the strength to push you?"

"Don't say that about my sister," Leanne said tearfully. "I know she can't accept my return so easily. I'm willing to apologize properly."

I ignored her performance and stared straight at Emmett.

"Whether Leanne has cancer or not, I don't know," I said quietly. "But that day, I lost our child."

Before I could finish, Leanne's expression changed drastically. She suddenly clutched her head and screamed.

"Damn it!" Jace shouted. "Leanne is having an episode! Give her the medicine—now!"

Emmett shoved me aside without hesitation and rushed to Leanne.

In an instant, everyone crowded around her.

No one listened to me anymore.

The familiar scene made me want to scream, but days of torment had already drained every ounce of strength from me.

In the end, I didn't even glance at the farce unfolding behind me. I turned and went upstairs.

The moment I opened the bedroom door, I froze.

My clothes, my wedding photos with Emmett, everything I had carefully added to this room over the past seven years—all of it was gone.

In their place were luxury handbags, high heels, and revealing dresses.

They were tangled together with Emmett's suits, exuding blatant intimacy.

I even saw used contraceptives in the trash can.

While I was hospitalized, Emmett and Leanne had been entwined—in the master bedroom that belonged to me.

My body trembled violently.

Just then, Emmett's voice sounded behind me.

"I let Leanne move into the master bedroom."

He spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"She's sick and needs the best room to recover. You're the older sister—be more accommodating. Your room is over there now."

He casually pointed toward the guest room.

"Why did you change the moment Leanne came back?" I asked softly, despair thick in my eyes.

A trace of hesitation appeared in Emmett's gaze, but after glancing downstairs at Leanne, his expression hardened once more.

"Camille," he said coldly, "everything you had originally belonged to Leanne seven years ago."

"I'm just returning what was hers to begin with."

I didn't cry anymore.

I turned numbly toward the guest room.

If all of this had always belonged to Leanne, then I would give it back—and disappear from their lives completely.

That night, Leanne's moans echoed endlessly from the master bedroom, piercing and cruel.

I wiped all my tears onto the sleeping puppy beside me. Feeling the warmth of its small body, the tearing pain in my chest finally eased—just a little.

The next morning, I packed the luggage that had been thrown into the guest room.

Many of the mementos Emmett and I once shared were gone.

I no longer cared where they had ended up.

Even if they were still here, I wouldn't take them with me anymore.

Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open.

Emmett's bodyguards grabbed my arm respectfully yet firmly. Ignoring my struggle, they dragged me straight onto a cruise ship.

The moment I saw the ship before me, my breathing stopped.

For seven years of marriage, I had carried a single dream.

I wanted to hold my wedding with Emmett on a cruise ship.

For that dream, I had designed my own wedding dress and wedding ring. But until now, those design drafts had been sealed away in my room, gathering dust.

Suddenly, the thought of the missing designs flashed through my mind, and my breath quickened.

I stepped onto the deck with trembling legs—and in that instant, my breath froze.

The pure white wedding dress that had existed only in my dreams, and the wedding ring entwined with thorn flowers—they were right there before my eyes.

My vision blurred as the past seven years flooded my mind, filled with Emmett's gentle smiles.

Even though I knew it was impossible, a sliver of hope rose within me.

This was prepared for me.

He had learned of my wishes, found my designs, and created the wedding I had only ever dreamed of.

With trembling hands, I slipped on the thorn-ring and picked up the wedding dress, heading into the room to change.

Just as I finished undressing, the door was kicked open violently.

"Camille, what do you think you're doing?!"

I froze in shock.

Emmett stood there, fury written across his face. When he saw the thorn-ring on my finger, he strode forward and yanked it off.

"What are you doing?!"

His rough movement caused the thorns to slice into my finger. I cried out in pain.

But Emmett ignored me completely, wiping the ring over and over, as if my touch had left some invisible stain on it.

He looked at me coldly and sneered. "Camille, are you so desperate that you'd steal Leanne's wedding?"

"What are you talking about?" My voice trembled as realization dawned on me. "Wasn't this prepared for me? You took my designs—the ring, the dress, the cruise wedding. I designed all of it."

He let out a mocking laugh. "Camille, how old are you? Still indulging in childish fantasies?"

"This has nothing to do with you. If Leanne hadn't liked your designs, none of this would exist. I brought you here only to see what still needs fixing."

"Leanne's wedding cannot have a single flaw. This is her only wish after falling ill."

His words poured over me like ice water, jolting me awake.

I finally understood—this was yet another plunder by Leanne.

And I had been foolish enough to fall for it.

"Emmett, there's no need to explain anything to her," Jace said coldly as he stepped forward. "Just throw her off the ship. She's useless anyway."

He carefully lifted the wedding dress, never sparing a glance at me, standing there in nothing but my underwear.

Antonio sneered.

"We just borrowed your designs. You were never going to have a wedding like this anyway. Leanne was kind enough to let you see it—you should be thanking her."

I stared blankly at them. "She stole my husband. She stole my wedding. And I'm supposed to thank her?!"

"Sister, if you mind so much, I can give this wedding to you," Leanne said tearfully, her eyes brimming with pity. "I just want to be Emmett's bride once before I die..."

"If my sister is unhappy, I can give up this wish," she said softly, reaching out toward me.

I looked at her with pure hatred. "Ever since childhood, no matter what I had, you took it. I endured all of that. Why did you have to come back after leaving?"

"I only wanted one wedding that belonged to me. Why did you have to steal even that?"

Pain engulfed me completely. My body trembled violently with rage.

As I suffered, Leanne revealed a smile so faint it was almost invisible.

She was savoring my pain.

"Because I like the way you look when you're suffering," she whispered.

"All of this was originally mine—my brothers, my husband, my wedding. You only stole them for seven years."

I couldn't hold back any longer. I lunged forward and shoved her hard.

"Camille!"

The next second, my furious brothers joined forces and threw me off the cruise ship.

"You've attacked Leanne again and again. You need to be taught a lesson. Go back dressed like that."

"If you ever lay a hand on Leanne again, you won't be our sister anymore!"

They tossed me off the ship without hesitation, despite the fact that I was wearing nothing but my underwear, exposing me to everyone's gaze.

And my husband—he was too busy feeding Leanne her medicine to look at me even once.

In that instant, it felt as if ten thousand needles pierced straight through my heart.

Shivering, I wrapped my arms around my bare shoulders. The mocking stares and lewd laughter of strangers made me wish I could die on the spot.

I didn't even have a single cent on me.

I could only walk back.

By the time night fell, I finally reached the villa.

My legs were numb—but my heart was still bleeding.