A week before our wedding, my fiancee announces that she is pregnant using my younger brother's frozen sperm.

"I'm grateful that our love can carry on in another way," she gushes on social media, showing off the test results.

My brother replies, "Meeting you was the luckiest thing that ever happened to me."

Then Mom chimes in. "Jenny, you've been through so much. Nathan's apartment should be under your name alone."

I don't argue and simply reply with a single word—"Congratulations".

My phone rings almost seconds later. "Your brother can't have kids anymore. It's just one child, and it's still related to you. Why are you being so petty?" she snaps.

I laugh under my breath, hang up, and dial another number. "Want to get married?"

Just a week before our wedding, my fiancee, Jeanette Lester, confessed that she was carrying a child conceived with frozen sperm from my younger brother, Noah Rowley.

"I'm so thankful that our love gets to live on in a different form," she fawned on social media, showing off the test results.

Noah commented, "Meeting you has been the greatest stroke of luck in my life."

Mom chimed in. "Jenny, you've suffered a lot. Nathan's apartment should be under your name alone."

I didn't even bother arguing. Instead, I simply replied with just one word—"Congratulations".

A few seconds later, my phone rang. "Your brother can't have kids anymore. It's just one child. Plus, it's still related to you. Why are you being so petty?" Mom snapped.

I let out a quiet laugh, ended the call, and dialed a different number. I asked, "Would you like to get married?"

There was a brief pause on the line before the other end erupted in shrieks of joy. "Really? You've finally thought it through! I'll book my flight back right now!

"You had better not back out. See you at the city hall next week." Then came a playful, drawn-out, "Honey."

That last word caught me off guard. My ears burned, and the flicker of regret I'd felt over acting on impulse disappeared.

Perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Meanwhile, Jeanette updated her social feed again. Out of curiosity, I clicked on it, only to see a photo of her massaging Noah's legs. She was smiling as if she couldn't be happier.

The comments section was filled with banter from her friends. Among them, I spotted a comment from Noah. It read, "If only we'd met before you were engaged."

That comment couldn't have been any more obvious. Jeanette didn't shy away from it either, replying, "It's never too late for love." Her friends piled on with more jokes and blessings.

Everyone around her knew about her affair with my brother. Yet every time they saw me, they picked me apart from head to toe.

I used to think that I wasn't good enough. But now I realized that it was because Jeanette's heart had always belonged to Noah.

Pain stabbed through my chest. I felt like a fool.

At that moment, I received a medical report from the hospital. There was a tumor in my stomach that was at risk of becoming cancerous. Surgery was recommended. However, I needed a family member's signature to proceed.

I knew that there was no point in hoping for help from Mom or Noah.

After briefly hesitating, I called Jeanette. "Could you come to the hospital tomorrow? I need to have surgery—"

"Are you kidding me, Nathan? Are you pulling stunts like this to get my attention just because I'm pregnant with your brother's baby? Do you have any idea how pathetic you sound?" She cut me off before I could finish speaking. "Noah's feeling guilty because of your little comment. Why can't you accept your brother's child as your own?

"I'm busy taking care of him. You're not dying, so stop pestering me. Otherwise, the wedding's off!"

She hung up before I could say another word.

I laughed bitterly. I had lost count of how many times she had threatened to call off the marriage. Whenever I complained about her and Noah, she would threaten to cancel the wedding.

Things got worse after Noah's accident. "If it weren't for me, he wouldn't have been hurt! How can you be so selfish? He's your brother, and I'm his sister-in-law. What's so wrong with me taking care of him? You're just jealous.

"If it weren't for Noah, I never would have agreed to marry you. You're not even half the man that he is."

The accusations from her were endless.

But the truth was that Noah had gotten into that crash while sneaking off to see her under the guise of bringing her medicine.

While I collapsed from a bleeding ulcer after drinking myself sick to buy her dream home and afford her lifestyle, she was meeting my brother in secret.

Back then, I chose not to see it because I was terrified of losing her. I chose to apologize without a fight.

But not anymore.

"Fine. Then let's not get married."

For the first time in years, I was the one to end the call.

The next day, I went to the hospital alone.

I signed my own surgical consent form. When the doctor asked me about it, I kept a calm demeanor. "I'm an orphan," I simply said.

The surgery went smoothly enough. I stayed for three days before they told me that I could recuperate at home. During that time, neither Mom nor Jeanette called me. They didn't even send me a single text.

Strangely, I felt a sense of peace I hadn't known in a long time.

On the bus ride home, I passed the university district. Memories of Jeanette flooded back to me.

It was hard to believe now, but she was the one who chased me first. Back then, she was bold and full of life. She had confessed to me in front of the whole school. Even when I rejected her again and again, she refused to back down.

She showed me a kind of affection I had never known before. It wasn't surprising that I fell for her.

During our senior year, her dad's business partner ran off with their money, and her dad fell ill. Their family had crumbled into debt overnight.

I spent my days interning and my nights working odd jobs. I carried her weight as well as my own, paying for everything while trying to support her.

That was when my stomach problems began.

Later on, a benefactor helped her dad, and they recovered some of the money. Slowly, things improved, and we set a date for our wedding.

But then Noah returned from abroad, and everything changed.

I got off the bus at my apartment building and froze right after pushing the door open.

The apartment I had decorated for the wedding was a wreck. Takeout boxes piled on the floor. There were even a few cockroaches crawling on them. The succulents I had tended to on the balcony had been ripped from their pots.

Through the open bedroom door, I could see Noah sitting on my bed as Jeanette coaxed him into taking his medicine.

Mom lounged comfortably on the brand-new couch. White stuffing spilled out of the throw pillows I had ordered, and our couple of photos were strewn about, as they were torn to shreds by Noah's dog.

"What are you guys doing?"

My mom glanced at me, then gave a cold snort. "Jenny's pregnant with our family's child. This place was supposed to be your marital home anyway, so I let her and Noah move in."

"My marital home? And he gets to live here?" I looked at Noah, who looked smug behind Jeanette's shield. I drew a breath. "Besides, I already decided that I'm not marrying—"

Before I could finish speaking, Mom lunged at me and clawed my arm. "I'll beat the ungratefulness out of you, you bastard! Noah lost his leg because of you. What's wrong with giving him your house? Better yet, just sign it over completely!

"And now that Jenny's pregnant with his child, they should live together. You, on the other hand, do nothing all day. How will you ever provide for them?"

I was pissed.

Mom had despised me since birth because Dad had cheated on her while she was pregnant with me. She blamed me for everything since the day I was born.

As a child, I begged for her love. I aced exams, did every chore, and even saved pennies to buy her gifts.

However, none of it compared to Noah, who did nothing but was still adored.

When I finally told her that I was getting married, she didn't offer me a single cent. Not for a marriage gift or a house. Instead, she tossed me a notebook filled with a list of every expense from my childhood. Even an eraser was included.

Ironically, she didn't spend even 50 thousand dollars to raise me for all those years.

From then on, I stopped seeking her love.

Warmth spread across my forehead. I touched it and realized that it was blood.

I took a deep breath and looked at the three of them—my mother, my brother, and the woman I had planned to marry.

For the first time in forever, my head was crystal clear.

"Noah, you know exactly how your leg got broken."

His eyes flickered, and I smiled faintly at him.

"This apartment is mine. If you want it, sure. Just pay me. And one more thing…" My gaze locked onto Jeanette. "If you didn't hear me clearly on the phone, I'll say it again. I'll step aside for you and Noah. This wedding is off!"

The room fell silent for a moment. Mom, Noah, and Jeanette looked uneasy. For once, Jeanette actually seemed flustered. She stepped toward me as if she wanted to explain her side of things.

That was when my phone buzzed.

I pulled out my phone. It was a text from the city clerk's office. It was a reminder to attend the marriage registration appointment tomorrow at 8:00 am.

I froze before realization dawned upon me. Stella Zahn.

We hadn't spoken since the call. I thought she was just teasing. After all, marriage wasn't a trivial matter. Yet, she had scheduled the license for the following morning. That was fast.

Her playful, drawn-out, "Honey" replayed in my mind, and I felt my ears burn.

Jeanette peeked at the screen and let out a sigh of relief. "Nathan, I know you've been upset because I've been neglecting you. Don't worry. I'll be there on time tomorrow."

Her gaze flicked to the bag of medicine in my hand. She softened her tone. "You're actually sick? I thought you were making it up. But since you're here, it can't be that serious. I promise I'll make more time for you."

I didn't respond to her. Taking my silence as agreement, she tugged me toward the study and asked, "Where's that charm I gave you? Hand it over. Noah wants it."

Her words slammed into me. "What did you just say?"

The charm wasn't worth much, but she had once waited hours in line at the store for it back when she was courting me. She had even fallen sick afterward. Because of that, I swore I'd never let her down. I had carried it with me everywhere ever since.

"I'll buy you another one later. Noah has been in a bad place since the accident. As his older brother, you should let him have it," Jeanette scowled.

Let him have it? Hadn't I let him take enough already? He got everything he wanted—even my fiancee.

I pulled the charm from around my neck but didn't hand it over. "Tell me the truth, Jeanette. Did you ever actually love me?"

She snatched it and said, "Don't be difficult. I've already agreed to marry you tomorrow, haven't I? Yet you're whining over a trinket? If you can't part with something like this, what kind of husband will you be?"

She then stormed out.

I stood there with blood dripping from my temple onto the hardwood floor. Whatever feelings I still had for her bled out with it.

The moment I left, I put the apartment up for sale.

There was something I hadn't told them. I had been promoted, but it meant relocating out of state. Before, I couldn't bear to leave Jeanette. Now, I couldn't wait.

I checked into a cheap hotel nearby. Not long after, I received a video.

It showed neon lights and played pounding music. It was a bar.

Jeanette, dressed to tease, perched on Noah's lap. They fed each other mouth-to-mouth as the crowd egged them on.

Someone asked, "Aren't you supposed to be marrying Nathan tomorrow? What happens when he finds out you're with his brother?"

"He already knows I'm pregnant with Noah's baby. What can he do? Throw a tantrum? He's the one rushing to tie the knot." Jeanette curled against Noah, smirking. "Besides, he's Noah's sibling. The kid will still be a Rowley. If Nathan had any generosity, he'd accept it and act like a real man."

The crowd howled in laughter.

"Jenny really knows how to keep a man in line!"

"You've got to keep your man in check!"

The video cut off, followed by a text that read, "You were born to be beneath me, Nathan."

I didn't need to wonder who had sent the video.

Instead of feeling angry, I felt strangely calm. All I could think about was standing at the clerk's office with Stella tomorrow morning.

I wondered if, after all these years, she was still the same.