“You want to divorce Tucker?”

Hearing me bring up divorce again, my best friend laughed.

“So how long do you think you’ll last this time before you start talking to him again, huh?”

I tugged at the corner of my mouth.

“This time, I mean it.”

I’d been married to Tucker Afton for three long years. I’d loved him with all my stupid heart for ten.

Twice abandoned by his family, he’d learned early on to keep his guard up around anyone who tried to get close.

Knowing his past, I felt sorry for him. I wanted him to believe that someone could truly love him and never leave. And so I gave him more love than anyone should, trying to melt a heart that had been frozen for years.

And that’s why everyone assumed I could never, ever leave him.

But just three days ago, I watched it with my own eyes—without even looking at the documents, he signed our divorce papers.

Now, just one more week, and finally, I will be free. I’ll be leaving for Canada for further studies. And I swear to God that I will never allow myself to get close to that asshole again.

Little did my best friend know, three days ago, my grandma was critically ill.

Tucker was driving me to the hospital when his phone rang. Just one goddamn call and that motherfucker made a U-turn, leaving me alone on the highway!

In a panic to find someone to get me to the hospital, I slipped and lost the baby I was carrying.

By the time I woke up in the hospital, my grandma… She was already gone.

That news shattered me completely. The first thing that came to mind was to find Tucker, but instead, a photo of him popped up on my screen.

In the photo, he was carrying a woman on his back. The man who had always hated being affectionate with me in public was tilting his face to the side, pressing a tender kiss to her cheek, as if she were something precious.

“My brother hasn’t changed at all. If I act cute and say I wanna see him, no matter what he’s doing, he’ll immediately drop everything and come get me.”

“Tell me, my dear sister, what should I do with him?”

That homewrecker was Kelsey Butch—Tucker’s former foster sister. And just my luck, a month ago, her mom married my dad. She’s my fucking stepsister now.

And Tucker had always been incredibly fond of her.

I used to convince myself that whatever was going on between them was nothing more than family affection. Even when it was killing me inside, I swallowed my bitterness.

But at this moment, I could no longer lie to myself.

I stared at their photo for a long time until my heart felt empty.

So the truth was, Tucker wasn’t actually cold by nature. He wasn’t incapable of love, either.

That asshole just never meant to love me like that.

Well then, I’m letting him go.

Speaking of the devil, a car horn blared outside the café. He had come to pick me up.

Inside the car, his voice was as detached as always.

“Have you handled the contract you asked me to sign last time? Why haven’t I heard any updates back?”

1

Verity’s POV

I looked at Tucker’s face—that very face that had made my heart flutter countless times and let me down just as many. And all of a sudden, I really wanted to tell him something.

What he’d casually signed back then wasn’t some business contract at all.

It was a divorce agreement.

“That was—”

Suddenly, a ringtone cut me in.

I was just about to speak when Tucker’s phone rang first.

The moment that special ringtone sounded, I already knew who it was.

As soon as he picked up, Kelsey’s soft voice drifted into the car.

“Tucker… my stomach hurts again.”

“I don’t want to eat Delia’s cooking. She only makes dishes that my sister likes… Could you make something for me yourself?”

I saw it clearly—Tucker’s expression softened instantly, even his voice turning gentler.

“If your stomach hurts, don’t force yourself to eat things you don’t like.”

“I’ll go buy groceries now and cook something good for you. Okay? Be good and wait at home.”

After hanging up, he finally seemed to remember that I was still sitting in the passenger seat.

He turned to me, his tone settling back into calm neutrality.

“Honey, just take a cab back to your place later. I need to go buy some groceries.”

It felt like a huge hand clenched tightly around my heart, squeezing the air right out of me.

All the things I wanted to say jammed in my throat and, in the end, turned into a weak, bitter smile.

I stared at Tucker for a long time, genuinely shocked that a man who’d never lifted a finger at home actually knew how to cook.

He must’ve sensed something because he reached over and rubbed my head, explaining.

“Honey, don’t be jealous over nothing. Kelsey just sees me as her brother. She just moved to San Antonio and doesn’t know anyone else, so she relies on me out of habit. Give her time, and it’ll pass.”

“You know—her parents took me in for fourteen years. I owe them.”

If this were before, I might’ve even felt a little happy that the usually quiet, distant Tucker was explaining himself, worried I’d be upset.

But whether he was explaining out of guilt or something else entirely, I couldn’t tell anymore.

I tugged at the corner of my mouth, said nothing, pushed the door open, and got out of his car.

Standing by the roadside, I waved down a cab and gave my home address.

As the car slowly pulled away, memories flooded back—to the first time I met Tucker years ago at my family’s auto shop.

That day, his hands were covered in grease, his head lowered as he worked on a car, barely speaking to anyone.

But even among all the mechanics, that sharp, striking face of his still stood out—handsome to the point it almost hurt to look at.

I almost fell for him at first glance.

Later, it was me who begged my dad to pull him out of the repair shop and onto the racetrack.

It was me who stayed up late with him studying theory, modifying cars, doing test runs.

And it was me who slowly pushed every opportunity I could give right into his hands.

I pitied where he came from.

I felt sorry for him for what he’d been through.

I admired his talent.

At first, I was attracted by his looks. Later, his abilities completely won me over.

I always felt that if the world had ever been unfair to him, then I was willing to make it right on the world’s behalf.

Eventually, Tucker stood on the podium and became a wildly popular race car driver.

He started his own team, opened a company, and was chased after by countless people.

And three years ago, Dad arranged for me to marry Tucker. He didn’t refuse. At our wedding, he promised to treat me well for the rest of his life.

For the three years after we got married, I genuinely believed I was happy—because my long, one-sided waiting finally seemed to be paying off.

I waited until the look he gave me no longer felt distant.

I waited until he smiled at me more and more.

I waited until, in bed, he stopped treating intimacy like a silent obligation and would occasionally call my name in a low voice.

I waited until, standing on the podium, he thanked me publicly for my support for the first time, instead of dodging questions about what our relationship was.

Back then, I even naively thought the impossible had happened.

That I had finally made my way into Tucker’s heart.

When I found out I was pregnant, I was so happy I couldn’t sleep. I wanted to surprise him.

Then Kelsey came into the picture.

And only then did I realize—Tucker wasn’t incapable of loving someone.

When he loves someone, he’s just as humble as I am, just as willing to give everything.

When I got sick, he was always calm and efficient.

He’d quickly arrange doctors and handle everything that needed to be done… but he rarely showed much emotion.

But when Kelsey got sick, he was visibly panicked, even irrational—rushing to the hospital overnight, standing in the hallway, quietly begging the doctors.

When I was picky about food, he’d just tell the maid to make another dish.

But when Kelsey didn’t like carrots, he’d sit beside her at the table and patiently pick them out one by one, his movements gentle to the point of tenderness.

When I stayed up late working overtime, Tucker would read beside me and wait to sleep together.

But when Kelsey was upset, he’d video call her, breaking things down bit by bit, staying with her until her emotions completely settled.

Before, without anything to compare to, I thought I was happy.

Now, I finally understood that the happiness I once felt so smug about was nothing more than stray sparks that spilled out unintentionally from Tucker’s overwhelming love for Kelsey.

Moments later, the car stopped in front of my house.

I wiped the tears off my face and got out.

But the moment I pushed the door open, I froze.

The living room was brightly lit. A delicate birthday cake sat in the center of the dining table.

My eldest and second brothers stood nearby, smiling as they gently teased Kelsey.

Their voices were relaxed and indulgent—a kind of warmth I hadn’t heard from them in months.

“To our family’s best little sister, happy birthday!”

“If only we’d become siblings with you earlier. Instead, we spent all these years doting on the murderer’s daughter. Damn, just thinking about it makes me sick.”

Verity’s POV

When my second brother said that, his voice was thick with hatred.

I stood frozen at the doorway, not daring to step inside.

My mom was my dad’s second wife. She died giving birth to me.

Dad was always busy with work, so it was my brothers who held my hand to and from school, who shielded me from every storm.

Aside from my dad, they were the closest family I had in the world.

But not long after Kelsey’s mother married into the family, rumors started spreading inside the house.

They said my dad’s first wife hadn’t died by accident—that my mother had set her up to die.

They said my mom had been a mistress who clawed her way into the family by stepping on a dead woman’s life.

Those words were like poison, seeping little by little into my brothers’ ears.

I wanted to explain, but the truth was, I didn’t know much about my biological mother either. I couldn’t even tell whether those rumors were true.

All my brothers felt was anger and regret. For them, all these years of doting on me felt like a betrayal of their late mother.

Kelsey’s arrival gave them the perfect outlet. A new sister they could pour their feelings into—someone they could favor, compensate, and indulge without guilt.

Me? I became the target of their resentment. Someone to take revenge on.

Worst of all, because I had no proof to clear my mom’s name, I never had the confidence to stand my ground in front of them.

The moment they saw me walk in, the smiles on their faces vanished almost simultaneously.

Suddenly, the air turned cold.

Damon, my eldest brother frowned, clearly annoyed.

“Why are you here?”

My second brother’s gaze swept over me, paused for a split second, then turned cold.

“Verity! You’ve got some nerve showing up! Perfect timing. I was just about to ask you. Did you pocket Kelsey’s allowance for this month?”

I didn’t even understand what he was talking about.

“What?”

“Don’t play dumb!”

Damon’s voice dropped, heavy with pressure.

“Kelsey just told us she hasn’t received a single cent this month.”

His eyes locked onto me, his tone severe.

“She just moved in and you’re already trying to put her in her place, huh?!”

I felt absurdly wronged.

“I’ve never touched her money.”

“Then did it just disappear on its own?”

My second brother, Damien, let out a cold laugh.

“Hey, is this because Kelsey moved in and took the position you used to have, so now you’re targeting her?”

Right then, Kelsey’s eyes suddenly reddened.

She looked startled, hurriedly waving her hands, her voice soft and trembling with carefully measured hurt.

“Damon… Damien… Please don’t be like this…”

She glanced at me, then quickly lowered her head.

“Maybe… she just hasn’t been able to accept me yet. If our sister doesn’t like me, I can try not to appear in front of her so much in the future.”

“Kelsey, there’s no need to care whether she likes you or not. What she thinks doesn’t matter.”

Damon lowered his head, unlocked his phone, and tapped the screen decisively.

The next second, Kelsey’s phone vibrated.

She glanced down, her eyes slowly turning red, then looked up at him in disbelief.

“Damon… this is… this is too much money. I can’t take it…”

“It’s just five hundred thousand.”

His voice was calm, but cold and absolute.

“From now on, I’ll personally give you your allowance.”

After saying that, his gaze shifted back to me.

“As for you, starting today, all the bank cards under your name are frozen.”

I snapped my head up.

“Damon?!”

“Since you haven’t learned how to respect others, take some time to reflect. When you finally figure it out, we’ll talk again.”

My throat tightened. I couldn’t believe my eldest brother would do this to me.

Meanwhile, Damien was already fed up. He stepped forward, his eyes openly hostile.

“If you think this house can’t accommodate you, then leave.”

“Anyway—” He sneered. “You don’t welcome Kelsey, and we don’t welcome you either.”

When I heard that, panic and helplessness surged violently in my chest.

I couldn’t just be convicted like this. I didn’t know whether my mom had been guilty or not, but something I never did, I would not take the blame for.

I pulled out my phone, forcing myself to stay calm.

“Damon. Damien. Please listen to me. I really didn’t touch her money.”

My voice came out rushed.

“I can show you my statements. Every expense I’ve ever made is recorded. I’ve never handled her allowance—not once—”

“Why is everyone just standing around?”

A deep, familiar masculine voice came from the doorway.

Tucker walked in, his assistant following behind him. He was carrying several bags of fresh groceries—clearly just back from the supermarket.

In that instant, I almost instinctively wanted to ask him for help.

But Kelsey was faster than I was.

The moment she saw him clearly, the smile on her face became blinding.

“Bro!”

She practically ran toward him, threw her arms around him, and clung to him like a koala.

“You’re finally here!”

Tucker froze for a moment, instinctively reaching out to support her. The force even made him turn halfway around.

The tips of his ears quickly turned red. His voice carried a helpless smile.

“Get down. What does this look like? You’re not a kid anymore.”

But Kelsey refused to let go. She pressed even closer, smiling without a shred of shame.

“I don’t care. In front of you, I am a kid.”

Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, her peripheral vision swept over me.

She slowly released him, stood properly, and her expression turned awkward and cautious.

“Oh… I forgot.”

She lowered her head, her voice soft.

“My sister-in-law… Oh no, my sister is still here.”

“Verity, are you maybe… uncomfortable because I keep sticking to my brother all the time? That’s why you… didn’t really want to give me allowance?”

My head buzzed.

“That’s not—”

“I’m sorry.”

She didn’t give me a chance to finish. Tears welled up immediately.

“I really didn’t mean to. I’ll be more careful in the future. I won’t cling to my brother anymore…”

The moment those words fell, I clearly felt the air around Tucker turn cold.

He didn’t look at her. He lifted his eyes and stared at me coldly instead.

“Tucker, I didn’t—” I opened my mouth to explain.

But he cut me off, looking away first.

He reached into the inside pocket of his suit, pulled out a bank card, and handed it to Kelsey.

“If you run out of money, use this.”

His voice was calm.

“This is dividend income from shares I bought under your name. It doesn’t belong to the marital assets I share with her.”

As he said that, he looked at me again.

There was an unmistakable warning in his eyes.

“She has no right to touch that.”

Verity’s POV

At that moment, it felt like the air was being slowly pulled out of my lungs.

What Tucker did hurt more than if he’d questioned me directly, far more than if he’d accused me like my brothers did.

He’d built everything from nothing. I knew how hard it was for him, so I’d never once asked him for “allowance.”

I had my own income, my own savings.

He rarely gave me anything. Gifts were few and far between.

And I never complained about it.

But now, he handed over the money he earned himself to Kelsey—so casually.

Shares under Kelsey’s name. That meant that when Tucker started his company three years ago, he’d already counted her share in from the very beginning.

At some point, my phone screen had gone dark.

All those bank statements. All that proof. Suddenly, none of it mattered anymore.

No one would believe me. No one even wanted to.

Tucker coaxed Kelsey into cooking with him. My brothers stood around her, laughing and chatting. Not one of them spared me a glance.

Then my phone vibrated. I looked down and saw a message from my lawyer.

[The divorce process will be completed in one week.]

I stared at that line for a few seconds, and strangely, my heart settled.

Right. Why was I still stressing over what was true or not? I was about to be divorced anyway. And I was leaving for Canada soon.

Who my brothers cared about. Who Tucker chose to be kind to. None of it had anything to do with me anymore.

As for the Severins' money, whether they wanted to give it to me or not, part of it was mine by right in the first place!

I didn’t stay for that tasteless, miserable dinner. I just took a cab back to the apartment Tucker and I shared and started packing.

In the master bedroom closet hung all the matching pajamas and lounge sets I’d picked out for us.

I stood there for a while, then packed every single piece into a box.

I was the only one who ever cared about those things anyway.

When Tucker wore them, he never cared whether they matched. He never even looked at me.

The plants in the corner of the living room—I’d picked and raised each one based on his preferences.

The racing models on the bookshelf—I’d hunted them down one by one for him.

Tucker never once asked where any of it came from.

It was like those things just naturally belonged there.

This apartment was filled with traces of me.

And yet, the things that actually belonged to me were pitifully few.

Honestly, before Kelsey showed up, I could endure a lot.

Tucker being cold—I endured it. His being bad at expressing himself—I made excuses for him.

I’d even thought that if he fell for someone else one day, I might still have a chance to pull his heart back.

But it just had to be Kelsey.

The foster sister who’d lived through those dependent, difficult years with him.

A past he could never cut away from his life.

They shared more than ten years of memories.

That kind of bond and reliance never left any room for me—not from the start.

In the month since Kelsey arrived, I saw for the first time how Tucker truly loved someone.

I knew then—he fully intended to go on loving her quietly for the rest of his life, in the name of being her brother-in-law.

But why did I have to be the one sacrificed?

I’m not some idiot who exists just to be used!

Crying and cursing under my breath, I dug through the very bottom of the drawer and found my first love letter to him.

The paper had yellowed with age.

What I’d written on it was still clear.

[Tucker, I’ll keep waiting until you like me.]

I stared at it for a long time, then gently placed it at the very bottom of the box.

‘Verity from ten years ago,’ I thought, ‘I’m sorry. I don’t want to wait for him anymore.’

Tucker came home very late that night.

The cardboard boxes on the floor were impossible to miss. He glanced at them, his brow tightening slightly, like he wanted to say something.

But the hesitation passed quickly.

To him, it was probably just me being moody again—nothing worth paying attention to.

He changed his shoes, his tone casual as ever.

“Why are you packing things up?”

When I didn’t respond, he paused, then added, “Stuff’s old? Thinking of replacing it?”

I answered quietly, “Mm.”

He looked at me for a couple of seconds, as if confirming I wasn’t about to start a fight, then didn’t ask anything else.

He was never good at dealing with my emotions.

And he’d never felt the need to try very hard.

It never once crossed his mind that I might be packing because I was leaving.

I bet in his heart, he was completely certain of one thing: I would never leave him.

After showering, Tucker got into bed like he always did and pulled me into his arms from behind.

His chin rested lightly on my shoulder. His breath was close, his voice low and rough with desire.

“Dad called me today. He said it’s time we have a kid.”