Next to each photo, there were time and date markings.

There was one stood out photo. It was taken five years ago, on the day of the international painting competition finals.

He wrote a line. [All stumbling blocks will become stepping stones for Joana.]

And the stumbling block he mentioned was me.

A man's love was both subtle and explicit.

Hidden in every photo on the wall.

It made my heart ache.

There was also a document in the middle of the room, which specified Joana's identity.

She was the daughter of Joseph's father's mistress and had no blood relationship with Joseph.

There was a line in the lower right corner of the document, which was Joana's handwriting.

[We are destined to be brother and sister in this life, but I will be Joseph Gillard's wife in the next life.]

Beside her handwriting, Joseph also left two words. [Same wish.]

Staring at these lines of words, my hands could not stop trembling and the pain of having my tendons cut was still vivid in my mind.

The anger and despair in my heart erupted like a volcano.

It turned out that all the suffering I had endured was due to his twisted and unspeakable love for Joana.

I laughed at myself and had no intention of reading more lines.

I appointed a lawyer to draft a divorce agreement and also made an appointment for myself to have my death faked three days later.

Three days, say goodbye to five years, that was enough.

The next day, when I opened my eyes, Joseph was no longer by my side.

The slightly cool sheets indicated that the person who slept on them had left long ago.

There was a beautifully packaged breakfast on the table.

He knew I liked the cuisine of a star hotel in this city and ordered breakfast for me at his house for five years.

But now I had no appetite, so I just threw my breakfast into the trash can and went out.

Today was the opening day of Joana's Gallery.

Since my hand was injured five years ago, I had never set foot in any place related to painting again.

It was just because Joana said, "This is my first gallery and I hope to get the blessings of all my family."

Joseph had been persuading me to attend her precious moment for half a month with him.

He said that it was where Joana's dream began.

Unfortunately, he forgot that it was also where my dreams were shattered.

I smiled bitterly and my eyes just happened to meet Joseph who was feeding Joana a sandwich.

Before he could speak, Joana greeted me with a smile.

"Emily, the sandwiches my brother made are so delicious! I envy you so much for having such a good meal every day."

Hearing this, I was stunned for a moment.

In the five years of our marriage, my husband had never entered the kitchen for me.

Thinking of the breakfast I bought every day for five years.

I once thought it was his love language, but now I thought it was all just perfunctory.

If he did love and care about me, he would at least cook for me once in a while.

Sensing that my face was not right, he walked briskly over and said, "Dear, this little girl is too picky. She can't get used to eat something outside."

I did not care about what he said and nodded lightly.

Joseph wanted to explain, but the host announced the start of the opening ceremony.

Joana hurried over and took his arm.

"Joseph, the ceremony has begun. Can you accompany me to cut the ribbon?"

He smiled lovingly, then turned to me and said, "My Dear, wait here for me. I will come to you after the ceremony."

Without waiting for my response, the two of them went on stage together.

The man turned his face sideways the whole time, his gaze closely following Joana, full of warmth and affection.

Some guests whispered.

"Ms. Gillard is so beautiful, with both talent and appearance. If she and Mr. Gillard weren't brother and sister, they would be a match made in heaven!"

"They are not real siblings. If you ask me, the pseudo-orthopedics are the best ...."

"Stop talking nonsense!" Someone interrupted. "Mr. Gillard has already said that this must not reach the ears of his disabled wife."

I stood in the crowd and felt that the laughter and joy around me became harsh noises and the wound on my hand was aching again.

It turned out that everyone knew their true relationship, but I was the only one who was kept in the dark like a fool for five years.

Suddenly there was an exaggerated exclamations from the crowd.

"This is a natural pink diamond worth one hundred fourty million dollars. It was bought at a Paris auction house. It turns out that the mysterious buyer is Mr. Gillard."

"This is the largest transaction in the auction house in recent years. Mr. Gillard is really a man who dotes on his sister."

Following the gaze of most people, I looked towards the stage.

Joseph was taking out a top-grade pure natural pink diamond necklace to give to his sister as a gift for her grand opening gallery.

I remembered not long ago, he disregarded my advice and took a flight to attend an auction abroad in a high fever.

After two to three days, he came home with a pink diamond ring in his hand.

"My dear, I bought this specially from abroad. Do you like it?"

At that time, I was so moved that tears welled up in my eyes, thinking that he was trying so hard just to give me a gift.

Joana walked to me gracefully wearing the necklace and her eyes fell on the pink diamond ring on my hand.

"Emily, my brother is indeed a fool. He even gave you the gift ring from the auction house. Those who didn't know would think our family is bankrupt."

"That's too much. Wait, I will teach him a lesson for you."

It turned out what I received was just a gift Joana did not want?

I then turned the pink diamond to the palm slowly.

At this moment, it seemed to weigh four hundred fifty kilograms, making it hard for me to catch my breath.

On the stage, Joseph was only focused on putting the necklace on Joana. The two of them were so intimate that there was no room for a third person in between.

I took off the ring and threw it into the trash can.

I did not want the ring.

And I did not want Joseph either.

I did not wait for him.

I sent him a text message saying that I was not feeling well and went home first.

After a minutes later, he replied with only [Okay.] and there was no more news from him.

Suddenly, a notification popped up on my mobile phone.

I clicked on it and it was a post from Joana.

[My brother is really something. He got drunk and started calling me by my childhood nickname "Dear Baby". I’m not a kid anymore.]

In the video, Joseph's eyes were hazy and his head were leaning on her shoulder, then he muttered to himself. "Joana, you are my dear baby forever ...."

Just after the video finished playing, the man returned home with a strong smell of alcohol.

As soon as he entered the bedroom, he eagerly pressed me under him and kissed me all over my face.

"My Dear Baby, I love you so much. I really love you so much. Tell me you love me now, tell me now ...."

Even though I had a nickname, he always stubbornly called me "Dear Baby".

His voice overlaps with the voice in the video just now.

Soon, I realized that every time he called me "Dear" or "Dear Baby", he was thinking of his true love.

Did he treat me as a substitute for Joana?

A feeling of nausea came over me and I could not stop myself from throwing up.

Joseph regained his senses and his eyes regained clarity.

"My Dear Baby, what's wrong with you? Did I hurt you somewhere?"

He patted my back gently and the worry between his brows did not seem fake.

I forced a smile and replied, "It's okay, I'm just a little bit comfortable because of the smell of alcohol."

He showed guilt on his face as he brushed my hair behind my ear.

"I'm sorry, my Dear, I wasn't pay attention. I'm going to take a shower right now."

He had just walked into the bathroom when the lights in the room suddenly went out.

Darkness shrouded everything inside the villa.

Joseph rushed to me, still with the unwashed foam on his head.

Just as he was about to hold my hand, his mobile phone suddenly lit on, dazzling in the darkness.

The moment he picked it up, I saw the name on it clearly. It was Joana.

In the darkness, the phone illuminated his worried face.

"Dear, Joana has a stomachache. My brother-in-law hasn't been home lately and she can't take care of herself. I have to go check on her."

He turned off the screen and the room fell into darkness again.

I could not see the expression on his face, I just stared at him and said, "The power is out, can you stay with me?"

After being kidnapped by criminals, I was locked in a dark basement for three days and three nights. From then on, I developed a fear of the dark.

In the darkness, I tried hard to control my body's trembling and reached out to pull his sleeve, but he shook it away.

"Can you please stop making trouble for no reason? Joana is really not feeling well. There was just a power outage at home. It will be fine in half an hour at most. How can you use this excuse to be jealous of her?"

"Besides, she's my sister, what could possibly happen between us?"

As soon as the words fell, he turned around and left.

The door slammed shut.

The loud sound was like a heavy hammer, hitting my heart hard.

I opened the divorce agreement delivered by my lawyer's courier and read it by the light of a flashlight.

Joana's message popped out.

[Joana, you have been so considerate on my brother. I just had period pain, but he made such a fuss.]

I clicked on the photo and saw her lying on the bed. The big hands on her lower abdomen were wearing a familiar watch belonged to my father.

Before I could reply to the message, she sent me a video.

Joseph was helping her wash a pair of bloody underwear.

Last time I was on my period, I accidentally got blood stains on the bed sheet.

He frowned, his face full of disgust. "The blood of you women have during menstruation is dirty and disgusting. How can I sleep like this?"

He pushed me out of the house regardless of my stomachache.

"Go out and find a hotel to sleep in, don't pollute the air at home."

He generously gave me a few thousand dollars to open a better room.

But now, he was devoutly rubbing and washing the blood-stained underwear of another woman.

I threw the phone aside and solemnly signed my name on the divorce agreement with trembling fingers.

I stayed up the whole night.

As the sun slowly began to rise, there was a noise at the door. Joseph pushed the door open and walked in, followed by Joana.

"Dear, Joana is not feeling well. I don't trust her to be at home by herself, so I bring her over to stay for a few days."

Anyway, this house would soon no longer belong to me, so they could do whatever they wanted.

I nodded indifferently, turned around and walked into the bedroom.

Just as I laid down, Joana walked in with a glass of water.

We had not been alone since she made her public official announcement with my fiancé.

I did not believe she suddenly came in just to bring me a glass of water.

Before I could speak, she sat down opposite me with a smile on her face.

There was no one else here, so she simply stopped pretending.

"You lost, whether it's career or love, you have always been a loser."

"So what if you are a genius? I am now a well-known writer who is hard to find, while you're just a housewife whose hands tremble holding a spatula."