People were coming and going around, Aston's eyes were red, and the reflection in his eyes was only that of a person with a bright smile.

"Aston."

After a while, Aston spoke in a lost manner.

"Where do you live? I'll take you."

Elise James shook her head slightly.

"No place to live."

Aston tentatively asked, "Then, stay at my place first?"

"Okay."

"No."

Two voices sounded at the same time, and I frowned and refused indifferently.

It was May, but I only felt cold all over my body, frustrated and aggrieved.

Aston finally looked at me with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Kyra, don't make trouble. Elise is here without any relatives. She only knows me."

So what?

Despite my opposition, Aston picked up Elise's bag again and eventually brought Elise home.

The nervous and restrained look at Elise all the way showed how much he was afraid that the person in front of him would disappear again.

This was what it was like when he really loved someone...

He would be nervous and uneasy, excited and expectant, very vivid.

He couldn't even pretend to be like this with me.

Elise was loved wherever she went.

When we got home, Aston, who had never cooked before, went into the kitchen for the first time.

At the sight of the table full of mouth-watering dishes, I realized how good his cooking skills were.

Unfortunately, the table full of dishes that should have belonged to me did not have my favorite dish.

"Kyra, try this. It's the best dish Aston makes. It's better than any chef outside."

Compared with Elise's calmness, I was so stiff that I could hardly hold my fork.

I was really useless...

She was indeed good at pretending as always.

A dish of sweet and sour goose liver melted in my mouth.

It was delicious, not exaggerated at all.

Two years, the first time I ate the food cooked by my boyfriend, it was because of his ex-girlfriend.

There was no current girlfriend as miserable as me.

After dinner, I couldn't argue or refuse Aston's words about where a girl could go at this late hour.

But when Aston finished taking a shower and was about to walk into the room arranged for Elise, I still stopped him.

"Aston, it's too late. Don't disturb Elise's rest."

It was ridiculous that two years of being together didn't allow Aston to recognize the correct door, even though the muscle memory didn't belong to me.

After my reminder, Aston turned around with a look of loss.

"Kyra, you go to sleep first, I'll come after smoking a cigarette."

I closed the door with a feeling of loss, leaning against it, feeling somewhat powerless.

Aston had a heart transplant, he shouldn't be smoking.

It was just that he didn't want to enter my room in front of Elise.

Even the excuses were so perfunctory.

Now that the old love has returned, I, the current girlfriend, have become a person who makes Aston frown.

I should take the initiative to leave, to make room for their reunion.

But I didn't want to leave now.

At three in the morning, the space next to me was still empty.

Without having heard Aston's heartbeat, I simply couldn't sleep.

The sound of the next door opening in the silent night was particularly clear.

I should have been more tactful. I knew old feelings were easily ignited, yet I rushed forward, hurting myself in the process.

On the balcony, Aston was passionately kissing Elise.

The moonlight spilled on the two of them, and the madness, grievance, and the feeling of loss and recovery in Aston's eyes were all on display.

That's what love looked like at its peak, a feeling I was fortunate to experience.

I, the out-of-place official girlfriend, now felt like the third party.

I was destroying a loving couple to become a spouse.

"What are you doing?"

A sense of weightlessness sweeps over me, and I interrupt the scene in front of me with a hoarse voice.

Aston released Elise somewhat flustered, his eyes showing annoyance at my interruption, and then pulled her behind him to protect her.

What did this mean?

Did I look like I'm going to eat someone?

It was the one he was protecting behind him that seemed to be more aggressive.

Elise, with tears in her eyes, stepped out from behind Aston and tightly held his hand.

"Sister, I'm sorry, I love Aston, I can't leave him, can you let go?"

I laughed bitterly.

She always used her identity as a younger sister appropriately.

She took advantage of being loved, so she didn't reason.

Indeed, those who were favored had no reason to speak.

Unfortunately, the one who could make Kyra unreasonable was gone, his heart had eventually moved on to someone else.

"What about you, Aston?"

Aston was clearly more surprised by the relationship between me and Elise.

"Kyra, do you know Elise?"

"Yes, Aston, this is the sister I've mentioned to you before, what a coincidence."

Aston's expression became indescribable for a moment.

I could guess what Elise said without asking.

Elise and I were half-sisters.

When I was six years old, the grandmother who raised me died. I was taken to a new home by the only guardian who claimed to be my mother.

The new home had a lovely little sister who had been learning to paint since she was a child. She was so adorable that people couldn't help but like her. My uncle was also very good to me.

Until my sister turned ten, my mother signed her up for a world-class painting competition.

When we went out to sketch, my sister anxiously told me that she didn't actually like painting. Her teacher had said that she had no talent and advised her to find another interest.

My sister said she was sure she wouldn't win a big prize in this competition, but she didn't want to disappoint our mother.

She asked me what to do.

I couldn't understand her feelings because I loved painting, but my mother would never let me participate. She said it would be a waste of money if I learned.

In the end, I just told her not to worry too much. Our mother loved her so much that even if she didn't win a prize, our mother wouldn't blame her.

But my sister said I didn't understand.

Then she rolled down the hill from the sketching site.

I was scared out of my wits, and when I ran down to help her up, I was pushed away by my mother who had rushed over.

And my sister, she was sobbing, clutching her arm, looking at me.

"Sister, you want to participate in the competition, I can give you my spot. Since you came to this family, I've treated you like my real sister, how could you do this to me?"

Amid Elise's questioning, I received a loud slap and saw mom's uncontrollable disgust on her face.

Since then, I had to give way to whatever Elise wanted. Mom would always say that I owed her.

I didn't understand why Elise had to treat me like this, was it just because she wanted to avoid the competition?

But she said, "Sister, from the moment you stepped into this family, my dad said that you were nothing more than a parasite living in our house. How could you even think of being my sister?"

After this incident, my mom, who already thought I was a burden on her life, started to despise me even more.

Later, when I got into university, I finally had the chance to get away from them. I didn't hesitate to choose this city and never went back.

The door to my room was pushed open, and Elise walked in.

"Sister, I told Aston, it's been a long time since I saw you, I will sleep with you tonight."

Aston didn't respond directly to the recent drama, whether he wanted me or Elise.

I thought the answer was obvious, but he seemed hesitant.

"How did you get here?"

Elise naturally laid on my bed.

"Of course, it's for Aston. Can't you see that, sister?"

"Oh, by the way, there's another reason. Mom heard that you quit your job at the provincial hospital. She was angry for a long time. She asked me to ask you."

The word "mom" never appeared in my call history, how could she really miss me?

Elise looked at me in surprise.

"No way, sister, you really quit that good job, you don't think that by relying on Aston, you don't have to worry about anything, do you?"

"Sister, stop dreaming, Aston can only be mine."

It was ridiculous, she thought everyone liked to snatch things from others like she did.

I was just protecting what was mine.

With Aston's love, Elise fearlessly settled in.

She was so used to this house that even I, as the owner, had to step aside.

Congratulations to her, she succeeded. In the air where she was present, I didn't want to breathe for even a second more.

I made an excuse to go on a trip for a week, hoping that Aston could handle this messy love triangle.

After breathing fresh air for a week, it was a bit uncomfortable to return to this somewhat suffocating place.

But my most important things are still here, I have to come back.

I opened the door, the room was quiet, it seemed like there was no one, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing?"

My angry voice scared the person who was sneaking around.

In the bedroom, Elise was focused on my computer, a picture of a couple embracing was on the screen.

The familiar yet strange face on the screen had been stuck in my mind for seven years, never forgotten but never dared to recall deliberately.