[No.]

[Hmph, you’re not my boyfriend, I don’t want you telling me what to do.]

[I’m your brother. If you keep fooling around, I won’t take you abroad for Valentine’s Day.]

[Hehe, I know you’re just worried about me since I just broke up, but it’s also really wrong of you to wear groomsman and bridesmaid outfits with Ruby without my permission. Since you’re spending Valentine’s Day with me, I’ll wear it just for you.]

Darian stayed silent for a long time before finally replying:

[This is the last time. Ruby and I are getting married soon, from now on I’ll have to be with her.]

What I once thought was perfect love dissolved into bubbles, slipping from the corners of my eyes and falling onto my slightly rounded belly.

I put away the pregnancy test with its two red lines and called my best friend Azura.

“Come out, drink with me.”

The bar’s laser lights painted everyone’s faces in dazzling colors.

Dressed in a sexy red camisole, I squeezed into the writhing dance floor, swaying with different men.

Azura touched my forehead.

“Babe, what’s going on with you? Not keeping yourself for your Darian anymore?”

It suddenly hit me—Darian didn’t like places like this, so I hadn’t been here in a long time.

My throat tightened. I took a deep breath to keep the tears from falling.

“Azura, the one Darian loves isn’t me…”

A blast of music suddenly erupted and Azura excitedly pointed toward the stage.

“I knew it, you couldn’t hide it after dancing with that guy just now.”

Seeing that familiar figure, a sharp ache swelled in my chest.

Why was he here? Did he already know I had seen those chat records? Did he come to win me back?

The music stopped right then and my eyes met his across the room.

In his gaze flashed that familiar possessiveness—just like at our graduation party, when he accepted my confession.

My heart tightened sharply.

Darian set down the tea in his hand and walked toward me.

“Honey, you’re being naughty today…”

Before he could finish, his eyes swept past me, his brows furrowing tightly.

He strode straight to a girl in a white dress, drinking alone in frustration.

“Selene, come home with me.” Selene froze, her eyes reddening.

“Aren’t you about to get married? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t care about me anymore? Why are you pretending now?”

Darian’s knuckles whitened as he reached out to grab her.

“Who said I wouldn’t care about you? You’re my sister.”

But Selene shoved him away, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I don’t want that! If this is the last time you’ll be with me, then I’d rather not go at all!”

A flicker of pain crossed Darian’s eyes, his lips moving slightly.

“Selene, I will have to get married someday and you will also—”

“I don’t want to hear it!” Selene screamed, covering her ears, a vicious gleam flashing in her eyes. “Would you only belong to me if she were dead?”

Before I could react, Selene swung an empty bottle straight at my head, her expression frenzied.

The shattering of glass exploded in my ears and warm liquid trickled down my forehead.

I staggered back two steps, only for a second bottle to smash against my head. “For stealing my brother, go to hell!”

***

When I woke up, I was lying in a hospital bed.

As I moved my hand, the IV needle tugged painfully; the nurse was changing the drip.

“Where’s the person who brought me here?”

I thought it was time for Darian and me to have a talk.

“You mean that girl? She stayed with you all night. She just left because she had something at the company today.”

I froze. So the one who brought me here wasn’t Darian after all.

My phone buzzed. I picked it up—Selene had updated her Tiktok again.

[It was just a little cut on my finger from the glass and my brother was worried sick.]

In the video, the man was half-squatting, carefully wrapping a band-aid around her finger.

Selene pouted coyly. “Darian, it hurts so much.”

The man froze, lowered his head with restraint and kissed that finger, his voice hoarse.

“Does it still hurt?”

It felt as if my own wound had been torn open again, doused with alcohol, the pain suffocating me.

I took a deep breath and dialed 110. “Hello, I want to report a crime.”

But what I ended up facing wasn’t the police—it was Darian, storming in with furious questions.

His eyes held a coldness I had never seen before.

“You called the police? Selene is just a childish girl—was this really necessary?”

Childish girl? My heart filled with disappointment.

“What kind of child would leave me needing more than thirty stitches?”

After my injury, Darian showed no concern for me, only blaming me for calling the police on his sister.

“Ruby, this is a family matter. There was no need to call the police. I’ve already punished her—confined her to the house for a day.”

I froze, then couldn’t help but laugh out loud, laughing until the wound ached.

“Darian, you call that punishment? Even if she beat me to death, would you still take her side like this?”

His gaze darkened.

“With me protecting you, how could I ever let you…”

His tone softened as he reached up to wipe the tears from my face, slipping a document into my hand at the same time.

“The police case has already been withdrawn. Be good, just sign this and in a few days, I’ll have her apologize to you in person.”

Seeing the large characters “Letter of Forgiveness” on the page before me, my heart felt plunged into an icy pit in the middle of winter.

When I lifted my eyes again, there was only coldness in them.

“I’ll sign it, but you have to promise me one condition.”

Darian, holding the signed letter, stopped suddenly as he was about to walk out the door.

“Ruby, if you had a younger sister, you would understand me. You’re both equally important to me.”

I curved my lips in a faint smile. I didn’t have a younger sister—but I did have an older brother.

And I would never put him and my sister-in-law on opposite ends of a scale, forcing him to choose.

Thinking of that, I called my brother. “Willy, I don’t want to get married anymore. I want to go to Switzerland to see you.”

He immediately replied in a warm voice. “Alright, then don’t marry. I’ll book the ticket for you.”

The flight happened to be right after Azura’s wedding.

During those days in the hospital, Darian came diligently, appearing at the same time every day.

He brought light porridge, changed my dressings and when I woke up in pain during the night, he would silently hold my hand.

But inside, I felt no joy—only desolation.

Loving someone for eight years, yet letting go took just a single moment.

“Ruby, this is a cake Selene made to apologize to you.”

I glanced at it and my heart slowly sank. “Darian, did you forget? I’m allergic to mango.”

He clearly knew I had nearly lost my life once from just a spoonful of mango pudding. A flicker of something crossed his face, but still he insisted, holding the cake toward me. “The little girl worked hard to make it. How about you just eat a bite of the plain cake base?”

As he brought the spoon closer, I slapped it to the ground. “Was it not enough for you siblings to harm me once—you want a second time?”

His expression darkened at the sight of the cake on the floor. “How can you say that? Selene didn’t know—”

“She didn’t know, but what about you?”

Because of my sudden movement, the gauze on my head tore, blood seeping through.

Darian’s brows furrowed, his voice low. “I’ll get the doctor.”

But before he could step out of the ward, a phone call came through—a girl’s sobbing voice on the other end.

Panic flashed in his usually calm eyes. “Wait for me, I’ll be right back.”

After he left, my vision went dark. It wasn’t until the rounds nurse found me that she gently lifted me back onto the bed.

Staring hopelessly at the incandescent lamp overhead, I bit down on my lip. “Please, help me book an abortion surgery.”

Five years ago, I had already aborted one child for him. At that time, he said he wasn’t ready for marriage.

But thinking back now—that just happened to be when Selene was preparing for her college entrance exams.

Maybe even then, it was another compromise he made for his sister’s twisted possessiveness—at my expense.

After signing the consent papers, my phone chimed. Selene had just updated her social media.

[With just a little trick, I managed to fool my brother into coming with me to celebrate Valentine's Day early…]

The photo was of two hands interlocked, the background an airport.

On Darian’s hand was the very ring I had bought for him.

Just because of a single lie from her, he abandoned me—sick and in pain—to fly abroad with her.

When their plane took off, I was lying on the operating table.

When they landed on the beach, I was being wheeled out of surgery.

By the time Azura arrived, her makeup was streaked with tears.

“Why didn’t you say anything and went through the abortion alone? I’ll call that bastard Darian right now.”

I weakly raised my hand, forcing a faint smile. “Azura, it’s over between us.”

Darian, I didn’t want you anymore.

Because of my injuries and the abortion, I stayed in the hospital for quite some time.

On the day of my discharge, I hadn’t expected him to show up to pick me up. Dressed in a black trench coat, he looked travel-worn and weary.

“I cut my business trip short, Ruby. I’ll spend Valentine's Day with you, don’t be mad anymore.”

He spoke on his own for a long time—explanations, apologies—until finally his gaze fixed on my face.

“Why do you look so pale? Let me take you home.”

He scooped me up into his arms. My palm landed hard across his face, yet he didn’t dodge.

“Ruby, I won’t leave you alone again. Let’s get married.”

I suddenly felt like laughing.

I had waited eight years—yet it was only now, after I had given up, that he finally said he wanted to marry me.

Selene was sitting in the passenger seat, still in her vacation sundress, not even having had time to change.

When she saw me get in, she handed me a coconut. “Ruby, it was my fault before. I’m here to apologize.”

Darian leaned over to fasten my seatbelt for me, then said in an indifferent tone, “Selene will be staying at our place for a few days.”

I ignored them both, calmly gazing out the window at the scenery sliding past in reverse.

Tomorrow, once Azura’s wedding was over, I would be leaving too.

Beside me, Selene suddenly giggled at her phone. “That guy who hit on me just now sent me a message on WhatsApp.”

Darian’s face was expressionless, but his tone brooked no argument. “Delete him.”

“I think I should give it a try.”

“I said, delete him.”

Selene stuck out her tongue. “Darian, you’re stricter than a boyfriend.”

In the rearview mirror, I caught a flash of jealousy in his eyes. But I no longer felt anything.

When we got back to the apartment, I shut myself in my room to pack my luggage.

At least this trip back had been useful—I wouldn’t have to trouble Darian to ship my things for me.

Maybe I was too exhausted. I lay down on the bed and accidentally fell asleep.

When I woke up, I immediately sensed something strange on my head. Panicked, I rushed into the bathroom—only to see my waist-length hair hacked short, ragged like it had been chewed by a dog.

Out in the living room, Selene was toying with the locks she had just chopped off from me. “Who gave you permission to cut off my hair!”