"Charles, who is this?"

Rose's voice was cloyingly sweet, tinged with a whiff of hurt.

Charles's gaze softened, like ice thawing in the sun, and he reached past me to drape an arm around Rose's shoulders.

"The sister I've told you about, Jennifer."

Sister.

The word sister tumbled from Charles's lips and burned through me, bringing tears to my eyes.

I bit down on my lip so hard I tasted blood, fighting back the wave of emotion.

Rose, clueless to the tension, kept up her chirpy act, playfully swinging Charles's arm.

"So you're Jennifer! Stay for dinner, then. Charles is cooking tonight."

My eyes went wide.

Just last week, I was sick with a fever, begging Charles to make me oatmeal. He claimed he could not cook and left me to fend for myself.

Turned out, he could cook all along—he just would not do it for me.

Charles seemed to remember that day too, a guilty look flashing across his face before he quickly got his act together and added. "Since Rose invited you to stay, join us for the meal."

I nodded absentmindedly, lost in my own world.

The memories of time spent with Charles were like the scent of a meal drifting from the kitchen—haunting me, yet slipping through my fingers.

"Jennifer, got someone special on your mind?"

Rose's voice snapped me back to reality.

I followed her gaze down to the cluster of love bites on my neck and instinctively buttoned up my shirt.

With a knowing smile, Rose giggled behind her hand.

"Come on, Jennifer, we're all grown-ups here, no need to be shy. However, Charles is old-fashioned. He says it's only the wild ones who give it all away before marriage, so he keeps his hands to himself."

My cheeks flared up, feeling like I had been slapped out of the blue.

I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out.

Was Rose wrong?

After all, I had been with Charles for three years without any real commitment—was not that reckless?

Right then, Charles walked in with a tray of food.

In no time, he had whipped up three dishes and a soup.

So much for his claim of not knowing how to cook.

I kept quiet and just focused on my meal.

The food was delicious, but all I could taste was the bitterness.

Rose, cool as ever, glanced between Charles and me, her eyes smiling.

"Charles, did you hear Jennifer's got someone on her mind? I'm curious when she'll bring him around for us to see."

My lips were sealed tight, and without even thinking, my eyes flicked to Charles.

He was cool as a cucumber as he said, "Rose has a point. If you've got a crush, bring him around for us to meet. We can check them out for you."

My heart plummeted. I just nodded, my mind a mess.

Rose, though, was not about to drop it. She went on about how she and Charles were each other's first love back in college, the kind of couple everyone wished they could be.

Even after Rose jetted off to study abroad and they split, neither of them could really let go.

It was not until Rose came back home that Charles raced over to the Canfield family to pop the question, and they finally made it official.

I did the math, Charles had come to talk to me about my college choices right when Rose had left the country.

So what was I? Rose's stand-in?

I guess I had been nothing but a distraction for Charles from the start.

Dinner was a chore, every bite as bland as cardboard.

When it was finally over, I stood up to leave, but Rose insisted on walking me out.

I could not say no, so I ended up in her car.

The moment I closed the door, Rose's whole vibe changed, and out of nowhere, she scoffed.

"Jennifer, you're hung up on Charles, aren't you?"

Rose said it matter-of-factly, which left me momentarily stunned, staring at her in shock.

Rose did not care for my response and continued speaking, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I had barely left the country for my studies, and you immediately got into Capital Heights University. Were you that eager to steal someone else's man?"

I tried to protest, to tell him that it was Charles who had talked me into volunteering, but the words just would not come out. They were lodged in my throat, stubborn and unmoving.

"However, no matter how hard you try, you're just a secret mistress, a nobody. What makes you think you can even hold a candle to me?

"The moment I got back, Charles couldn't wait to kick you to the curb and come ask for my hand. Take a hint and beat it. Don't stick around like some annoying cling-on that nobody wants."

Her words stung, leaving me feeling utterly humiliated. I was about to defend myself when Rose dialed a number.

With a taunting smile aimed at me, she cried out in feigned terror. "Charles, you have to come save me! Jennifer's gone crazy—she's threatening to take us both out…"

With that, she cut the call short.

Before I could even process what was happening, the car swerved violently and slammed into a low wall by the roadside.

The impact flung me forward, my forehead slamming into the seat ahead, and blood poured out, darkening my vision.

Rose was a mess too, her hair wild, a streak of blood running down her face.

She was insane!

To set me up, she went to such extremes.

It was not long before Charles showed up with paramedics in tow, rushing to gently pull Rose from the wreckage.

"Rose, are you okay?"

Through her tears, Rose looked as fragile as a flower in the rain, nestled in his arms, choking back sobs.

"Jennifer's mad at me for taking you from her, she tried to grab the wheel, and said I had to pay…"

My head was pounding, but I forced myself to speak up.

"I… I didn't…"

Charles shot me a look of pure loathing, his voice as icy as frost. "You'd stop at nothing to get what you want, aren't you? You had the nerve to hurt Rose today, and I swear you're going to pay for it!"

Before I could get another word out, Charles was already racing towards the ambulance with Rose in his arms, leaving me with nothing but the sight of his determined back.

As the paramedics were about to hoist me into the ambulance, Charles blocked them.

"Perps and victims don't share rides, ever. She needs to head to the station and face the music."

The doctor protested urgently. "We haven't gotten to the bottom of this yet, and she's clearly in worse shape. Without quick treatment, she could be looking at some serious, lasting damage."

Charles looked like he might give in and let me aboard, but then Rose, weakly nestled in his embrace, whispered.

"Charles, please… don't let her near me. I'm scared she'll hurt me again…"

After hearing that, Charles's eyes turned to ice, and he told the paramedics.

"Get Rose to the hospital. Her safety comes first. You're on my dime, so don't waste time on someone who doesn't matter."

With that, the doctor had no choice but to set me back down, and the ambulance took off without me.

I was left alone at the crash site, surrounded by a crowd that did not lift a finger to help. My wound kept bleeding, my mind getting fuzzier by the second.

I whispered over and over. "Home… I just want to go home…"

Time lost all meaning until another ambulance showed up and whisked me away to the hospital.

Hanging on by a thread, I begged the doctor for a phone and dialed my mom with shaking hands.

"Mom, I miss you so much. Can you come get me? I'll go on those blind dates you've been asking me to…"

However, the words barely left my lips before darkness took me.

The sharp scent of disinfectant filled my nose.

I blinked my eyes open slowly, finding myself in a hospital bed.

The doctor looked at me, his face etched with sadness.

"Ms. Harris, I'm sorry, but we were too late. We couldn't save your baby."

I touched my stomach, flat and empty.

A baby had been there? I had lost the baby before I even knew it existed.

Tears spilled over, tracing wet paths down my face.

Charles, was that what loving you cost?

It hurt too much.

I would not let myself love you again.

The doctor had barely left when Charles stormed in with a bunch of cops, his stare like a blade of frost.

"Jennifer, it's time you faced the consequences of your actions!"

I felt numb, but I pushed myself up. "I didn't do it…"

Charles did not care to listen. With a nod, he had the cops move in to cuff me.

Panic and fury surged through me, the pain from my wound nearly knocking me out.

"You can't arrest me! I'm innocent!"

I yelled, my voice raw with the injustice of it all, "Check the street cams, they'll show you!"

Rose, who had been lurking in the background, suddenly looked worried.

She came over, all weak and teary, and clung to Charles.

"Charles, let's not be too hard on Jennifer. If she says sorry to me, I'll let it go."

Charles relaxed a little at that.

He turned to me, "You hear that? Just say you're sorry, and we'll drop it."

It was like a dagger to the heart.

No matter if it was that time three years ago when he was drugged, or even today, Charles just would not believe me.

Right then, my phone buzzed—a text from Mom.

[Jen, I'm on my way to Capital City to bring you home. I won't let my girl be hurt anymore!]

Tears welled up in my eyes. When Mom got there, I could finally leave that place of heartache.

Charles looked annoyed as he saw me crying.

"Why the tears all of a sudden? It's just an apology, isn't it? You messed up, and saying sorry is too much for you?"

I looked at him, feeling like he was a stranger despite our growing up together.

The bond we had as kids, along with the baby we never got to have, was gone.

I met his eyes and let out a laugh.

"Fine," I said.

I climbed out of bed, stood before Rose, and gave a deep bow. "I'm sorry."

She had a victorious smirk in her eyes. She stepped closer as if to help me up, but instead, she leaned in and hissed in my ear.

"Must be tough, losing a child, huh?"

I had made up my mind not to get hung up on that anymore.

However, her words were like salt on an open wound, and tears sprang to my eyes once more.

I could not take it. My hand flew up, aiming for Rose's face.

Slap—

However, my hand never reached her. Charles yanked her back, taking the hit for her.

He shoved me to the ground, furious. "Jennifer, what are you doing?"

"Do you have any idea what she just said?" I retorted.

Charles's voice was stern as he scolded. "No matter what Rose said, you had no right to hit her! You're just mean, always picking on Rose. Say you're sorry, now!"

Charles saw I was not about to apologize and kicked me hard behind the knee.

I hit the floor, pain shooting through me.

He made me apologize to Rose, and I kept bowing, again and again, until she finally nodded.

"You're so spoiled, you know? You'd be in for a rough time out in the real world. I'm just trying to help you."

Right then, a furious voice cut through from outside the room.

"Since when did a daughter of the Shaw family need lessons from you?"