After six years of dating, Selena Yane is about to marry Zachary Xenakis. However, her long-lost younger sister is found and brought back to the family.

While Selena tries her best to make it up to Lucine Yane, Lucine doesn't appreciate her efforts.

Not only does Lucine accuse Selena of being jealous and stealing their parents' love, but she even sets her sights on Zachary.

With everyone standing against Selena, even Zachary advises her, "Lucine's about to marry into the Chiton family soon. It's only right that we make it up to her as best as we can."

Hence, he even takes a family photo with Lucine and buys a necklace for her—the limited-edition necklace that should have been Selena's. He then abandons Selena on a deserted road, where she nearly becomes food for the wild animals.

Even so, Zachary still feels like he owes it to Lucine.

It isn't till the day of the wedding that Zachary finally learns it isn't Lucine marrying into the Chiton family.

It's Selena.

He tries desperately to stop the wedding convoy, but Selena doesn't even look back once.

Rays of light filtered through the windows to illuminate the lavish interior of a villa, casting Selena Yane in varying shades of darkness.

She tightly clutched the piece of paper that had the word "marry" written on it, her fingers turning white from the force.

Her mother, Martha Tonks, stepped forward to gently pat her shoulder. "Selena, since you drew the lot to marry, you should get ready. In a week—"

Before she could finish, she was cut off by Selena, whose eyes had started tearing up.

"But I already got engaged to Zachary a while ago! Why am I now being asked to marry into the Chiton family instead? And through such a sloppy method as drawing lots?"

Martha didn't get a chance to respond before Liam Yane, Selena's father, approached her with a stony expression.

"The Yane family's marriage with the Chiton family is bound to happen! We only just found your sister not long ago. Could you bear to have her marry off to someplace so far away?

"Michael Chiton is known for his unpredictable moods, and Lucine is nothing like you. How could she possibly handle him when she's so innocent?

"Besides, if you hadn't kept an eye on her back then, how could she have gone missing? Shouldn't you compensate her for all these missing years?"

Each word struck Selena's heart like a heavy blow.

Both she and Lucine Yane were his daughters. He couldn't bear to have Lucine marry into such circumstances, yet he didn't mind Selena in the same situation.

For the past 20 years, everyone had been blaming her for losing Lucine, yet she had only been six at the time.

If Liam hadn't left them alone at the playground, heading off somewhere for a business deal, this wouldn't have happened. However, she was the one who became the target of public scorn, leaving her swimming in guilt for all these years.

Seeing how Selena stubbornly refused to agree, Martha dealt one last heavy blow.

"Selena, you know that Zachary's feelings toward you have changed. Why do you insist on clinging to him?"

In an instant, Selena's nose tingled as bitterness rose in her. She wanted to retort, but didn't know where to even begin.

After Lucine was found and brought back, Liam and Martha's world practically revolved around her.

Feeling apologetic to the sister she had lost for 20 years, Selena had tried her best to make it up to Lucine. The costly jewelry and beautiful clothing she had gifted Lucine could fill the latter's entire bedroom.

Nonetheless, Lucine remained hostile toward her. Not only did she claim that Selena was deliberately gifting her expensive things to suppress her, but she always put on a show of Selena hurting her.

Eventually, Martha and Liam started to distance themselves from Selena.

Only her childhood sweetheart, Zachary Xenakis, remained firmly on her side.

However, Selena wasn't sure when it started, but Zachary had also begun to change. He started bringing up Lucine more often.

"Lucine sure does know how to torment people. Can't she head to the exhibition hall herself? Why did she have to insist on my driving her there? Selena, you're so much more understanding. She can't compare to you at all."

Though it sounded like he was complaining, his actions betrayed him. He began to willingly help Lucine with anything she asked of him. It got to the point where he would abandon Selena for Lucine, time and again.

When Selena remained silent, Liam grew restless.

Furrowing his brows tightly, he began to pace around the living room. Several times, he moved as though to light a cigarette, but every time, he would stop himself. The reason was simple. Lucine hated the smell of cigarette smoke.

Selena had been trying to get him to stop smoking for ages, yet he had never bothered to heed her words.

However, Lucine had easily done so.

A moment later, Liam spoke up coldly. "I'll give you five billion as your dowry. Other than that, you can request anything from me. This is the most I will concede."

Selena raised her gaze, her eyes filled with a mix of emotions that Liam couldn't decipher.

In the next second, Selena's phone chimed with a message.

It was a photo from Lucine of two hands wearing matching rings.

There was no way Selena would mistake the other hand—it was Zachary's.

Taking a deep breath, Selena looked up once more. This time, her eyes were clear and cold.

"I agree to marry into the Chiton family, so transfer the five billion to my account tomorrow. Also, don't tell Zachary that I'm the one being married off."

The usually stern Liam finally smiled.

"But of course."

After receiving an affirmative answer, Selena left the house without looking back.

It was drizzling outside. Her tears fused seamlessly with the falling droplets, perfectly concealing her misery.

Upon arriving home, Selena had only just changed out of her dripping clothes when Zachary returned.

He was humming softly, seemingly in a good mood.

However, his happiness vanished the moment he raised his head and spotted Selena. He took a startled step back while hiding his hand behind his back.

There was a hint of awkwardness in his smile as he asked, "You're back so soon? Didn't Mr. and Mrs. Yane say they had something to discuss with you?"

Selena didn't respond, her gaze focused on Zachary's left hand, the one he was hiding behind his back.

Slowly stepping forward, she pulled his hand out from behind his back. The glimmering ring on his ring finger was a heartbreaking sight.

"Hah! You're already wearing matching rings. What's your next step, getting your marriage certificate?"

Zachary subconsciously rubbed the tip of his nose.

This simple action caused Selena's heart to clench painfully. Having known him since they were practically babies, she was more than familiar with his every little action.

"You two have already gotten your marriage certificate, haven't you?"

Selena let out a long sigh. Even though she had already mentally prepared herself to leave him, her heart still broke when she realized her fiance had gone behind her back to register his marriage with her sister.

Unwilling to continue this topic, she turned and headed for the bathroom.

She had been in the rain earlier, so she would fall sick if she didn't take a hot shower soon.

Zachary grabbed her wrist, explaining, "Selena, please listen to me. I know you've always felt guilty about what happened to Lucy. That's why I'm doing all this. It's to help you make it up to her.

"She's going to marry Michael Chiton soon, and we all know what sort of man he is. She definitely won't be happy there. I only want to help you do something for her before she leaves.

"When the time is right, I'll naturally divorce her. As for this ring, it's just for show, so you don't have to take it to heart. The woman I love most is you. Don't we even have this bit of trust between us?"

Selena could only stare at the self-righteous man before her, suddenly realizing she didn't know him at all.

She didn't know when Zachary had started to address Lucine so intimately as "Lucy", just like how she didn't know when his feelings toward her had started to change.

Her tone sounded distant when she said, "I was in the rain, so I'm going to shower now."

The Zachary before her was no longer the observant and caring man who used to love her. Now, he only had eyes for Lucine.

Only after she mentioned it did Zachary notice that her hair was wet.

A flicker of guilt flashed in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Selena. I should've gone to pick you up. Even so, you're already an adult, yet you still don't know how to take care of yourself. If the rain was too heavy, you should've just taken a taxi back home."

Selena ignored him and entered the bathroom without looking back.

The bathroom was soon filled with thick mist as water poured relentlessly from the showerhead onto Selena's head.

Selena shut her eyes tightly, visions of their past love playing in her mind's eye.

Zachary had once said he was her knight, and with him around, she could be a child forever.

As it turned out, "forever" only lasted six years for him.

When Selena emerged from the bathroom, Zachary hurriedly approached with the hairdryer. He thoughtfully started to dry her hair for her.

"Selena, I was in the wrong earlier for neglecting you. I've booked us a table at an award-winning restaurant. After the meal, we can go shopping. The ten-carat pink diamond necklace that caught your eye previously has finally arrived."

Before Zachary could say anything more, both of their phones chimed simultaneously.

Zachary turned slightly to glance at his phone. When he saw the message, a delighted look flashed across his face.

Selena, on the other hand, appeared calm as she stared at the message she received.

It was from Lucine.

The message read, "Selena, Zach's already spent quite a long while with you. Time for me to get him back."

Even through the screen, Selena could imagine the smug look on Lucine's face.

She didn't reply to the message and just turned off her phone screen.

When she raised her head again, her gaze met Zachary's. He gave her an apologetic look.

"Selena, there's unfortunately an emergency meeting at the company, so I have to head over there now. Once the meeting is over, I'll return immediately, okay?"

Though the words sounded like a question, his tone implied there wasn't any room for her to refuse.

Letting out a self-mocking laugh, she stared earnestly into Zachary's eyes and asked, "Do you have to go?"

Zachary hesitated for the briefest moment before nodding seriously. "Yes, I absolutely have to."

"Alright."

Upon hearing how easily she agreed, Zachary was rather surprised and a little uncertain.

He opened his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately grabbed his coat and left without another word.

Just like that, Selena was left alone in the room, which now felt empty.

She thought of the pink diamond necklace Zachary had just mentioned.

She really did like it and had been waiting for so long for it, so she decided she might as well buy it back now.

After getting herself ready, Selena left the house. She had only just stepped into the jewelry store when she spotted two familiar figures.

Lucine and Zachary.

In Lucine's hands was none other than the pink diamond necklace Selena had come here for.

Striding forward, Selena said to the store employee, "If I remember correctly, that necklace is the last of that series, and I happened to pre-order it half a year ago."

The employee's gaze darted between the three of them warily. Clearly, she was unsure what their relationship with each other was. It had only been half a year, yet the woman beside Zachary had changed.

Zachary hadn't expected Selena not to wait at home for him.

He stammered as he tried to explain, "I was here picking a gift for a client and coincidentally bumped into Lucy, so I—"

Selena ignored him and continued talking to the store employee. "Please wrap up that necklace for me."

A conflicted expression appeared on the employee's face. "Ms. Yane, this necklace was pre-ordered using Mr. Xenakis' name back then, so…"

Before Selena could respond, Lucine placed the necklace back on the viewing tray with red-rimmed eyes.

"This was originally supposed to be yours anyway, so I shouldn't have expected anything. It's my fault for not knowing my place. It's just that I never really had any nice things for the 20 years I was lost outside. That's why I couldn't tear my eyes away from this necklace. Sorry to put you in a difficult position, Zach."

As expected, the moment Zachary heard that, his heart broke for Lucine.

He turned to Selena, a displeased look in his eyes.

"Selena, as the older sister, isn't it only right for you to give in to your younger sister? You've always gotten whatever you wanted for all these years. Do you have to fight with her over a necklace? She's already had a tough life, so you should be more understanding."

With that said, he instructed the store employee, "Wrap it up for me, please."

After Zachary paid for the necklace, Lucine's eyes were practically glued to it.

She said to Zachary sweetly, "Thanks, Zach. Can you help me put it on?"

"Of course."

Zachary carefully brushed away Lucine's hair before helping her put on the million-dollar necklace.

While he was doing that, Lucine raised an eyebrow and shot Selena a disdainful smile.

Selena spun on her heel to leave, but then Lucine's voice rang out again, sounding aggrieved.

"Selena, where are you going? Are you angry with me?"