When it was time to get out of work that evening, Tyler walked out of his office with his jacket draped over his arm.

Stephanie had just risen to her feet when she heard him telling her, "I have a business gathering to attend tonight. You can go home first."

A business gathering, huh? She didn't recall such an event being logged into Tyler's schedule.

As Stephanie looked up at Tyler, she noticed that he was still gazing at her affectionately. It was quite captivating, to say the least.

In the past, she'd never doubted Tyler no matter what he said to her.

"Alright." Stephanie didn't give anything away. "Remember not to drink that much."

Tyler patted her on the head, a smile gracing his face. "Yes, dear."

After that, Stephanie flagged down a cab and had it trail behind Tyler's car the whole way to the airport. There were crowds in the airport, but she was able to recognize Tyler at first glance.

He wore a black, custom-fitted suit that made him look charming and prestigious. Of course, his looks made him stand out in the crowd.

Stephanie also saw how a long-haired woman had rushed into Tyler's arms happily. Instead of pushing her away, he hugged her tightly.

Both of them looked like a matching couple.

Once the hug was over, the woman tried to stand on her tiptoes just to kiss Tyler. But he avoided it instantly and said something to her.

Still, the woman refused to relent. In the end, she got her wish by kissing him on the lips.

The sight of them making out disgusted Stephanie to no end. But at the same time, she was also shocked to the core.

After all, the woman in Tyler's arms was actually his adopted younger sister, Kiara Grover.

Kiara lost her parents when she was three years old. Since her family and Tyler's family shared a good relationship, the Grovers decided to take her in as their adopted child.

That was how Kiara and Tyler grew up as adoptive siblings. Back when Stephanie began dating Tyler, he had introduced her to Kiara. At that time, Kiara addressed her affectionately as "Steph".

Three years ago, Kiara had gone overseas. Stephanie never would've thought that Tyler and Kiara shared such an incestuous relationship while maintaining their cover as a pair of close-knit siblings. To think they even got officially married as well!

Did that mean Kiara was also the culprit who had staged the car accident two years ago?

…

Stephanie was even more flabbergasted to see Tyler bringing Kiara home with him.

He said nonchalantly, "Steph, Kiki has just returned from abroad. I'm planning to let her stay with us for some time."

Stephanie clenched her fists tightly at his words, resulting in her nails digging into her palms. She still remembered the day when Tyler had brought her back to their home.

At that time, he had pulled her into his arms and told her, "Steph, this place will become our home in the future. It's a home that's reserved for us and us only."

Back then, Stephanie felt that this residence would be her forever home with Tyler. That was why she had put a lot of effort into decorating the whole place. Every inch of the residence was the result of her hard work. Heck, she even picked out every piece of furniture herself.

Yet now, Tyler personally brought another woman home with him.

"Hi there, Ms. Ford!"

Kiara smiled at Stephanie, though there was a hint of mockery and provocation hidden in her eyes. Five years ago, she'd still affectionately refer to Stephanie as "Steph", but now, she chose to address Stephanie as "Ms. Ford".

Tyler turned to look at Kiara instantly. There was a flash of warning in his gaze, but his eyes were mostly filled with affection.

Stephanie was somewhat impressed by how good Tyler was at trampling all over her pride and ego—at least, that was how she saw it.

If she didn't know the ugly truth, she'd have stupidly welcomed Kiara into the residence as the latter's sister-in-law. She couldn't even imagine how amusing that scene would be to Tyler and Kiara, who were the actual married couple.

"Ty, does Ms. Ford not want me here?"

Kiara looked at Tyler innocently. She sounded like she was about to burst into tears soon.

"I know that my presence has disturbed you. Maybe I should check into a hotel room instead. I'm fine being alone, after all…"

Tyler frowned at Stephanie right away. He was about to speak up when Stephanie said, "It's fine."

His words were left stuck in his throat at that moment.

Stephanie remained unperturbed, "You can stay here for as long as you wish, Ms. Grover."

After that, she returned to her own bedroom.

Kiara still viewed Stephanie as her enemy. But the thing was, Stephanie no longer cared about Tyler or this so-called home they shared.

Even if she and Kiara were truly enemies, the bad blood between them stemmed from the car accident. But Stephanie didn't show her hostility toward Kiara to avoid alerting the latter.

Kiara felt quite upset. She initially thought Stephanie would start a huge argument with Tyler. Who would've thought that she'd still remain calm at this time?

This was fine. Once Stephanie realized that she wasn't actually married to Tyler, she wouldn't be able to keep her cool at all.

Meanwhile, Tyler felt that something was off as well, so he decided to follow Stephanie into the bedroom.

"Aren't you unhappy at all, Steph?"

He knew that Stephanie wouldn't get mad at him, but he thought she'd be a little unhappy. After all, he did promise her that he wouldn't bring anyone home with him without her permission.

"Nope." Stephanie kept her back on Tyler, her expression still cold and aloof.

"I knew that you're the best."

When Tyler hugged Stephanie from behind, the latter froze up instantly at his touch. And yet, Tyler never picked up on her body language.

"Steph, Kiara is my younger sister, which means she's your sister as well. Besides, I plan on collaborating with the Fords of Jetterpolis. Kiara is very close to the Fords, so—"

"What did you just say?" Stephanie cut him off instantly. "Kiara is close to the Fords of Jetterpolis?"

"Yup. She got to know the Fords when she was still abroad. Also, it seems that Mrs. Ford Senior really likes her a lot."

Stephanie couldn't help chortling in response.

Tyler gazed at Stephanie's smile in confusion. Still, he continued to explain, "You should know that the Fords of Jetterpolis is one of the Four Powerhouses. With Kiara around, I'll be able to reap more benefits from my collaboration with them."

"Ah, I see." Stephanie continued smiling at him. "Then I hope that you can get what you wished for in advance, Mr. Grover."

Stephanie wasn't sleepy at all in the middle of the night.

She was starting to get thirsty, so she exited her bedroom for a glass of water. But when she walked past Tyler's bedroom, she found out that there was a gap in the door. A dim yellow light could be seen spilling from within the room.

After overhearing the phone call last night, Stephanie had used her discomfort as an excuse to move to the guest bedroom for the time being.

At that moment, faint sounds could be heard coming from Tyler's bedroom. They sounded awfully suggestive.

Soon, Tyler's quiet, breathless words were punctuated by a pant. "Kiki, stop messing around. We're in my home right now."

"What? Are you worried that she might find out about us?" Kiara's honeyed voice soon followed. "Ty, what are you afraid of? We're the ones who are legally married to each other."

"Kiki!" Tyler's voice suddenly became stern. "What happened between us is a thing of the past."

"Ty—"

"I wouldn't have married you if not for the fact that I needed to help you shake off your abusive ex-husband. I've dated Steph for five years. She's my girlfriend, Kiki. In the future, she will become my actual wife. Once your matter is resolved for good, we'll get—"

The rest of his sentence completely vanished. More suggestive sounds came from Tyler's room once again.

Having regained her senses, Stephanie finally realized how badly her hands were shaking at the moment. A trace of mockery was quick to cross her eyes.

Tyler was a man who was six feet and two inches tall. If he didn't want to have anything to do with Kiara, there was no way she'd be able to kiss him by force.

If he truly wanted to help Kiara get rid of her abusive ex-husband, was marrying her really the only option?

Those two shameless bastards just wanted to screw each other in bed, yet they felt the need to come up with such reasons just to justify their actions!

"Ty, don't you miss us being a couple? Stephanie can't even pleasure you the way I do!"

"Kiki…" Tyler's voice was extremely hoarse at that point. Clearly, he was extremely horny for Kiara.

After that, sounds of the couple being entangled in each other's passion could be heard coming from Tyler's bedroom.

Stephanie had already recorded their conversation with her phone. All she felt at the moment was nausea and disgust. Finally, she rushed into the bathroom and began dry-heaving into the sink repeatedly.

How disgusting… and ridiculous.

Upon leaving the bathroom, Stephanie received a text from the client. Apparently, a problem had emerged in the project, so she needed to make changes to the details overnight. She was already exhausted by then, but she had no choice but to burn more midnight oil for the project.

After turning on her computer, Stephanie suddenly recalled a memory from the past. Back then, Tyler had joined the election campaign to become the next student president. She busied herself running around canvassing votes for him, already losing count of how many times she put on forced smiles or how much effort she had put into helping Tyler.

Once Tyler successfully became the student president, she ran herself ragged, dealing with everything there was in the student council. After their graduation from university, she joined his company and burned herself out for the sake of his career.

Stephanie's stomach was starting to hurt. The pinpricks of pain were what snapped her out of her memories.

This would be the last time she helped Tyler. Besides, she wasn't doing this entirely for him—she wanted to wrap up this project purely because she and her team members had spent half a year working on it.

Countless memories flashed through Stephanie's mind. She remembered the five years' worth of contributions she had made toward Tyler, the immense pain she had suffered in the car accident two years ago, the pain of losing her leg, as well as watching her dream to dance shatter before her eyes, as well as the lewd sounds made by Tyler and Kiara when they were screwing in Tyler's bedroom earlier.

After Stephanie investigated everything related to the car accident, she vowed to make the shameless couple pay the price.

…

Early in the morning, Stephanie smelled the delicious aroma of freshly-cooked food the moment she stepped out of her bedroom. She turned around to see Tyler frying eggs in the kitchen. There was also bacon being fried on the side.

Kiara stood at the kitchen doorway while gazing at him smilingly. "It's been so many years, Ty. In the end, the breakfast that you make is the most appetizing to me."

"Wait for me at the kitchen table."

As Tyler spoke, he turned around to look at Kiara, only to accidentally make eye contact with Stephanie.

"Steph!" He smiled at her gently, just like how he did every morning in the past. "Good morning."

Stephanie's lips merely curled into a self-deprecating smile.

Tyler had never cooked for her over the past three years. Even when she drank too much to the point her stomach hurt during business negotiations on his behalf, he had never served her breakfast. All he did was order someone else to bring food over.

All this time, Stephanie had thought that Tyler wasn't the type who knew how to cook. It turned out that she didn't deserve to be pampered like that.

"Good morning, Ms. Ford."

Kiara whirled around to look at Stephanie. She wore a shirt with a V-neck. As she spoke, she'd tug her shirt downward to reveal the hickeys scattered across her chest.

Bile kept rising in Stephanie's throat, prompting her to turn on her heel and walk away.

Coincidentally, Tyler walked out of the kitchen with a plate of fried eggs. When he noticed Stephanie, he spoke up right away.

"Steph, let's head over to the company together later."

"I'm not going to the company." Stephanie didn't bother glancing back at Tyler. "I'm going to the hospital."

"The hospital? Are you feeling unwell?" Tyler placed the eggs on the dining table. "I'll go with you."

He was about to approach Stephanie when Kiara grabbed his arm.

"Have you forgotten about your promise, Ty? You told me you'd accompany me today…" She sounded pitiful and aggrieved.

As Kiara expected, Tyler stopped in his tracks hesitantly.

Stephanie seemed to have predicted the same thing as well. She left the house on her own, no longer caring about Tyler's phony acts.

As Tyler watched Stephanie leave, he felt slightly uneasy for some reason. But he was aware of how much she loved him. At most, she'd get mad at him for not accompanying her to the hospital. What was there to worry about?

Once Stephanie reached the hospital, she went through a thorough checkup.

"The state of your gastritis has worsened. I'll prescribe you some medicine. Remember to take it on time," the doctor said as he looked at the report.

Stephanie heaved a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she wasn't pregnant at all.

"Ms. Ford, did you overwork yourself again? Did you stay up past midnight and skip meals often?" The doctor wore a stoic look. "You might be young now, but if you don't take your gastritis seriously, you'll most likely suffer from major health problems in the future."

Stephanie could only smile bitterly in return. It was true that she had devoted all of her efforts to the project to the point that she neglected her own health.

But now, the project was in its final stage. There was no need for her to work herself to the bone anymore.

"Thank you, doctor. I'll be more careful with my health."

"And not just during this period, you know. You'll have to take care of yourself from now on."

"Got it," Stephanie replied softly. "I won't wreck my health ever again."

Once she grabbed her medication and left the hospital, she set off to the company. As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, she heard a gentle and kind voice addressing the other employees.

"We'll be colleagues from now on. Here's a little something from me. Don't be shy, everyone!"

"Wow! These are pastries from May's Delights! I remember that bakery being on the pricier side!"

"Ms. Grover, you're so generous!"

"I'm glad to see everyone liking these pastries!"

The colleagues in the Executive Office crowded around Kiara, who was distributing the pastries to them one by one.

"Ms. Ford, you're here!" A colleague greeted Stephanie when she saw her. "Come, come! This is Ms. Kiara Grover, our new colleague!"

Kiara looked at Stephanie, a smile tracing her ruby lips. There was a faint hint of provocation and delight in her smile.

Stephanie frowned slightly, but she chose to ignore Kiara. Instead, she walked toward her own workspace. Her assistant, Brenda Miller, scooted over instantly while wearing a resentful and upset look.

"Why must this happen to you, Ms. Ford?"

"What's wrong?" Stephanie turned on her computer as she wanted to refine one of the schedules in the project.

"You've put in so much effort into the project during this period. Why is it that others get to savor your fruit of labor?"

That was when Stephanie paused in her typing.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Mr. Grover just announced that the project you're in charge of will be transferred to Ms. Grover, effective today." Brenda sounded very miffed.

Stephanie could feel blood rushing to her head instantly.

No wonder Kiara shot her that look. It turned out that she got to rob Stephanie's fruit of labor that she had been cultivating for the past half a year or so without even lifting a finger.

Stephanie rose to her feet instantly. Then, she strode right into Tyler's office.

"Are you planning to let Kiara head that project?"

Having expected that Stephanie would confront him, Tyler remained calm and composed.

"You've been working far too hard for so long," he said gently. "In fact, you even visited the hospital today. I'm very worried about your health, Steph. That's why I decided to transfer the project over to Kiki."

But Stephanie just sneered in return. "The project is already in its final stage. The hard times are already over. Who will you list as the person in charge when the project ends? Who will be the one receiving the profit generated by this project?"

She almost ruined her health by working hard on this project. Yet, Tyler intended to let Kiara take the credit with just a simple command.

"Steph!" Tyler's expression darkened slightly. "I want Kiki to participate in the collaboration with the Fords. If she's listed as the contributor of this project, it'll greatly benefit me. Can you settle down already?"