Chapter 1

1: 1

The day my project bonus came through, I hurried to the bank to pay off the mortgage early.

The clerk checked my paperwork, then looked up, puzzled.

"The property is registered to Wendy Sullivan. You have no authority to make an early payment."

There it was in the system, on the deed, plain as day: my sister's name.

I went home with a head full of questions.

I'd barely reached the door when I heard laughter inside.

Mom and Dad and my closest friend were all gathered around the dining table.

My sister was nestled against Philip Stephens, and on the cake in front of her, the writing read:

【Happy third anniversary, Philip and Wendy.】

Mom saw me first, and the smile froze on her face.

"We should have told you long ago. Wendy was just too soft-hearted, so she made us keep it from you."

"Wendy is the one who's legally Philip's wife, and all she got out of it was a marriage certificate and a house."

"She's already given up this much. What right do you have to feel wronged?"

Cindy Matthews frowned too, and put it to me like advice.

"As your best friend, I'm telling you to have some dignity. Stop throwing yourself at him like the other woman."

"Wendy hasn't dared make the marriage public for three years. She's suffered enough."

"Be a decent person. Give Philip back to her, and let the two of them live like a normal married couple."

Philip never argued.

He just held Wendy's hand and looked at me, calm.

It struck me all at once how absurd this was.

Ten years together, five years married, and I had no marriage certificate, no house.

And now even the husband who slept beside me had become something Wendy had handed down to me out of charity.

In that moment, the last trace of attachment I had for them vanished completely.

1

When I said nothing, Wendy's eyes reddened fast. She knelt in front of me and wept.

"I'm sorry, sis."

"Five years ago, the first time you brought Philip home, I fell for him."

I stood frozen.

Five years ago, I had just brought Philip home to meet my parents.

He wanted to make a good impression on everyone, so he'd picked out gifts half a month in advance, and at the table he'd made an earnest promise.

"You don't have to worry. I'll be good to Hester Sullivan for the rest of my life."

Wendy had sat across from me, watching him the whole time in silence.

After the meal she suddenly took my hand and asked, in a small voice,

"Sis, what does it feel like, being loved like that?"

Back then I only thought she envied me.

I even held her and reassured her.

"Once your health is better, you'll meet someone who loves you very much too."

It never once occurred to me.

The person she wanted was Philip.

Not long after that dinner, Wendy's heart acted up in the middle of the night.

I was away on a business trip that day. It was Philip who drove her to the hospital and stayed until morning.

After that, every time Wendy went in for a checkup, Philip went with her.

I was busy planning the wedding, so he took her number and waited in line for her.

I worked overtime to earn the down payment on our marital home, and he drove Wendy out of town to see specialists.

Back then I thought it was because he loved me that he loved everything of mine too, that he took my family this seriously.

Only today did I understand.

Somewhere in all that caring for Wendy, Philip had let his own heart go.

Seeing my face streaked with tears, something reluctant flickered in his eyes.

"Wendy's not well. The slightest shock could bring on an attack."

"Every time she saw me, she'd be so happy."

"And then, caring for her again and again, I don't even know when it changed."

That light, offhand I don't know when.

And ten years of us was wiped away.

I looked at him.

"So the two of you registered the marriage three years ago?"

Philip was quiet for a moment, then nodded.

Mom jumped in at once to explain for them.

"Wendy's condition got worse that year. Before her surgery, her one wish was to register a marriage with Philip."

"The doctor said her emotions couldn't take any more strain. What were we supposed to do?"

"Were we just supposed to stand by and watch her die?"

"You're healthy, and you'd already had your wedding with Philip. What was the harm in letting her have this once?"

Cindy sighed too.

"I figured out ages ago that they liked each other."

"Wendy cried and begged me not to tell you. She said she didn't want to wreck your family."

"She's that kind, so how could I bear to force her out?"

So Cindy hadn't just known.

She'd shot Wendy's wedding photos, prepared the bouquet, and gone with them to the county clerk's office.

My husband, my parents, and my best friend.

Every one of them had a hand in this lie.

Only I had gone on like a fool, working myself to the bone to pay for a marital home in my sister's name.