Chapter 1

My boyfriend brought me back to his family estate. His adopted sister had just gotten out of the pool when the strap of her bikini snapped.

With hardly any fabric to begin with, she let out a sharp gasp, clutched her hands over her chest, and sprinted straight toward my boyfriend.

"Julian! My strap snapped! Hurry and tie it for me!"

The butler and the maids instantly cast their eyes to the floor.

Julian acted as if this were completely routine. Taking her by the wrist, he turned her around and skillfully tied the knot.

As he finished, his hand casually slid down her bare back. "What kind of cheap crap are you buying?" he teased. "Next time, let me buy you something better."

My vision went black with rage. "Julian!" I snapped. "Are my words a joke to you?"

Mia glanced back at me, looking timid and innocent.

"Chloe, please don't overthink it. Julian practically raised me. This is nothing."

"If there were actually anything between us, I'd already be the mistress of this house, wouldn't I?"

With that, she turned back to him, her voice dripping with playful whining.

"Julian, how many times have I told you? After tying the strap, you have to gather it forward from behind so my curves look right!"

"You're like a piece of wood. You completely ruined the shape."

Mia reached right inside her bikini top, adjusting herself right in front of Julian without a shred of shame.

Julian didn't look away either. His gaze lingered on her exposed chest for two whole seconds.

Then, sighing with helpless amusement, he actually reached out his hand to help her.

"Mia, don't you have hands?"

Unable to take it any longer, I marched forward and shoved myself between them.

"Julian, do you think I'm dead? Is that something you just casually help with?"

"I don't care if you grew up together. You're an adult man and woman. Have you two completely lost your minds?"

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I had always known Julian had an adopted sister.

What I didn't know was that they were intimate to this extent—they had blown right past any acceptable boundaries.

With all the staff watching and with me standing right here, they were doing this out in the open.

I didn't even want to imagine what they did behind closed doors!

The moment my voice faded, silence fell over the patio.

Suddenly, Julian let out a chuckle and pulled me into his arms. "Are you jealous?"

He nuzzled his nose against the curve of my neck. "You're right, baby. I'll watch myself from now on. Don't be mad, okay?"

"Besides, Mia is just a kid to me. Looking at her is no different from looking at my own daughter."

That was pouring gasoline on a fire. He still genuinely saw nothing wrong with his actions.

A daughter? What kind of father ties his twenty-year-old daughter's bikini top and strokes her bare back?

Disgusted, I shoved his hands away.

Before Julian could say anything, Mia clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Alright, Chloe. Julian soothing you once is playful romance. Keeping this up just makes you ungrateful."

Julian's mother, Eleanor, walked over carrying a platter of sliced fruit, a polished smile on her face.

"Chloe, dear, it's your first time visiting the estate. Don't spoil the mood over something so petty. Julian and Mia are just very close. You'll get used to it."

She handed me a slice of melon.

"Mia lost her parents when she was little, so we treat her as our own flesh and blood. Julian treats her like the center of his universe. You just need to be a little more understanding."

I trembled with rage. Everyone around me was looking at me like I was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Including Julian, who didn't think his behavior or his family's words were problematic in the slightest.

I took a deep breath, about to speak, when Mia suddenly complained at the top of her lungs.

She stamped her foot at Julian.

"Julian, I'm starving! Didn't you say the private chef was cooking today? I can't wait any longer!"

Julian's brow furrowed immediately. He turned to me, his tone noticeably colder.

"Are you done throwing a fit? Can we go inside and eat now? Mia has a sensitive stomach. She gets cramps if she waits too long."

In that split second, my heart turned to ice.

I was throwing a fit?

Every single breath was about Mia. If Mia wanted to eat, I was expected to swallow my humiliation.

With a "sister" like this, why did he even need a girlfriend?

I closed my eyes, forcing down the stinging tears.

"I'm done throwing a fit. And I'm done with you. Julian, we're over."

The moment I turned around, I paused and looked back at Mia.

"By the way, since your sibling bond runs so deep, sharing a bed should bring you even closer."

"I wish you and your brother a lifetime of happiness."