Chapter One: Caught in the act

*Nina*

I was watching a movie when Zoe’s call flashed across my screen. I hate it when I'm disturbed while watching a movie, especially my favorite, MY DEMON. This is a popular Korean movie that just came out, and I'm literally glued to my phone.

A second later, she called again.

And again.

With an irritated sigh, I finally answered.

“Hey, you finally picked, asshole,” Zoe’s voice burst through the speaker.

I rolled my eyes. “Why are you calling? I’m watching a movie, and you know how much I hate interruptions.”

“It’s urgent,” she said immediately. “I need you to come to the Bellamont Hotel right now. There’s something I need to show you.”

Her tone made my stomach tighten.

Zoe and I have been best friends since childhood. I knew her well enough to understand one thing—if she called more than three times, something was seriously wrong.

Was she in trouble?

Without wasting another second, I jumped off my bed and grabbed my sweater. I quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a pink sleeveless top before slipping on my sneakers and rushing outside.

Not long after, the taxi pulled up in front of the Bellamont Hotel.

The moment I stepped out, I spotted Zoe standing near the entrance with her arms folded tightly across her chest. She looked tense, like she had been waiting for me forever.

I paid the cab driver and hurried over to her.

“Zoe, what’s going on? You look fine,” I said, confused.

Instead of answering, she grabbed my wrist and dragged me inside.

We followed the staircase and stopped on the first floor. “Why did you bring me here?” I asked, pulling slightly from her grip. “You sounded like you were dying on the phone.”

“Be patient,” she muttered seriously. “There’s something you need to see.”

Her expression alone made my chest tighten.

“If I had told you without proof, you wouldn’t have believed me,” she continued as we walked down the hallway. “That’s why I needed you to come.”

We finally stopped in front of Room 26.

Zoe turned toward me slowly.

“I saw Nolan and Liana walk in here together holding hands,” she said carefully. “They booked a room.”

For a second, I couldn’t process her words.

“With the help of my friend who works here, I got the spare keycard.”

She held it up slightly.

Zoe had never liked Nolan from the beginning, but she would never lie to me about something this serious.

The hallway suddenly felt too narrow.

The lights hummed loudly above us while my heartbeat pounded painfully in my ears.

I could barely breathe.

Without asking if I was ready, Zoe tapped the keycard against the lock.

A green light blinked.

‎The door opened into the dark quietly, and the smell of stale coffee and something sweet I recognized instantly, Liana’s vanilla body spray. The same bottle she’d borrowed from me last Christmas and never gave back.

A muted television flickered against the wall.

And on the bed—

My world shattered.

Nolan and Liana were tangled beneath the white sheets together.

Liana’s breathy moans filled the room while Nolan buried his face against her neck.

“Harder…” she gasped.

Then she laughed softly.

“I bet Nina has never satisfied you like this.”

Nolan smirked lazily.

“She’s too uptight,” he replied. “I only stayed with her because she’s useful. You’re the one I actually want.”

The words stabbed straight through my chest.

Tears filled my eyes, and for a moment, I couldn't speak; it was as if my tongue had been cut off from my mouth.

Then somehow, my voice escaped.

“What… is going on here?”

‎Nolan sat up first. His face went white when he saw me, like I was the ghost in this story.

“Nina…”

‎“Don’t.” The word came out flat, easier than I thought it would be.

Liana sat upright slowly, clutching the bedsheet against herself. Her expression shifted from shock to guilt… then to something almost challenging.

As if she had already won.

Zoe stepped slightly in front of me protectively.

“I’m sorry you had to see this,” she said softly. “But Nolan never deserved you. Let’s leave this filthy place.”

She held my trembling hand and guided me out of the room.

I didn’t look back.

Nolan has been my boyfriend since college.

Because of him, I turned down my father’s offer to study abroad and continue my education overseas, the same education I needed if I wanted to eventually take over the family company.

My father warned me countless times to stay away from Nolan.

But I refused to listen.

Our arguments became worse over the years until one day, he finally said the words that shattered me.

“If you insist on marrying Nolan, then don’t bother coming back home.”

Those were the last words my father ever said to me.

Thankfully, he never cut me off completely from my inheritance. Without it, I wouldn’t have survived this long.

“I can’t believe he cheated on me after everything I sacrificed for him,” I whispered as tears streamed down my face.

Zoe hugged me tightly before starting the car.

“Nolan doesn’t deserve you,” she said quietly. “And he never loved you.”

I swallowed painfully.

“But why Liana?” My voice cracked. “Why did it have to be my own sister?”

Zoe pulled away slightly and raised an eyebrow.

“You mean your half-sister.”

I stayed silent.

“Don’t tell me you still haven’t realized it,” she continued. “Liana has always wanted everything that belongs to you.”

She started the engine.

“I honestly don’t know why you still call her your sister.”

The rest of the drive passed in silence.

I leaned my head against the car window while the painful scene replayed endlessly inside my mind.

The betrayal.

The lies.

The humiliation.

I can't believe I wasted my time on someone who never loved me. The painful part is that we were planning our wedding.

On the day of my engagement, Liana had looked happier than anyone else in the room. Never once had I suspected either of them.

How stupid had I been?

Liana is my half-sister… or maybe not even my sister at all.

After my mother died in a car accident, I accepted Liana’s mother as my own. My father married her six months after my mom passed away. I was only six years old then, but old enough to understand that she wasn’t truly my mother.

My father needed help raising me, so he married her while focusing on work and expanding his company. She already had a daughter, Liana, who was only three years old at the time. Being a single mother made her the perfect choice in my father’s eyes.

Since then, I treated Liana like my real sister. And to be fair, her mother was always kind to me.

But Zoe was right about Liana.

She had always seen me as competition.

Anything I had, she wanted twice as much. If I received praise, she wanted admiration. If I got something expensive, she demanded something better.

I once overheard a conversation between her and her mother that changed everything.

It happened on my eighteenth birthday.

Every year, my father made sure we celebrated our birthdays in grand style. Liana’s fifteenth birthday had been celebrated just four months before mine, yet she still wasn’t satisfied.

That night, I overheard Liana crying to her mother about my birthday celebration.

And it was also on that same night that she discovered I wasn’t her biological sister.

“Why is her birthday celebration always grander than mine?” Liana cried bitterly. “Why does she always get the best of everything?”

“Because she’s her father’s only biological daughter,” her mother replied softly while stroking her hair.

I froze outside the door.

“What do you mean?” Liana asked sharply. “You mean he’s not my father… and you’re not Nina’s real mother?”

“Her mother died giving birth to her. I was only married to take care of...”

I never waited to hear the rest.

Footsteps echoed nearby, and I ran before anyone could catch me listening.

I was so lost in those memories that I didn’t realize Zoe had already parked outside her apartment.

“Nina,” she called gently, tapping my shoulder.

I blinked back to reality.

Every part of me felt numb.

Weak and broken.

By the time we reached her apartment, I barely had enough strength to walk. The moment she opened the door, I collapsed onto her bed.

I can't remember how long I cried before I finally dozed off.