Chapter 2

The next day, I woke up to find it was already the afternoon. I'd been burning with a fever all night. My head pounded, and my throat was so hoarse I couldn't speak.

I checked my phone and saw dozens of unread messages.

"Happy birthday, Calista! I bought you a yacht—let's take it for a spin soon!"

"Callie, your dad insisted on flying back to celebrate your birthday. Honestly, I can't do anything about him."

"Happy 25th birthday, Callie! I'll always love you!"

The screen was filled with birthday wishes from my parents, who were abroad, Christopher, friends, and classmates. They'd all sent their blessings.

But Emilio, who slept by my side every night, hadn't sent a single message.

I sighed, my mind fuzzy as I vaguely recalled asking Emilio to get me a glass of water in the middle of the night.

However, he'd been on the balcony, taking a call. After ending the call, he'd left in a hurry, and he hadn't come back since.

I dragged my exhausted body out of bed. The fever made it hard to stand steady.

Just then, the door opened. Emilio was back. He carried a pile of gifts, each one clearly expensive from the packaging alone.

Noticing my gaze, he hurried over. "Why are you only waking up now, sleepyhead?"

I turned my head, dodging his outstretched hand. I looked down at the gifts and said softly, "My birthday's already over, Emilio."

He froze, his hand hovering in the air for a long moment before slowly dropping. He glanced at the calendar on the wall and quickly set down the gifts, looking guilty as he grabbed my hand. "Babe, I'm so sorry. Work was crazy yesterday. Let me make it up to you today, okay?"

"Don't bother. You missed it, and that's a fact." I rejected his offer without hesitation.

Emilio watched as I trudged back to the bedroom, the guilt in his eyes deepening.

I sat in the bedroom, feeling like my head was heavier and dizzier. Half an hour later, I stepped out again to find that Emilio was gone.

Laura noticed my confusion and explained, "Mr. Slater went out to buy you a birthday gift, Ms. LeBlanc. Don't be upset with him. He really was tied up with something important yesterday."

I faltered and looked at the pile of gift bags on the table. "He's buying me a gift?"

Laura followed my line of sight and hurriedly moved the bags to a cabinet, as if afraid I'd touch them. "Ms. LeBlanc, these are for Mr. Slater's important clients. He instructed that no one should touch them."

Important clients?

I immediately understood when I saw the cosmetics and women's handbags. To Emilio, the most important person besides his parents was probably Amber. In fact, she probably meant more to him than they did. After all, he'd once fought with them to the point of cutting ties just to marry her.

So, Emilio hadn't forgotten my birthday by mistake. He'd never thought of it at all. He could've pretended to have mixed up the dates and used these things he'd already bought to appease me, but he didn't. Anything meant for Amber was untouchable by others.

Amber had only just returned to the country, and I'd already lost completely. I didn't dare think about how many more times Emilio would make me lose in the days to come.

…

When Emilio returned with a bouquet of flowers, I was lying in bed, blankly scrolling through my phone.

Noticing my glumness, he sat on the edge of the bed and ruffled my hair. "Babe, don't be mad. I bought you lots of things. If you're still upset, how about you give me a slap?"

As he spoke, he took my hand and pressed it to his cheek.

Seeing him act so humbly made my heart ache even more. He wasn't someone with a good temper. In the past, when his girlfriends threw tantrums, he never bothered to placate or coax them. He would just dump them and move on.

But with me, he was endlessly indulgent, even humbling himself to beg for forgiveness like this.

I wondered whether he was so good to me because he loved me, or because I resembled Amber the most.

With that thought, I turned to look at him and raised my hand, letting the slap land.

Emilio froze, clearly not expecting me to actually hit him. However, he didn't mind, assuming I was just angry. Sporting a clear handprint on his face, he quickly turned to grab a gift box.

Inside was a necklace—a new piece by my favorite designer that had been released two weeks ago. I'd been trying to get my hands on it but couldn't.

I hadn't expected Emilio to get it in just half an hour. It must've cost him a fortune.

Suddenly, I couldn't understand what he was thinking. He was still so good to me, so good that it was enough to make everyone envy me.

The only flaw was that I would always come second to Amber.

Emilio smiled faintly when he saw my stunned expression. He brushed aside my hair, wanting to put the necklace on me. But when his hand touched my neck, his expression turned serious. "Why are you so hot?"

He finally noticed my fever and scooped me up without another word, rushing me to the hospital.

Before leaving, he shouted at the maids, "Didn't any of you notice that Calista has a fever? You're all fired as of tomorrow!"

Then, he hurriedly drove me to the hospital, running a dozen red lights on the way.

At the hospital, the doctor asked about our relationship.

"He's my brother."

"I'm her boyfriend."

We spoke simultaneously.

The doctor eyed us in confusion, and Emilio repeated firmly, "I'm her boyfriend."

I looked at him, puzzled. In the past, he would never have admitted our relationship in public. Even when no one we knew was around, he would call me his sister. Over time, I'd gotten used to introducing myself that way, too.

To think he would now openly acknowledge our relationship out of guilt.

I smiled self-deprecatingly as I watched the IV drip slowly release its contents.

A nurse standing nearby couldn't help but say, "Good thing you brought her here in time, or the ba—"

I coughed violently, cutting her off. Emilio turned to get me water, and in that moment, I shook my head at the nurse, signaling her to stop. I'd already decided to end things with Emilio, so I didn't want him to know about the child.

Thankfully, he didn't think much of it. He helped me sit up and fed me water.

Just then, Christopher burst through the door and rushed to my bedside. "Calista, why didn't you tell me you were—"

He stopped short as he locked eyes with Emilio. Emilio returned to his senses first and calmly set the water back on the table.

"Why are you here?" Christopher asked.

"Calista collapsed from exhaustion at the company. I happened to see her and brought her to the hospital." Emilio's lie was delivered smoothly, but his expression changed instantly when he saw Amber outside the room.

She, on the other hand, walked in with a fruit basket. She smiled and held her head high. "I was catching up with Christopher at a cafe when he heard his sister was sick. He was so worried he nearly forgot to pay the bill. I tagged along to check on things. You don't look too happy to see me, Emilio."

Emilio's expression darkened. As he met Amber's gaze, his eyes held an emotion I couldn't decipher.

Then, it hit me. The emotion was anger—something I'd never seen in him before, sparked by Amber's indifference.

As the atmosphere grew tense, I got out of bed and extended my hand to her. "Hi, I'm Calista LeBlanc."

She looked me up and down. Then, her eyes widened as if in realization. She smiled faintly and shook my hand. "Hi, I'm Amber Granger, Christopher's friend."

Emilio stiffened at her introduction and unconsciously clenched his fists. I forced a bitter smile at his reaction.

Suddenly, Amber gasped and covered her mouth daintily. "What a coincidence, Calista. You have dimples, too! You look so pretty when you smile, and you look a bit like me."