Chapter 1

Graduation was over, and the four of us were in the living room planning our trip.

"I want to go boating in the Hamptons. I've never been out on the ocean before. Besides, it's close to home, and I'm not well enough to travel far."

Lily said it in that soft, fragile voice of hers, then turned to Ethan, who was scrolling on his iPad.

"Ethan, what do you think?"

My brother didn't even look up. He didn't care where they went, as long as Lily didn't start complaining about a headache halfway through the trip.

Lily beamed and turned to Julian, who was sitting next to me.

"What about you, Julian?"

Julian ruffled her hair affectionately.

"Whatever you want. I'll book the yacht."

Sitting beside him, I watched as he began searching for yacht rentals on his phone.

Not once did anyone ask where I wanted to go.

"Julian, what about Switzerland? We said we'd go once I got my offer."

Julian stopped scrolling. He lowered his voice, trying to soothe me. "Lily just got over being sick. She can't handle a long trip. You're her big sister. Can't you be understanding?"

There it is again. Be understanding.

Seven years earlier, after her father went bankrupt and killed himself, Lily had come to live with us.

Ever since, everyone had told me the same thing. Poor Lily had been through so much.

I was the big sister, so I had to let her have her way.

Julian used to be the only exception.

On snowy nights, he'd come all the way over just to bring me a bowl of hot soup.

He'd stay up all night helping me study legal statutes and work through complicated cases.

He'd always been on my side, no matter what.

"They all want you to back down. I never will.

"Once you land that job in London, we'll go to Europe. You won't have to worry about keeping anyone happy anymore."

He used to look at me like he meant every word.

Then, six months ago, Lily was diagnosed with mild depression.

She tearfully told Julian how much she envied us both for being so successful, while she couldn't seem to do anything right.

I'd always been independent and driven. I'd never clung to him the way Lily did.

Lily looked up to Julian like he was a hero, and he loved how that made him feel.

He forgot all his promises to me.

And he was the one who destroyed everything we'd built.

Last night, I went into the study to print some documents. An email notification popped up on the computer, and I clicked it.

The subject line read, "Withdrawal of Acceptance—Evelyn Howard."

The email claimed that since I was getting married and planned to stay in New York, I'd decided to turn down the offer after careful consideration.

Lily's mediocre résumé was attached, along with a request for the firm's New York office to make an exception and give her an entry-level job.

And the sender was Julian.

My mind went blank.

I kept refreshing my inbox, sure it had to be some kind of glitch.

I couldn't believe the man I loved most would be the one to stab me in the back.

My shock quickly gave way to anger.

I ran downstairs to confront him, but before I could walk in, I heard Julian and Ethan talking.

"You seriously went into her email and rejected the London offer behind her back?" Ethan asked, lining up a shot. "Evelyn's worked her butt off for three years. She's going to lose it when she finds out."

Julian lit a cigarette like it was nothing.

"What else was I supposed to do? Lily has nothing, and she's struggling with depression. She needs a respectable job to get her confidence back. Evelyn's brilliant. The fact that she got the offer proves she's good enough."

"But once Evelyn decides on something, she never backs down."

Julian went quiet.

I couldn't help hoping. Maybe he still cared about me, even a little.

Then Julian spoke again, his voice cold. "It's fine." He blew out a ring of smoke. His face was obscured by the smoke, but there was no mistaking the certainty in his voice.

"Evelyn loves me. We're getting married. Why should she go to London and suffer? I'll make it up to her later. Just this once, she can step aside for Lily."

Just this once. Step aside.

So the future I'd bled for was just something he could sacrifice to keep Lily happy.

I didn't storm in to confront him.

Years of being ignored had taught me to hold it in.

I called Edward Thorne, a partner at the firm's London headquarters. I explained that someone had accessed my email without permission, and presented two detailed strategies for handling difficult cases.

Edward went quiet for a moment. When he spoke again, he sounded impressed. "Evelyn, that was excellent crisis management. Your offer's reinstated, and you're getting a promotion on top of it."

I let out a long breath. "Thank you. But please keep this between us for now."

When I hung up, I counted the days until I had to report for work in London.

One week left.