Chapter 3

Mom suddenly called me when I was just about to return to my dormitory to pack my belongings.

"You should come home for the holidays, Violet," she said. "Quinn is going to bring her boyfriend to meet us. You should be here too to see if he's a good match for her."

I was briefly stunned. "Quinn has a boyfriend?" I asked.

"She does!" Mom exclaimed proudly. "Apparently, he's a top science student. He's also handsome and treats Quinn well. You should take a page out of her book. Don't always dress so prudishly. Let me think… What was his name? Oh, that's right. Zack Henderson."

I felt as if I had been struck by lightning and nearly dropped my phone.

"Hello? Are you listening to me, Violet?"

I bit my lip until the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

"That settles it then! You definitely have to come home for the holidays!"

The second I hung up, I slumped against my chair.

Quinn and I were actually a pair of real and fake heiresses.

The Meville family tracked me down and took me home when I was ten years old, but my parents couldn't bear to send Quinn away after raising her for a decade. They told the public that we were sisters, but in reality, their hearts were biased toward Quinn.

In the four years that Zack and I were together, I told him countless times that I wanted to take him home to meet my parents.

However, he always claimed that he wasn't ready, using the excuse that he was too nervous to reject me every time. As a result, he had never stepped inside my home.

I never would have guessed that Zack would be visiting my home for the first time as Quinn's boyfriend.

Unbearable pain lanced through my chest.

…

I went home for the holidays. The moment I stepped across the threshold, the sounds of joyous conversation echoed from the living room.

A grand feast was laid out on the dining table.

Zack was dressed in a tailored suit as he sat next to Quinn. His lips were curled up in a gentle and refined smile.

I had never seen that expression on him.

Zack's eyes flashed for a moment when he noticed my arrival. He then averted his gaze as if it was the most natural thing in the world, pretending that he didn't know me.

"You're back, Violet," Dad said as he glanced at me. "Take a seat. Dinner's already been served."

I pulled out a chair and sat down.

Zack was meticulously slicing a steak into smaller pieces. He placed the sliced steak on Quinn's plate and said, "Be careful, Quinn. It's still hot."

"Thank you, Zack," Quinn said with a sweet smile.

Mom and Dad grinned from ear to ear as they watched the two of them.

"You're such an impressive young man, Zack," Mom said. "Quinn should count her blessings that she caught your eye."

Her satisfaction grew as she studied Zack. However, her expression darkened when she turned to look at me.

"Look at you," she continued. "You always look so unkempt. What on earth are you wearing? You're a woman, yet you don't even know how to put on makeup.

"You should take a page out of Quinn's book and learn how to speak and dress yourself. That's the only way that you'll be able to land an amazing boyfriend like Zack!"

I gripped my fork tightly.

"Mom," I said, lifting my head to look her dead in the eye. "Zack is my boyfriend."

Their laughter suddenly died down.

Quinn was briefly stunned before her eyes reddened in an instant. Tears spilled down her cheeks like broken pearls.

"I'm sorry, Violet…" she mumbled as she covered her mouth with her hand, her sobs intensifying. "I didn't mean to steal Zack from you. It's just that the theme of my photography class' final project is 'proposal'.

"I couldn't find a suitable guy to play the part, so I asked Zack to act the scenes out with me. We had to take photos of the entire process—from falling in love to getting married. I don't have any ulterior motives. Please don't be mad at me, Violet…"

Mom and Dad pulled Quinn into their arms, looking completely heartbroken.

"Have you lost your mind, Violet?" Dad roared, slamming his hand on the table. "You already have everything! Did we ever mistreat you after we brought you home?

"Quinn's so pitiful. She's just borrowing your boyfriend to complete her assignment. Why are you making things difficult for her?"

Mom also shook her head in disappointment.

"Why are you so petty, Violet?" she asked. "Quinn's your sister. Is it so hard for you to let her have this?"

I shot icy looks at them before directing my gaze toward Zack.

"Do you feel the same way, Zack?" I asked.

Zack set his fork down. He then grabbed a napkin and dabbed his lips elegantly before saying coldly, "You've utterly disappointed me, Violet."