Chapter 1

I had kept my relationship with my girlfriend a secret from my family for six years.

It was not that she was not a wonderful woman and I was ashamed of showing her off.

Rather, it was because Ivy Rossum was simply too beautiful. She was the president of a listed company, too.

More importantly, she only had eyes for me.

The problem was with my younger cousin, Kevin Lonsdale.

His parents had died in a car accident when he was thirteen. Since he was Kevin’s uncle, Dad brought Kevin into our family and raised him like his own son.

From that day onward, I became like an outsider in my own family.

The day after he stood at the door of my bedroom and said I had a beautiful room, I was forced to move into a storage closet instead.

When I got first place in a national physics Olympiad, Kevin had cried in Dad’s arms and said, “I’m naturally dull and can’t make you proud.”

With that, Dad locked my trophy up in a drawer and ordered me to never bring up winning anything again.

When my SAT scores came back near perfect with a solid chance at an Ivy League school, Dad secretly stole my application and put one in for the community college Kevin applied to.

“Kevin’s very absent-minded, and I don’t feel comfortable with him all alone over there. It’s better for you to look out for him when you’re in the same college.

“Don’t blame Uncle Grant, Paul. You can reapply to an Ivy League next year. I can take care of myself.”

Dad patted his head and said, “Look how sensible Kevin is. You should take a page from his book, Paul.”

I waited a year to reapply, but it was very difficult to explain my gap year. In the end, I barely managed to scrape through.

I worked three jobs to pay for my four-year college tuition.

Meanwhile, Kevin was always dressed in branded clothes while he spent Dad’s money. The entire time, he always claimed I was cold and distant with my family and did not like going home.

After getting into my first relationship after graduation, I brought my girlfriend home to meet my parents.

That very night, Kevin claimed to have gone into the wrong room and insisted he had somehow slept with my girlfriend.

Dad had actually asked me to let Kevin date her instead.

“You’re well-educated, so it wouldn’t be difficult for you to find a partner. On the other hand, how is Kevin supposed to find a wife after this?”

My first girlfriend’s face went pale and insisted that nothing happened. She said that Kevin had taken off his clothes and climbed into her bed.

She could not handle the way Dad and Kevin were making a fuss over the issue, and she was afraid such things would keep happening if we did ever get married. In the end, she broke up with me.

When I moved to Corston, I had been severely depressed. I rarely went home other than for special occasions.

I met Ivy in Corston.

She was the rainbow after the storm of my life.

However, I knew Kevin too well by then.

He wanted whatever I had. If he could not have it, he would ruin it.

That was why I had kept her a secret for six years.

I thought that I had done a good job keeping things quiet.

One day, Kevin came to Corston without any warning. He was waiting at the building where I had a rented apartment and coincidentally saw Ivy sending me home.

The moment he saw Ivy, he started to stare. His gaze was stuck on her like glue.