Chapter 2

“Mom, who’s your flesh and blood here? Would any mother in this world make her child let his brother have his girlfriend?”

“What’s wrong with that? I’m doing it for your younger brother’s good!”

My mom looked unperturbed by the idea.

“You’ve always been a sensible child, and you said it yourself that your younger brother is of poor health. It might be easy for you to find a partner, but do you know how tough that is for Jeff?

“Just look at his colleagues and his social circle. They’re all so repulsive, and none of them are even half as good as Vivian.

“Don’t you always talk about how much you dote on Jeff? This is a great chance to show your brotherly love for him.”

I opened my mouth but realized that I couldn’t speak a word.

Tears streamed down my face as I turned to look at Vivian standing next to me.

“Vivian,” I said, taking a deep breath as I wiped the tears on my face away. I asked her emphatically, “I’m asking you this one last time. What exactly do you mean?”

She fell silent for three seconds before looking up at me.

“I’ll go straight to the point,” she said.

“I fell out of love with you a long time ago.”

My heart clenched, and I heard myself asking, “How long has it been?”

“For quite a while,” she said as she looked me in the eye. “Remember when your phone ran out of battery and you asked me to help you export some data two months ago?”

I was stunned to hear her suddenly bring that up and the gears in my brain shifted as I tried to search for that memory.

“I saw your brother’s picture in your gallery. The next time I had your phone, I secretly took down his number.”

My blood turned cold at her confession.

“So you started chatting with him a long time ago?” My voice didn’t even sound like my own, all hoarse and dry. “Have you two been together for a long time?”

Vivian didn’t deny it.

Jeff remained seated on the couch, his head bowed and ears red.

I had the full picture now.

It was no wonder Jeff kept finding all sorts of excuses to visit me at my home, buying food and sending it to me. He was, in fact, trying to see Vivian.

It was no wonder there were many times I came back home from work, only to see the two of them sitting and chatting in the living room. Their conversation would come to an abrupt halt when they saw me.

It was also no wonder Vivian had been working overtime more and more and coming home later and later. Each time I asked her about the progress of her projects, she would give me vague answers to muddle through.

She wasn’t working overtime.

She was with my brother and spending time with each other in our rental apartment behind my back.

I laughed out loud.

What a huge joke.

Even drama serials wouldn’t dare have such a storyline. Even a prime-time soap opera wouldn’t have such an outrageous script.

Yet, it happened to me in real life.

“Fine,” I said, releasing Vivian’s hand and taking a step back. “Very well. Go ahead and be together. I wish you two all the best.”