Chapter 4

Vivian sounded so natural calling her that.

I felt like a clown standing at the entryway.

This was my home where my mom was planning a wedding for others, and my brother was acting coy around my girlfriend.

“Alright, here’s wishing you every success in your engagement tomorrow, and may you have a wonderful wedding ceremony next month. May you two be filled with happiness and stay together forever.”

My mom cast me a glance, probably finding my words of blessing snarky. However, she was in a good mood and didn’t scold me for it.

“I know you’re sensible,” she said with a wave of her hand. “Alright, if you don’t want to stay at home tonight, you can go elsewhere. Come back tomorrow to witness the engagement. It’s your brother’s big day, and you have to be there.”

I didn’t respond to her.

Instead, I turned to open the door.

When I walked out of the door, I heard my mom’s voice from behind.

“Here, Jeff. Sit next to Vivian and I’ll take a photo of you two together.”

I could hear Jeff chuckling, clear and joyful.

My mom had always been biased toward Jeff since we were young.

Jeff was born premature and weighed only 3.9 pounds. He had to stay in an incubator for more than a month to survive.

He had been weak in health since he was young and was often hospitalized, so my mom refused to let him do anything strenuous or go through any hardship.

Meanwhile, as his elder brother, I had to be the sensible one and give in to my younger brother.

When I was eighteen, I scored well enough in my SAT to enter top-tier universities. Yet, my mom said that they couldn’t afford to send both children to universities and asked me to study at a community college where the fees were lower.

She wanted to use the money saved from my cheaper education to pay for Jeff’s third-tier university fees which were expensive.

I suggested taking a loan, and my mom slapped me in front of all our relatives, scolding me for not having a conscience and not being grateful.

I eventually studied at a community college.

The year I graduated, I cried my eyes out throughout the entire summer in my rental apartment, certain that my entire life was ruined.

Yet, I refused to concede defeat. I worked part-time while studying and spent three years earning a bachelor’s degree.

I was already 24 years old at that time. College students my age were about to graduate while I had just earned a bachelor's degree via independent study.

Thankfully, I pulled through and did rather decently.

I joined a company and started working as an insignificant employee. I worked overtime, went for business trips overseas, and worked on the toughest projects available, doing everything others were reluctant to do.

Over three years, I rose the ranks to become a project supervisor with a team of eight under my care. Although my salary wasn’t extravagant, it was sufficient for me to live comfortably in the city.

Subsequently, I met Vivian.

She was a technical lead in our partner company and older than me by two years.

When we officially got together, I thought the heavens were finally being fair to me by giving me a partner who wanted to settle down with me.

I pinned all my hopes for the future on this relationship.

In the end?

She chose Jeff instead.

Since our childhood, Jeff had never needed to do anything aside from standing there and shedding some tears. That was sufficient for him to take away everything I had ever wanted.

He had my mother’s bias and our relatives’ concern, and even my woman was now his.

How ironic.

When the elevator arrived at the ground floor, I pulled my phone out and glanced at the time.

It was almost ten.

I kept my phone away and hailed a taxi from the streets.

“Where to?” the driver asked.

“To the nearest hotel,” I said.

At the hotel, I checked in and got myself a room. I entered the room, shut the door, and plunged headfirst into the large bed that felt too soft.

In the fifth year I was with Vivian, she started coming home late frequently.

I thought she was very busy and never bothered checking her phone or messages.

I knew all her passwords, but I didn’t have the habit of invading her privacy because I trusted her.

Yet, she saw Jeff’s photo in my phone and secretly added him as a contact.

They ended together while I was kept completely in the dark, still happily planning our wedding.

I shut my eyes and buried my face in the pillow.

My mom, my younger brother, my girlfriend—none of them could be trusted.

I could only rely on myself.