Chapter One

MARIA

I froze mid-step, the world tilting on its axis.

Splat.

The sound of the cake I’d just bought hitting the floor was almost comical. But I couldn’t look down. I couldn’t look away from the bed.

Kelvin was fucking another woman.

Not just having sex. Fucking. Deep, hungry strokes that made the bed frame slam against the wall. His face — God, his face — was twisted in raw ecstasy, something I had never seen in all the years we’d been together. Eyes half-lidded, lips parted, a low, guttural groan rumbling from his throat every time he buried himself inside her. He stared at her like she was the only woman on earth. Like she was his.

My stomach clenched.

This was the same man who only touched me when I practically begged. The same man who moved inside me in silence, like he was fulfilling a chore instead of making love. I used to force out a moan awkwardly in the dark, trying to chase pleasure while he remained quiet, almost bored. I’d convinced myself it was just how he was. Some men weren’t passionate during sex, right?

One night, hurt and frustrated, I finally asked him.

“I love you,” he’d said, pulling me into his chest. “Don’t overthink it. I’m just not that expressive in bed. You know that.”

And like a fool, I believed him.

Now I understand the truth. He wasn’t “inexpressive.” He simply wasn’t passionate with me.

Because lying under him with her legs wrapped high around his waist, taking every inch of his dick, was my sister.

My younger sister. Avery.

Avery, who was supposed to be at her friend’s place tonight. Avery, whose head was thrown back in pleasure, lips parted, moaning my boyfriend’s name.

“Kelvin… fuck, yes—right there,” she gasped, nails raking down his back.

He leaned down and kissed her the way he never kissed me anymore—deep, sloppy, starving. Like he couldn’t get enough.

The room spun. My chest tightened until I couldn’t breathe. Two people I loved most in this world, tangled together in my bed, in my apartment, while I stood there holding the shattered remains of a surprise anniversary cake.

Avery’s eyes suddenly fluttered open and locked onto mine.

For a split second, shock flashed across her face. Then something else—guilt? Defiance? Satisfaction? It was gone too fast for me to name.

“M-Maria?” she choked out.

Kelvin’s head snapped toward the door. His thrusts stopped instantly, but his dick was still buried deep inside her. His eyes widened in panic.

“Baby, wait—this isn’t—”

“Don’t,” I said as a bitter scoff escaped my lips.

I turned to leave, forcing the tears burning behind my eyes to stay hidden. But Avery shoved Kelvin away, quickly wrapping the duvet around her naked body before rushing after me.

“Please, Sis, wait—let us explain…” she pleaded desperately.

I turned at the sound of her voice, but before my mind could process what was happening, Avery crashed into me and fell hard onto the floor.

From Kelvin’s angle, it looked exactly as though I had pushed her.

Avery hit the floor with a sharp cry.

“Ahh—!”

My eyes widened instantly. “I didn’t—”

Before I could even finish speaking, Kelvin shoved me hard.

“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” he roared.

I stumbled backward in shock, crashing into the edge of the nearby small table. Pain exploded through my hip, but it barely registered over the disbelief pounding through my chest.

He knelt beside Avery, his face filled with panic as he held her protectively against his chest.

“Avery, baby, are you okay?” he asked frantically, brushing her hair away from her face.

Baby.

He called her baby.

Avery whimpered softly, leaning into him as tears streamed down her cheeks. “My ankle hurts…”

That was it.

That was all it took.

The man who barely reacted when I cried myself to sleep at night looked ready to kill someone over her sore ankle.

My throat tightened painfully.

Kelvin suddenly looked up at me, fury blazing in his eyes.

“You pushed her?” he demanded.

“I didn’t touch her!” I shot back, voice trembling.

“She literally fell after you turned around!”

“Because she ran into me!”

“Oh my God…” He laughed bitterly, shaking his head in disgust. “I knew you were jealous of Avery, but I never thought you’d become this fucking pathetic.”

Every word sliced into me.

Jealous?

Pathetic?

I stared at him like I didn’t recognize the man standing in front of me anymore.

“You’re calling me pathetic?” I whispered. “After I just caught you screwing my sister in my bed?”

Kelvin’s jaw clenched, but instead of guilt, annoyance flashed across his face.

“Maybe if you weren’t so damn cold all the time, this wouldn’t have happened.”

The words hit like a slap.

I actually stopped breathing for a second.

Cold?

Me?

I was the one who begged for his attention. Begged for affection. Begged to be loved.

And now he was blaming me?

Avery suddenly grabbed his arm weakly. “Kelvin… stop…”

“No,” he snapped, eyes still locked on me. “She needs to hear this.”

Then he stood up slowly.

“Avery is everything you’ll never be,” he spat. “She’s young, beautiful, soft… she knows how to make a man feel alive.”

Avery’s face paled immediately. “Kelvin—”

“No, let her hear it,” he snapped harshly, his eyes never leaving my shattered face. “I was tired of pretending anyway.”

I stared at him silently, my lips trembling.

Pretending?

My chest tightened painfully.

“You dress like somebody’s bitter old aunt,” Kelvin continued cruelly. “Those baggy clothes? That constant nagging attitude? God, Maria, you’re completely unappealing.”

Avery looked horrified.

“Stop it!” she whispered.

But Kelvin was relentless.

“And let’s not even talk about the bedroom,” he scoffed. “You’re horrible. Loose. Completely stiff. No passion. Nothing. Avery makes you look pathetic.”

My eyes watered instantly.

Not because of the insults.

But because every word came from someone I once trusted with my whole heart.

Kelvin stepped closer with cold eyes.

“And how old are you now? Thirty-six?” he mocked. “To me, you’re basically a grandma already. Fat, boring, miserable—”

SLAP!

The sound echoed sharply across the room.

Kelvin’s head snapped to the side.

There was silence.

Everyone froze.

I stood there shaking violently, tears streaming uncontrollably down my cheeks.

This was the same man who had sat across from me years ago in that quiet restaurant when both of us were already in our thirties with no mates.

The same man who laughed awkwardly and said,

“At this rate, we’ll probably end up lonely at forty.”

Back then, we had found comfort in each other.

Two people abandoned by fate.

Two people who thought maybe companionship was enough even without the bond everyone else seemed blessed with.

We had built something slowly after that.

Movie nights.

Late conversations.

Warm coffee in the mornings.

Small smiles.

Deep bond.

And now—

Now he was looking at me like I disgusted him.

Kelvin slowly looked back at me, stunned.

I laughed bitterly through tears.

“You think I forgot how we started?” I cried. “You were scared too! You were lonely too! We chose each other because nobody else did!”

My voice cracked painfully.

“You begged me to stay with you because you said you didn’t want to grow old alone!”

Kelvin’s jaw tightened as he clenched his fists.

“And now suddenly I’m too old?” I choked out. “Suddenly I’m disgusting?”

“And not only that, you call me loose?” I spat, stepping right into his space. “I’m not loose, Kelvin. You just have a small dick.”

The words landed heavier than the slap. Avery’s head jerked up in shock. Kelvin’s eyes widened, his cheek still red from my hand.

“And let’s be honest — if you actually cared about satisfying a woman instead of just humping away like a desperate, two-minute rabbit with premature ejaculation issues, maybe I wouldn’t have had to fake it every single time. Every. Single. Time. I’ve had better orgasms from my vibrator on low battery than from you on your best day.”

I tilted my head, smiling coldly.

“Have you considered dick enlargement drugs? Or does that bruise your fragile little ego too much? Because maybe then you could actually fill a woman up instead of making her wonder if it’s even in yet. Passion? Baby, you think lasting longer than thirty seconds is passion? That’s not passion, Kelvin. That’s the bare minimum… and you still couldn’t reach it.”

Avery lowered her head in shame while I wiped a tear that ran down furiously before looking at Kelvin one last time.

Then I turned and walked away while Kelvin stood there speechless.