Chapter 2

The moment I walked into the living room, I was nearly blinded.

Four oversized “light bulbs” seemed to glow in unison, flashing red and green.

When they saw me, the only green “light bulb” walked over.

“Did we wake you?”

I squinted, and only then did I make out the figure behind the glare.

It was my unlucky brother.

He didn’t seem to realize just how green he looked.

“Are you all heading out?”

I hesitated as I looked at the large suitcases in the living room.

The “light bulbs” exchanged glances.

After a long pause, they finally answered:

“Sharon Shaw is moving out.”

“She can’t move!”

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

In the dream, after Sharon moved out of the Shaw family, her relationship with the male lead grew closer.

They fell into a relationship, but his mother interfered, forcing Sharon to go abroad.

That was what led to the whole “stand-in lover” storyline later.

Cutting off the story at its root was the best way to avoid the Shaw family’s tragic ending.

“I just got back, and my sister is already moving out. Do you not like me?”

“That’s not it.”

Sharon hurried to explain.

“After you went missing, Mom and Dad adopted me. I’ve always felt like I took your place. Now that you’re back, I don’t want to make things difficult for everyone.”

“It wasn’t your fault that I went missing.”

“Even if you don’t blame me, the only way to truly affirm your place is for me to leave. I’ll be fine.”

She was just like that: sweet, self-sacrificing to a fault.

I fell silent for a moment, then decided to step out of my depth and simply looped my arm through hers.

“I don’t care. I don’t know anyone here. You’re staying with me.”

Sharon refused several times, but in the end, my father made the final call:

“Sharon stays. Take your sister out more. Let her meet some friends.”

As soon as he said that, I noticed the glow around the three red “light bulbs” dim slightly enough for me to finally see their faces clearly.

Could it be that the brightness of the light reflected how much of a disposable side character they were?

…

“Celeste, what’s wrong?”

I stood frozen in place, staring at the sign in front of me, unable to move.

La Maison—a Western restaurant, both its food and prices equally exquisite.

But that wasn’t the point. The point was, the female lead worked here part-time as a pianist.

This was also where she first met the male lead and my brother.

“Can we go somewhere else? I don’t feel like eating here.”

Maybe crossing paths with the female lead was inevitable, but if I could delay it, even by a day, I would.

“Then how about the place across the street? Their grilled sea bass is really good.”

“Sounds good.”

I let out a quiet breath of relief and turned to walk into the restaurant across the street.

But it turned out I let my guard down too soon.

Justin Griffin passed right by us and walked into a private room next door.

After managing to avoid the female lead, I ran straight into the male lead instead. Just my luck.

“Sis, do you know Justin Griffin?”

Thinking about how, in the dream, Sharon quickly fell in love with him after moving out of the Shaw family, I couldn’t help but ask.

She paused for a moment.

“Why do you ask?”

“I just heard someone say he’s impressive and he took over his family at such a young age. Is that true?”

“He’s the most outstanding one among our generation.”

When she said that, Sharon’s eyes curved into a soft smile. Even through the red glow, I could tell her face had flushed slightly.

My heart skipped a beat.

Damn it, Sharon already seemed to have feelings for him.