Chapter 1 A Private Room Full of Lies

My left cheek still burned, while the sounds of Julian and Elena's panting drifted from the private room.

The sticky splash of bodies and the dull thud of flesh against flesh were mixed with the crowd's suggestive whispers. They slithered into my ears like venomous snakes.

"Wow, that's surprising. Mr. Zane always looks so proper, but he's pretty passionate with his sister."

"What sister? Looks more like a lover to me."

"With Julian's status, so what if she were his sister?"

I mechanically poured drink after drink down my throat. It burned, but it was nothing compared to the pain crushing my chest.

The door to the private room suddenly swung open.

Julian stepped out, his clothes in disarray.

His shirt hung wide open, exposing a chest covered in scratch marks. Fresh, red kiss marks stood out against his neck.

Elena clung to him as if she weighed nothing, wrapped only in his suit jacket. The insides of her thighs were smeared with something unmistakable.

"Julian, you're amazing," she said sweetly, deliberately brushing her lipstick against his collarbone. "Nora, you're so lucky."

A chorus of whistles exploded around us.

Julian noticed me and reached out, but his body still reeked of sex. The scent clung to him, thick and cloying.

I jerked back, knocking over a bottle behind me.

The sound of shattering glass cut through the room, and everything went silent.

"Disgusting," I heard myself say.

My voice echoed sharply in the sudden quiet. Frost crept over Julian's expression. "Do you really have to act like this? You know Elena's situation is special."

I let out a cold laugh and pointed at the fresh hickey on Elena's neck. "Special? So, you had to personally jump in and 'treat' her? Julian, this little incest drama of yours is really something."

"Nora, would Elena even be like this if it weren't for you?" he snapped. "Besides, it's just my first time. Once we're married, you can have as many as you want!"

I clapped slowly and raised my glass. "Congratulations, Mr. Zane, on losing your virginity. I wish you and your sister a long and happy life together."

Julian's impatience finally snapped. "Nora, can you stop already? Elena is just my sister!"

Elena suddenly whimpered softly. "Julian, I don't feel well again…"

He turned around at once. As he walked away, he tossed a light remark over his shoulder, "Nora, go buy a box of condoms. The biggest size."

With his arm around Elena, he headed back to the private room, then added, "And get some fever medicine. Elena's temperature is a bit on the higher side. Also, don't say things like that again. Elena doesn't like it."

I grabbed a bottle and hurled it at the wall. Glass shards flew, slicing across the back of my hand.

Blood dripped down my wrist, yet I felt nothing.

It was true that when despair reached its peak, pain disappeared.

I stumbled out of the room.

…

By the time I returned to the villa, it was nearly midnight.

I threw up violently in the bathroom until a shrill ringtone shattered the silence.

The name "Zelda" flashed on the screen, blindingly bright.

Only then did I realize I had passed out on the bathroom floor after vomiting.

"Nora! The wedding's about to start! Where are you?" A sharp female voice screeched through the phone. "I knew it. You're just an ill-mannered and poor nobody with no background. If Julian hadn't insisted on marrying you, I never would've agreed!"

"Mrs. Zane, have Julian and Elena arrived?" I asked quietly,

The shouting paused for a moment. "Aren't you the bride? Shouldn't you be getting ready? Julian's exhausted. He stayed up night after night, convincing relatives to come. Isn't it normal for him to sleep in a bit?"

"Your son is busy in bed with his adopted sister," I cut in, my voice hoarse and unrecognizable. "Would you like to hear a recording from the scene?"

Dead silence fell on the other end, then came an even more piercing scream. "What nonsense are you talking about? Elena and Julian are perfectly innocent—"

I hung up and looked at the wedding decorations that filled the room.

The decorations I had stayed up late to set up glowed painfully bright in the morning light, as if mocking my foolishness.

My fingers brushed the wedding photo on the wall. A thin crack suddenly split the glass. So, even the frame pitied me.

I tore the decorations down in a daze, not realizing tears were already falling.

Because I was an orphan, Zelda had always despised me. Nothing I ever did was enough to get me into her good graces. Back then, Julian would pull me into his arms and tell me it didn't matter. As long as he loved me, that was enough.

I was so stupid.

I never saw how Julian's care for Elena went far beyond brotherly affection. The man I thought was my salvation had slept with his adopted sister right in front of me.