When True Love Blossoms

Mom's voice on the other end of the phone was brimming with joy, her tone light and cheerful.

"Honey, I told you that illegitimate son can't be trusted! You're not lying to me, are you? You really agreed to the arranged marriage with Thomas?"

I gave a bitter smile. "I'm not lying. I'll do what you want."

When I walked out of the hospital, my fiancé, Zachary Hilton, and my younger sister, Willow Langley, were waiting for me in the lobby downstairs.

They were quite far apart from each other.

Willow looked like she had just had a big fight with someone. Her face was flushed, but I still caught a glimpse of the mottled red marks hidden beneath her collar.

How I wished this was all just a nightmare.

Panicking, I shut my eyes and pinched my arm hard. The sharp pain confirmed the truth—my fiancé had cheated on me with my sister.

They had always acted like they couldn't stand each other in front of me.

Willow always told me that my fiancé had no status, no inheritance rights, and that even his business ventures relied on my family's connections.

"How can an illegitimate son of the Hiltons be worthy of my sister?"

Zachary complained that Willow was too clingy, always tagging along and giving us no privacy for proper dates.

"I've never seen a younger sister who's so protective to the point of being annoying."

I almost couldn't hold back my tears anymore as a wave of dizziness and ringing in my ears hit me.

Willow quickly reached out to steady me, her tone laced with mock scolding as she snapped at Zachary.

"This is all your fault! Is this how you take care of Eve? Look how exhausted she is!

"I'm warning you, Zachary! I won't let you marry Eve if you can't prove yourself!"

She held me close, way too close. So close that I could hear a strange buzzing vibration coming from her body.

The words I overheard in the restroom echoed in my ears.

"Keep it in you, Willow. We're doing this again if it slips out."

In an instant, I realized where that buzzing came from. I shoved Willow away and started gagging.

Zachary noticed something was wrong and leaned in before tenderly asking me what was going on.

He looked at me with concern, one hand gently rubbing my back while the other reaching into his pocket, fiddling with something.

His hand was dry and warm, but it felt like a cold, venomous snake slithering across my back while flicking its tongue.

Willow was trembling more and more, her face unnaturally flushed.

And then, I couldn't stop the memory from rushing back.

When we were heading out together earlier, the two of them were bickering in front of me, supposedly fighting for my attention.

They were so dramatic they even broke character and started laughing mid-argument.

At that time, I was stupidly happy, thinking the tension between them had finally eased.

It turned out that they were just treating me as a tool in their twisted play—treating me like a fool.