ซีรี่ย์รักร้อน : รักร้อนเพลิงริษยา

Slap!

A resounding slap landed on Catherine Jones’ face.

“You’ve really let me down. Your sister has had a rough time out there for more than 20 years, and here you are planning to snatch the man from her. That’s very shameless of you!”

Covering the part of her face that was aching, Catherine looked at her mother incredulously. “Mom, Ethan is my boyfriend. How can you guys be so unreasonable?”

Catherine had just come home after a business trip, only to see her long-lost elder sister, Rebecca Jones, sitting with her boyfriend, Ethan Lowe, on the couch. Her sister was holding Ethan’s arm and seemed intimate with him.

Seated on the other side of the couch were both Rebecca and Ethan’s parents who were having a pleasant chat with each other.

In fact, Ethan was Catherine’s childhood sweetheart!

She could not help but come up to Rebecca to question her. However, she ended up being slapped by her mother in the face right there and then!

“Mom, please stop hitting Cathy.” With an anxious look, Rebecca said, “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have come back…”

Ethan quickly held her shoulders. “No, Rebecca. It’s my fault. I’ve always treated Catherine as my sister, which is probably why she misunderstood my feelings for her.”

Something seemed to have exploded in Catherine’s head. The pain was so terrible that she could barely breathe.

Sister?

Why would he secretly promise her a future together if he only treated her as his sister?

Why would he always hug her tightly if he only treated her as his sister?

“Shut up!” Catherine found those words unbearable and they were filling her with disgust.

“You’re the one who should shut your mouth. Is this how you’re supposed to speak to your sister?” Mrs. Jones told her off sulkily. “Can’t you just be tolerant of Rebecca, considering that she has gone through 20 years of hardships?”

Shocked, Catherine was slightly slack-jawed.

There had to be some limit on tolerance anyway. Why should she give up her love? She was not a saint either.

At that point, Mr. Jones stood up and told her off glumly as well. “Are you done? Ethan isn’t into you either. We still need to discuss Rebecca’s engagement party now. Get lost. You’re such an eyesore here.”

Catherine trembled and glanced at Ethan who was indifferent toward her. She then glanced at Rebecca who was clinging to him.

All of a sudden, she felt like an object of ridicule.

These people were the ones she cared most about, yet every one of them was taking Rebecca’s side at that moment.

Tears were seen streaming down her face.

After wiping away the tears, Catherine turned around and left with her suitcase without looking back.

She sped through the journey once she got into the Maserati.

Not knowing where to go, she stopped and called her best friend, Freya Lynch.

“Come and have a drink or two.”

Her voice sounded hoarse amid her sobs. Freya immediately agreed. “Sure. I’ll be there in a moment.”

…

By the time Freya rushed over to S1897 pub, Catherine had already finished one whole bottle of red wine by herself.

“You came at the right time. Let’s have a drink together. I’ve ordered a lot. You’re not allowed to go home until you finish the drinks.”

Catherine tossed Freya a bottle of beer.

“What’s wrong?” It was very rare for Freya to find Catherina behaving in such a manner. She sympathized deeply with Catherine. “Where’s Ethan? Is he ignoring you?”

At the mention of Ethan’s name, Catherine felt as if a knife was scraping her heart.

“He’s ditched me, and he’s going to get engaged to Rebecca.”

Freya gaped. “What sort of a shitty plot twist is this?”

Catherine briefly told her what happened that evening.

Freya felt a sense of incredulity. Ethan and Catherine were childhood sweethearts who had established a romantic relationship since high school.

Throughout these years, however, Catherine studied abroad while Ethan was busy with work. It explained why they had yet to get engaged.

Both their parents were under no illusions about it. They also gave their blessings to the couple.

Every insider knew that the couple would get married sooner or later.

Now, it turned out that Ethan had gotten together with Rebecca, which would then make Catherine a laughing stock.

“This is absurd. You and Rebecca should be equally important to your parents. Are your dad and mom out of their minds?”

Catherine clutched the wine bottle. “They probably feel that Rebecca has suffered too much out there. Now that she’s back, they just want to give her the best.”

Freya was in a state of disbelief. “But you’re their daughter too!”

Catherine forced out a smile.

“Hah. Now that Rebecca has returned, all they care about is Rebecca.

“Since young, they’re the ones who wanted to marry me off to Ethan. Now that I’m treating the matter seriously, they’re calling me immature.

“Also, Ethan promised to be with me forever, yet he has changed his mind just like that. I hate him…”

Toward the end of her sentence, Catherine began to choke. Holding the bottle, she took a few gulps of wine and tasted her tears in her mouth as well. At that moment, she started feeling a little dizzy.

“Don’t drink too much. You have a poor stomach. You’ll feel uncomfortable if you drink too much.”

Freya grabbed Catherine’s bottle to divert her attention from it. After that, she glanced around the pub.

Never did she expect to see a familiar figure.

“Hey, look there!”

Freya gave Catherine a push and pointed to the man who was sitting at a corner.

Despite the dim glow at that corner, the man was faintly visible. He wore a suit which was inappropriate for the occasion.

The man had his eyes closed and was leaning against the couch, giving off an aura of brilliance. When the rotating spotlight shone on him from time to time, he looked so attractive that his face was just like the perfect side profile one often saw in comic books.

After a glimpse, Catherine averted her eyes from him. “No matter how attractive he is, I’m in no mood to enjoy anything that’s pleasant to the eye right now.”

“I’m trying to tell you that the man is Ethan’s uncle.”

Catherine was momentarily stunned. “Are you sure?”

Ethan previously mentioned that he had a mysterious uncle. However, his uncle managed a company in a foreign country, so she had never seen him.

A few days ago, she heard that his uncle had returned.

“Yeah, I’m very sure. My brother told me when we attended a cocktail party the other day. I heard he’s not very old and he’s a capable man. Even Zachary is at his mercy.”

Zachary Lowe was Ethan’s father.

Catherine’s eyes glowed. She had an idea crossing her mind at that instant.

“Well… What do you think will happen if I marry his uncle?”

“Pff…” Shocked, Freya spat out the wine from her mouth. “Say that again.”

Catherine gazed intently at the tall, handsome figure. “Since I can’t become the Lowe family’s daughter-in-law, I shall be Ethan’s aunt. That should drive them crazy!”