The Better Sister

The 99th time Owen Anderson slides a ring onto my finger, his adopted sister, Monica Morgan, calls again. And just like that, for the 99th time, he ditches me at the altar to be with her, who's having another depressive episode. I'm fed up. I yell after him as he walks away, "Go ahead! Walk out on me, and I swear I'll marry someone else!" He doesn't even flinch. Instead, he snaps, "Can you stop being so unreasonable? We can get married anytime, but Monica's the only sister I've got." Then, he turns and walks away, leaving me standing there like a complete fool. What he doesn't realize is that this time, I mean it. Later, when he gets down on one knee for the 100th time, his older brother, Chris, slips an arm around my waist and says, "Sorry, Owen. She's your sister-in-law now."

He was my best friend. My everything. Until he left me broken and humiliated. Now, everyone around me is whispering, “I told you so.” But I won’t let heartbreak define me. So I made a deal. A fake relationship with Adrian—the rich elder brother everyone respects, the one my ex envies up to. What could go wrong? Except, the more we pretend, the more real it feels. And soon, I’m torn between the past that broke me and a future I never saw coming. “The Wrong Brother” is a story of heartbreak, revenge, and the messy, thrilling way love finds you when you least expect it.

On the day of my pre-wedding photoshoot, the photographer compliments me, saying I look just like my sister, Jenna Shaw, when I smile. My fiance, Clifton Cooper, immediately asks Jenna to change into a white wedding dress as well, saying she might as well take a few photos for keepsakes. When selecting the photos, the whole family gathers around Jenna's set of pictures and praises them. My mother, Victoria Winn, says Jenna is naturally suited to wearing a wedding dress. My father, Reginald Shaw, says she looks more radiant and poised than me, the bride-to-be. Clifton stares at the screen for a long time, then points to the one where Jenna glances back over her shoulder. "Jenna looks great in this one. Let's put this one at the wedding welcome area." Only when I ask him where my photos will go does he finally seem to remember my existence. "Since you and Jenna look so much alike, the guests won't be able to tell the difference. Besides, Jenna isn't getting married, so it isn't easy for her to get a chance to wear a wedding dress." A laugh suddenly escapes me. Ever since we were little, it's never been easy for Jenna, so I'm supposed to give in to her. Not only do I have to give her whatever she wants, but I'm not allowed to have anything she doesn't have either. Even my wedding has to be about making her dream come true. I pull the only photo of Clifton and me together from the album. In the photo, I stand beside Clifton, smiling with all my might. But looking at it now, all I feel is that I'm looking at a stranger. It turns out spring is never late. It's just that I've been standing in someone else's shadow, waiting for it. Well, this time, I don't want to wait anymore.

My brother Mitchell sided with his dream girl when she accused me of bullying her. Despite being the only family member I had left, he exploded in anger and sent me away to a boarding school for so-called reformation to learn how to become a meek and obedient little sister. In time, I became exactly what he wanted—a docile sibling who never fought back, never argued. But everything changed the day he saw my medical report. He lost his mind. "Nora, I'm begging you—forgive me and let me be your brother again!"

"Dominic, Julian, guess what I wished for?" A cheap, marked-down cake sat on the table. I closed my eyes and made a wish. When I opened them, the two chairs across from me were empty. That was when I remembered: my brothers didn't want me anymore. When I was ten, my brothers brought Leah Morgan home. She was the daughter of their late mentor, Professor Andrew Morgan, and they told me to treat her like a real sister. But little by little, Leah stole all their affection from me. I grew anxious, then competitive. I thought that if I were good enough, they might love me a little more. In the final round of a piano competition, Leah burst into tears after losing to me. Dominic comforted her. "In my heart, you play better than Heather ever could!" I ranked first in my school and won a scholarship, which cost Leah her place among the candidates. Julian went so far as to force the school to investigate whether I had cheated. At my eighteenth-birthday party, Leah fell from the second-floor balcony into the pool. She pointed at me. "Heather pushed me!" My brothers were furious. Without an ounce of mercy, they dumped me in the worst part of town. "We indulged you for too long, Heather. That's why you became so competitive. Now it's time you learned to rein in your jealousy." They even sent local thugs to my door to harass me and steal what little money I managed to earn. They thought I would learn my lesson. What they didn't know was that I had received an email offering me a full scholarship to the University of Zurich. I was about to leave for Switzerland, and I was never coming back.

My adopted sister, Selene Vale, and I were transported to the Beast Realm, where the Beast God allowed us to choose our fate. One path was to become a Warrior Female, blessed with powerful strength, sharp claws, and the ability to hunt and fight. The other was to become a Blessed Female, gifted with rare fertility, a beautiful human form, and a scent that naturally attracted the strongest males. In our last life, Selene was afraid she would not survive in this brutal world, so she chose the Warrior Female path. I became the Blessed Female. Selene was sent to the poorest clan in the north with three injured outcast males: a one-eyed wolf, a hawk with a broken wing, and a young feline shifter everyone believed was weak. Meanwhile, I was claimed by Theron, Darius, and Lucan, three of the strongest and most powerful males in the Beast Realm. Everyone envied me. Later, the three of them rose to rule the Beast Realm, and I was crowned Queen Consort at their side. Selene thought I had received everything she deserved. Consumed by jealousy, she dragged me into the poisonous Black Mist Swamp, determined to die with me. But she never knew the truth. The crown she envied was a cage. The three males who once worshipped me eventually locked me away, stripped me of my freedom, and treated my body as nothing more than a tool to produce powerful heirs. When I opened my eyes again, we were standing before the Beast God. We had both returned to the day we chose our fate. This time, Selene rushed forward first. “I choose to become a Blessed Female.” Then she turned to me with a victorious smile. “Sister, this time, the crown will belong to me.” “As for those three useless outcasts, you can have them.” She thought she had stolen my destiny. She had stolen my prison.