Chapter 4

Rose and I were sisters born to the same parents.

But she bullied me since childhood, stealing all the spotlight.

She was the red flower, I could only be the green leaves.

Whenever I made her unhappy, she would torment me in revenge.

In elementary school, just because my grades were one point higher than hers, she locked me in the basement and played creepy music from horror movies outside.

That's how I developed claustrophobia.

The Qiao family and the Ye family had an arranged marriage.

Jack was handsome and dashing, so Rose claimed him without hesitation.

She seized every opportunity to date Jack, warning me not to interfere.

Although I also liked Jack, I didn't want to compete with Rose.

Three years ago, when Rose was about to get engaged to Jack, the Ye family business ran into big trouble and was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Rose was used to a life of luxury and didn't want to marry into hardship, so she pretended to have depression and checked herself into a mental hospital.

Jack's career and love life both took a hit, leaving him very depressed and drowning his sorrows in alcohol every day.

I couldn't bear to see him like that, so I voluntarily offered to marry Jack.

I fell out with my parents over this.

Because they were also snobs who wanted to break off the engagement.

But I was very insistent.

Before our grandfather passed away, he left a will.

Our parents held 60% of the Qiao family shares, while Rose and I each had 20%.

I brought my 20% shares as a dowry to the Ye family.

My parents cursed me for being an ungrateful white-eyed wolf.

But I felt that I should give everything to my husband without reservation. I didn't want to see Jack depressed.

I hoped he could make a comeback.

Jack was very capable. After liquidating these shares as capital, he worked hard and pulled the Ye family back from the brink of bankruptcy step by step.

They became even more prominent than before.

Ironically, my own family's company went bankrupt due to bad investments.

My parents also passed away in an accident.

Although I was very sad, I thought I still had my husband to rely on.

My husband and sister were the two closest people to me in the world.

But these two people also hurt me the deepest!

Because my sister regretted her decision.

She shamelessly became the other woman, seducing my husband in various ways.

She even had the audacity to say that love is first come, first served. Although I had the marriage certificate, she was the inviolable first love.

She said I married Jack by taking advantage of the situation, stealing her man.

She wanted to take back the man and happiness that belonged to her.

To protect my marriage, I very solemnly told Jack not to be deceived by my sister's sweet talk, that she was a white lotus.

She had previously faked depression to avoid marrying him.

But Jack was furious and accused me of slandering his goddess, his first love.

He said Rose would never deceive him, that she developed depression because she was worried about his bankruptcy.

She suffered for his sake.

He felt guilty towards Rose, so he wanted to take extra care of her.

Jack and Rose became more and more unscrupulous, using treating depression as an excuse to go bar-hopping, clubbing, dancing, swimming, traveling, mountain climbing, skiing...

I was disheartened, realizing that Jack didn't believe me simply because he didn't love me.

He had always loved Rose.

He chose to marry me back then only because of that 20% of shares.

Disappointed, I thought about divorce. I wanted to keep some dignity for myself.

I didn't want to be a beggar for love.

But just three months ago, I found out I was pregnant.

Jack was very shocked, but also very happy.

He apologized to me for neglecting me, saying he would be a good father and keep his distance from Rose.

I knew his return to the family wasn't because of love, but because he cared about the child in my belly.

But I still swallowed the bitterness and reconciled with him.

Not because I couldn't bear to part with him, but because I didn't want the child to grow up in a single-parent family.

For the sake of the child, a mother can sacrifice anything.

Including stupid love.

Jack did indeed turn over a new leaf, treating me very gently and attentively, even preparing a nursery full of toys.

He kept his distance from Rose, blocking all her contact information.

Until a week ago, he suddenly got drunk, cursing incomprehensibly, and passed out on the bed.

In the middle of the night, Rose came, banging on the door violently, crying that her depression had flared up.

She needed Jack's comfort.

Of course I couldn't let Rose in. I kept her out and didn't wake up my drunk husband either.

That night Rose drowned herself in the sea, leaving her shoes and a suicide note on the shore.

The note was full of love for Jack and resentment towards me.

The next day when Jack woke up, he went crazy.

He cursed me for having evil thoughts, for driving Rose to her death. Ignoring my cries, he locked me in the sterilization chamber.