Chapter 3

I looked at the fresh flowers and suddenly remembered a long time ago, Ryan had made me a similar promise.

He was preparing for a math competition then, and I worried he’d strain his eyes staring at books all day. So I wanted to buy him an eye-care device with my own hands.

I picked many flowers then, made them into dried flower bookmarks, and sold them at school. But I inadvertently affected the small vendors' profits.

They found some thugs to harass me, not only badmouthing me around the school, saying my dried flowers caused allergies, but also cornering me at the school's side gate, threatening to teach me a lesson.

At a crucial moment, Ryan saved me. He chased away the thugs. Seeing me still shaken, he comforted me, "Don't worry, when I have money, I'll buy you lots and lots of saplings."

"When the flowers bloom in spring, you can make a huge batch of dried flowers, and I’ll buy them all to give to all discerning individuals who appreciate them."

But that confident promise had long since vanished with the wind.

Now, this entire garden of flowers belonged to Vivian Hayes. She even said, "Flowers are flowers. Turning them into dried flowers is ruining their beauty."

She forbade me from approaching the garden, even a little bit…

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but lower my head and give a self-deprecating laugh.

Right, she was Lily’s cousin, and I was just the sinner who caused Lily's death.

How could I compare to her?

As if hearing my thoughts, the sound of a car horn came from outside the gate.

I couldn’t help but float to the courtyard entrance and immediately saw Ryan and Vivian Hayes stepping out of the car.

Vivian Hayes wore a white business suit, a popular main style from a current luxury brand's seasonal collection.

It made her appear even more poised and transcendent, with an extraordinary aura.

"I heard Ms. Vivian Hayes has a party today."

A housekeeper nearest to me looked at Vivian Hayes with envy.

"No wonder. Mr. Sterling must have picked her up right after finishing work."

Another housekeeper chimed in.

"Of course. No matter where Ms. Hayes goes, Mr. Sterling always personally drives her."

"Ms. Vivian Hayes is so beautiful. No wonder everyone likes her."

I stood inside the doorway, listening to the housekeepers' praises for Vivian Hayes, and watched Ryan and Vivian Hayes enter the house together.

Just inside the house, Vivian Hayes was still chattering to Ryan about the party when Ryan looked around and suddenly asked,

"At the party just now, what was your impression of Brandon Miller, the young master of the Miller family?"

Vivian Hayes looked surprised and couldn't help but ask, "Ryan, why do you ask me that?"

Then she lowered her head and murmured, "What good is it if *I* like him? He has to like *me*."

In terms of power and wealth, the Miller family was one of the top families in the entire capital city. Ryan had only recently taken over Sterling Corporation, and his foundation wasn't stable. And no matter how favored Vivian Hayes was, she wasn't a legitimate daughter of the Sterling family.

A distant cousin of the Blackwood family, she was not a suitable match and could never marry into the Miller family.

This was also why Vivian Hayes had secretly liked Brandon Miller for years but never confessed.

I watched Ryan slowly lift his head, gazing at the countless flowers in the mansion's courtyard, and he spoke softly, "Lily was my wife. Since you are her cousin, I should take good care of you, too."

"If you like him, why don't I officially adopt you as my sister? Then you'll be a daughter of the Sterling family, and it will be easier for you to discuss marriage with him."

I stared at Ryan blankly, never dreaming he would say such a thing.

Although Ryan had proposed to Lily and even held a symbolic wedding, legally, they were not married.

After Lily’s parents passed away last year, Vivian Hayes had hinted to Ryan that she wanted him to adopt her as his sister so she wouldn't be looked down upon by the upper-class families in the capital.

But Ryan had always insisted that he and Lily were already married and refused to agree to her request.

Now, Ryan was actively bringing up this matter, all for the sake of fulfilling Vivian Hayes’s wish to marry the man she loved.

I couldn’t help but take a few steps back, a strange panic stirring within me.

Even though Ryan didn't care for me, I was still a Sterling, still shared his blood.

I still held a tiny hope that Ryan felt some familial affection for me.

That's why he had never suggested adopting Vivian Hayes as his sister.

But now, he was willing to admit that he and Lily weren't legally married, just to give Vivian Hayes a higher status and help her marry into the Miller family.

I couldn't help but shed tears. Ryan, was there no place for me in your heart anymore?

All those promises made years ago couldn't compare to the care you showed Vivian Hayes.

Vivian Hayes’s face was filled with excitement and joy. She cautiously said, "Really? Does that mean I can openly call you brother from now on?"

At that, a flicker of hesitation crossed Ryan's face.

"Let's keep things as they were. Changing it would make me uncomfortable."

Before she could speak, Ryan glanced at a nearby housekeeper. "Where's Anya?"

"Is she still sulking because I confined her, refusing to come out?"

Ryan walked towards the mansion. "Nonsense. I'll go see her."

Hearing this, Vivian Hayes’s eyes flashed with a hint of panic. "Ryan, don't go yet."