Chapter 2

I woke up groggily the next morning,

hearing the housekeepers downstairs shouting my name,

and the frantic pacing of footsteps in my room.

I wiped away the tears in the corners of my eyes and pushed open the wardrobe door.

My gaze immediately clashed with Julian’s anxious eyes.

I instinctively looked away, forcing a smile as I mumbled, "Julian."

He instantly reverted to his usual cold demeanor, pointing a finger at me as he questioned, "Did you sleep in the wardrobe last night?"

I feigned nonchalance. "Yeah, I’ve always liked sleeping in wardrobes since I was little. You didn’t know that?"

Julian's eyes widened in surprise for a brief moment.

Of course, he didn't know.

Because I’d never told him.

My entire family was buried under the ruins after the devastating earthquake that leveled our town in '08.

I knelt alone on the desolate, flattened landscape of our small town, staring at it in despair.

I was five years old then.

Julian was fifteen.

Against his father's wishes, Julian brought me home from that devastation.

Under the protection of Julian, the heir to the Harrington family,

even without my family, I lived a good life.

To avoid causing him any trouble, I was always well-behaved, no matter where I was. Even if someone bullied me, I wouldn't say a word to him.

I studied hard from a young age and was lucky enough to get into a prestigious university, never shaming Julian.

At fifteen, when I first felt the pangs of a crush, I broke my obedient facade and confessed my feelings to Julian.

He told me I was too young and didn't understand what love was, confusing familial affection with romantic love.

At eighteen, finally an adult, I happily held my acceptance letter and asked if I could pursue him.

He said he already liked someone and was pursuing her. I was so envious.

At twenty, I learned from others that Julian had already broken off contact with that girl. I was ready to gather my courage again, holding my national academic award, to confess to him.

But then I heard his conversation with his younger sister:

"I heard that little girl likes you. What do you think?"

"She's just a stray I picked up from the rubble of that disaster, groomed precisely so she could be married off for us someday!"

My heart seized, I couldn't breathe. My nails dug into my palms, the sharp pain ignored as fresh blood bloomed on the pristine white puff-sleeve dress I'd just put on for the very first time.

I thought all these years his care and protection for me were under the guise of family,

but I never imagined it was for his shrewd business interests.

I laughed, tears streaming down my face. "Julian Harrington, Julian Harrington, for your own sister, you played a masterful, cynical game!"