Chapter 1

The day a video of my husband, Kairo Simpson, and my adopted younger sister, Vienne Silva, sleeping together spread all over the internet, the two of them couldn't handle the shame and jumped from a hotel rooftop together.

When their bodies were brought out, my mother ran over and slapped me hard across the face.

“Wasn't it bad enough that you drugged Kairo back then, made him marry you, and took Vienne's first love away from her?”

“Now you even went as far as releasing a video like this! Will you only be happy after pushing both of them to their deaths?”

Everyone believed that I was the one who posted the photos.

At my adopted younger sister's funeral, my mother wouldn't even let me enter the mourning hall.

And my husband didn't leave me a single word, even before he died.

Blamed for pushing two people to their deaths, I was kicked out by the Simpson family and lost my own mother completely too.

For three long years, I never came back to this city.

Then, three years later, I came back from a business trip and spotted someone familiar outside a maternity and baby store at a shopping mall.

The woman looked seven or eight months pregnant and had her head down as she picked out baby clothes.

And my husband, who had supposedly “jumped to his death” three years ago, was now crouched in front of her, carefully tying her loose shoelace.

Vienne suddenly smiled and asked, “Kairo, when we made Aurelia take the blame for two deaths back then, did you really not feel bad for her at all?”

Kairo didn't even look up as he answered, “A woman who drugged me just to get into my bed—letting her suffer in exchange for three peaceful years for you was the most useful thing she ever did with her life.”

I froze on the spot.

A second later, my mother came out of the store with shopping bags in her hands and smiled as she held a longevity lock against my adopted younger sister's belly.

“This is my early present for the baby.”

Right then, I finally realized the truth.

The two people who supposedly died three years ago were never them.

It was me.

……

The day nude photos of my husband, Kairo, and my adopted younger sister, Vienne, went viral online, the two of them jumped together from a hotel rooftop.

When Mom got to the hospital, she lifted her hand and slapped me hard across the face.

“You drugged Kairo and got into his bed back then, taking away the man Vienne liked. I put up with it! And now you’ve pushed both of them to their deaths. Will you only be happy once you completely tear this family apart?”

The slap left my ears ringing.

I didn’t try to explain because even I thought I was the reason they died.

After the police confirmed that they were both dead, I stayed alone outside the morgue until morning.

From that day on, it felt like part of my life had been taken away from me.

Everyone online knew I was Kairo’s wife, and they also knew Vienne used to like him.

When the video was posted, nobody cared who recorded it, and nobody bothered asking why it was leaked.

They only believed one thing—that I, the hateful older sister, refused to leave them alone.

Some people threw red paint at my front door, some sent dead rats to my house, and others pointed at me during Kairo’s funeral and called me a murderer.

Mom stayed in the crowd and didn’t defend me even once.

For three years, on the anniversary of their deaths each year, I visited the cemetery to pay my respects.

I believed I would never see either of them again for the rest of my life, until three years later, when I spotted Vienne in the maternity and baby section of a shopping mall.

Her belly was big, and she held a pair of tiny socks for a newborn baby.

Kairo stood next to her, holding shopping bags in one hand while keeping his other arm naturally around her waist.

And my mother was bent down in front of Vienne, holding a longevity lock against her pregnant belly.

“Grandma’s little baby, just one more month and we’ll finally get to see you.”

I stood there in the crowd and almost forgot how to breathe.

For a moment, I even thought I might be dreaming again.

But now he was really standing right in front of me. His face looked the same, and his voice sounded the same. The only difference was that the woman he was helping now was Vienne.

Kairo noticed me first. A few meters away, with the crowd between us, the smile on his face slowly faded.

Vienne noticed where he was looking and turned around, and the baby socks slipped from her hand and dropped to the floor.

“Sister?”

I said nothing. I just kept looking at Kairo.

He started walking toward me.

My eyes suddenly burned, and my voice shook. “Kairo, you’re still alive?”

He stopped for a second.

Without thinking, I lifted my hand and tried to touch his face.

But before I could reach him, he stepped back.

A second later, he moved in front of Vienne to protect her. “Don’t touch her.”

My hand stopped in the air. “You’re worried I’ll touch her?”

Kairo pulled his brows together slightly. “Vienne is pregnant. She can’t take any kind of shock.”

I suddenly laughed.

So when my husband, who had supposedly come back from the dead, saw me, the first thing he did wasn’t explain why he was still alive, but worry that I might hurt another woman.

Vienne’s eyes were already turning red. “Aurelia, I’m sorry. I know you probably can’t accept any of this right now, but things were complicated back then. We never meant to…”

“When did you come back from the dead?”

I looked at her. “The day after the hospital said you were dead? A month later? Or were you never dead in the first place?”

Neither of them answered.

Kairo looked away.

Just then, I finally noticed Mom standing next to them.

The whole time, she hadn’t looked surprised at all.

“Mom.”

She went stiff.

“You just found out today too, didn’t you?”

Mom avoided looking at me. “Aurelia, there are too many people around. No matter what happened, we’ll talk about it when we get home.”

I grabbed her hand. “I’m asking you, when did you know? Did you already know when they pretended to be dead?”

Mom quickly pulled her hand away. “Enough! Three years have already passed. Do you really need to cause a scene here and embarrass everyone?”

I stared at her blankly.

But Vienne suddenly held her belly. “Kairo, my stomach hurts…”

Kairo’s face changed right away, and he bent down and lifted her into his arms.

Mom became worried too, pushing me out of the way as she rushed after them.