Chapter 1

“Mom, Dan, I received an offer from an overseas university. I plan to take it.”

Lucille Shaw’s voice was soft in the silent living room, like a single drop of water rippling across a still pond.

Her mother Victoria jumped up with joy. "Really? Congratulations! When are you planning to go?"

“Ten days from now.”

That was so soon! Victoria was excited but a little lonely at the same time. “Then I’ll help you pack your things. It’s your first time going abroad, so I couldn’t help but worry.

“That’s why I called a friend from a while back. Her son happens to be in London too, so you can call him if you need anything. Don’t worry about bothering him! Why, we joked that you two could get engaged as kids!

“If you can get along with him, that’d be best. If you can’t, you can just be friends.”

Lucille nodded. “Got it, Mom.”

Her mother was surprised. “You’re okay with that, Lucy? Does that mean… you broke up with your previous boyfriend?”

Lucille fell silent.

Her stepfather Dan Dortman immediately understood. He smacked the table, proclaiming, “He never bothered meeting us, so I knew from the start he wasn’t serious about you. Good riddance, I say! You deserve a better boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend? What boyfriend?” A voice cut through the depressive air in the living room.

The three of them turned around and saw River Dortman coming in. He was dressed in a black shirt and black trousers that showed off his tall lanky figure, highlighting his laidback yet elegant demeanor.

Lucille stiffened before standing up to greet her stepbrother. “River.”

“Hmm.” He gave her a long look and then threw his car keys on the table, heading upstairs to his room.

That night, Victoria cooked up a feast and even opened a bottle of red wine. She raised her glass, smiling at her family as she declared the good news. “Come, let’s celebrate! Lucy’s about to…”

Lucille sensed something wrong and hurriedly interrupted her. “Mom, this wine is a bit bitter. Is it expired?”

Expired? Victoria was surprised. The expiry date said otherwise, but Lucille had already dragged her to the kitchen, saying they would replace the wine as an excuse.

“Mom, don’t tell River that I’m going abroad for now.”

Victoria was confused at first, but when she thought about how her stepson had taken care of her daughter all this while, she realized that he would be reluctant to see Lucille go. In the end, she nodded.

After a half-hearted dinner, Lucille returned to her room. She brushed her teeth and lay in bed, slowly falling asleep.

At midnight, however, someone joined her in bed.

His hot breath blew against her neck, his soft lips plastered onto her skin. The slightly cool dampness of his teeth nibbling her woke Lucille up completely.

She froze and then instinctively shoved him away, protesting roughly, “River, stop that!”

“What’s the matter? You won’t let me touch you anymore because your mom is introducing you to someone?” River’s lips curved in the darkness, but his smile did not reach his eyes. His voice was a lazy drawl. “Are you going to abandon your poor stepbrother after all these years?”

Lucille knew he had misunderstood, but she did not explain. River’s expression turned cold in the silence.

He pulled her into his arms. “Lucille Shaw, I told you. You can’t date anyone else. You’re mine and mine alone!”

She felt his body burning against hers, but she was in no mood to argue with him right now, so she lied. “I’m on my period. I’m not feeling well.”

River’s expression softened at her explanation, but he still could not help but frown. “Didn’t your period just end a few days ago? Fine, I won’t bother you tonight. Let’s sleep early.”

With that, he hugged her tight in his arms. His steady breathing in her ear kept Lucille wide awake.

Nobody knew that her boyfriend was none other than her stepbrother, River Dortman!

When she was twelve, her mother remarried, and she became his new stepsister.

When she was fourteen, they acted like the perfect siblings in the public eye.

When she was eighteen, he discovered her crush diary filled with his name. He lay sprawled on her table, reading the diary over and over again. He grabbed her hand when she tried to snatch it back and brushed a kiss against her blushing cheeks.

When she was twenty, they tasted the forbidden fruit. After that, they got addicted to each other’s taste.

During the day, they were a family. At night, they were secret lovers.

Lucille had always been a good girl. Her relationship with River was the only immoral thing she had done in her life.

She just loved him so much. She even thought she would not mind if they had to keep their relationship a secret for all their lives. They could just elope overseas when the time came.

However, all her delusions shattered when she overheard his conversation with his friends half a month ago.

It had been raining heavily that day. She ran to bring him an umbrella, only to hear his friends’ voices through the door of the private room.

“River, what are you going to do with your stepmother’s daughter? Didn’t you say you were just playing with her? Why are you still together?”

“Yeah, didn’t you seduce her as revenge, to get back at her mother for marrying your dad? Don’t tell me you changed your mind?”

Revenge? He got with her not because he liked her, but because he wanted revenge!

All the blood drained from Lucille’s face. Her brain was blank, and her body shook. Even so, she stubbornly stayed at the door, waiting for his reply.

The next second, she heard his cold and cruel voice loud and clear.

“Isn’t it more fun to break her heart once she’s well and properly invested in me? I have to take my time.”

His friends burst out laughing, while her blood froze in her veins.

So he never loved her. He got with her, called her his girlfriend, and made love to her every night as revenge, as punishment to her mother for stealing his mother’s place!

Her mother was happy in this family. Lucille could not let anyone else know about this.

In the end, all she could think of was to run away. From this family, from him. That was why she applied to a university overseas.

Now, there were only ten days left until she could slip away in secret.

Lucille glanced at the countdown on her phone and pulled River’s arm away from her waist. Within minutes, he hugged her again. Every time she pushed him away, he would instinctively hold her back.

Eventually, she finally ran out of patience. She grabbed a pillow and put it between their bodies.

This time, he finally stopped. She finally had her peace.

She knew that their relationship would soon come to an end.

She would no longer belong to him. She would stop being his personal toy.