Chapter 1

Cynthia was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment after she'd had a heart attack at a bar.

When I arrived at the hospital, I happened to see a white cloth being used to cover Cynthia's head.

Disregarding everything, I threw myself in front of Cynthia, trembling as I lifted the white cloth.

I was engulfed in immense pain the moment I saw Cynthia's pale, lifeless face.

It felt as if something in my head had collapsed, and a suffocating sensation lingered in my heart.

Just two days ago, Cynthia had been playfully whining at me. Now, she lay motionless on the cold hospital bed.

She was only 21. She could have had a bright future, yet her life had stopped in her prime.

Heartbroken, I fainted as my vision turned dark.

When I woke up, I saw over a dozen missed calls on my phone. They were all from my wife, Jenny Gardner.

She must have heard about Cynthia's accident.

My hands trembled as I called her back.

The phone rang for a long time before it connected. However, before I could say anything, I was met with a barrage of accusations.

"Landon Lambert, where is your sister? Where is she hiding? Get her to come out and apologize to Claude right now!"

I was taken aback.

What was this "apology" about?

Suppressing my sadness, I tried to explain to her, "Honey, Cynthia had an accident. She has no other family except me. She has always liked you the most. Can you please come to the hospital—"

Before I could finish, Jenny coldly interrupted me. "What could possibly have happened? I was wondering why she had run off midway. It turns out she went to complain to you! Seriously, how dramatic! I only wanted her to accompany Claude to meet a client!

"Do you have any idea how much trouble Cynthia has caused us? She ruined the dinner with the investors! She offended Mr. Zea! Do you know how important this investment is for Claude?"

The voice of Jenny's first love, Claude Husk, came through the phone then.

"Jenny, it's fine. Landon has misunderstood me. It's understandable for his sister to refuse to help me."

My heart sank.

So, they were the culprits!

In an instant, anger and hatred intertwined within me. I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my flesh.

My eyes turned red as I roared, "Cynthia hasn't even graduated from college! Why did you force her to go to that kind of place?"

Jenny's indifferent voice came through. "So what? I only took her out to enrich her experience. It's her fault for not knowing better. We only had her accompany an investor for drinks. How could she possibly die from that? And why did she complain to you? You siblings are disgustingly alike!"

With that, Jenny hung up the phone without letting me say another word.

Memories began to play in my mind like a film.

Cynthia was seven years younger than me.

When she was a child, she would always follow me around like a shadow, calling out, "Lanny! Lanny!"

I would find her annoying, but she never got mad. Instead, she would hold out candy to me, softly saying, "For you, Lanny!"

Sometimes I would deliberately provoke her to see her angry face all puffed up like a ball of dough.

However, I stopped teasing her after I turned 17.

That year, our parents had a car accident and both passed away, leaving only Cynthia and me.

Cynthia had curled up against me, her small body trembling as beads of hot tears fell onto my arm.

She asked me in a shaky voice, "Lanny, will it just be the two of us from now on?"

Hearing that, I stroked her head and promised, "Cynthia, I will take good care of you."

"I'm sorry, Cynthia," I thought. "I broke my promise."

Cynthia had a congenital heart defect and had undergone surgery when she was younger.

The doctor said she would be fine as long as she wasn't subjected to intense stress.

Jenny and Claude were the ones who caused Cynthia's death.

At that moment, hatred flooded my chest.

Back then, I'd met Jenny at a business event.

She pursued me first, as she claimed she had fallen in love with me at first sight.

Later, I learned she was attracted to my face, which resembled Claude's.

I was captivated by her smile and fell deeply in love with her.

She treated me well, spoke to me softly, and was incredibly thoughtful. We naturally fell in love and got married.

Just when I thought our life would continue to be happy this way, Claude came back.

He was Jenny's first love, the one she held dear to her heart.

Ever since Claude came back, Jenny grew impatient with me. Even Cynthia bore the brunt of her anger.

In the past, Cynthia would come back to stay for a day or two on weekends, but now, seeing Jenny's sour face, she didn't dare to return at all.

In truth, Cynthia had always liked having Jenny as her sister-in-law.

Even so, Jenny didn't call once even when Cynthia was cremated and buried.