Chapter 1

I followed James for seven years, living frugally, and finally saved our first million dollars.

In this vast New York City, we could finally have a place to call our own.

But on the day we were supposed to pay the deposit, James withdrew all the money from our joint account.

I called him repeatedly: "Where's the money? Why did you take out all of our savings?"

He replied, "I can't ignore Lily's situation. You know she's like a sister to me."

"She needs this money more than we do."

I looked at the woman in front of me, wearing a silk nightgown, every hair in place.

Then I glanced at myself, worn out after seven years, wearing a wrinkled old sweater.

Suddenly, I woke up.

The determination to end this seven-year relationship filled me at that moment.

"James, where's the money? Why did you withdraw all of it without saying a word?" I shouted as soon as I entered the apartment, filled with anger.

James got up from the couch and brought a cake to me: "Emma, I bought your favorite chestnut cake. Have a slice and calm down."

I stared into his eyes and asked again: "I'm asking you where the money went?"

He avoided my gaze: "You know, Lily was scammed recently and got into online debt."

James lowered his voice and continued: "She even... sent her nude photos to someone as collateral."

"They said if she doesn't pay back soon, they'll send the photos to her friends and family."

"You're a woman too, you should understand what this means for a girl, right?"

I felt weak all over: "Did you give her everything?"

I pounded on James's chest: "You knew very well that was our seven-year savings for buying a house!"

At this moment, Lily came out of the bathroom.

Fresh out of the shower, Lily's skin was fair and radiant. Her bare face looked clean and beautiful, with large innocent eyes that made her look particularly pitiful.

Not just James, even I couldn't help but feel sorry for her when I saw her.

She spoke with a hint of tears, looking at me: "It's all my fault. Sister, please don't fight with James. He was just trying to help me."

"I only borrowed a few thousand dollars, but in just two months, they're asking me to pay back hundreds of thousands. Where would I get that kind of money?"

I looked at her, wearing a silk nightgown that made her look very refined.

Then I looked at myself, wearing a sweater I'd had for five years, wrinkled like a cleaning rag, looking more like sleepwear than her actual nightgown.

I took deep breaths, trying to expel the anger building up in my chest.

But I still felt extremely frustrated.

Seeing me like this, James wanted to say something more but didn't dare.

After hesitating several times, he finally spoke: "By the way, Emma, there's something I want to discuss with you."

"Lily hasn't paid rent for two months and was kicked out by her landlord."

"She's a girl, and she has nowhere to go."

"Can we... can we let her stay with us for a few days?"

I looked around and noticed several suitcases in the living room that weren't there before.

I didn't respond, just walked into the bedroom and slammed the door shut.

Discuss? He took all our money to pay off Lily's loan and directly brought her to our home.

Which of these things did he actually discuss with me?

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