Chapter 2

I opened my eyes to find myself lying next to a man I knew but wasn't close with. It was none other than Sebastian Hayes, my sister's fiancé and the eldest son of the Hayes family.

At that moment, Sebastian and I were in bed together, completely naked!

The soreness throughout my body and the glaring red stain on the sheets screamed one fact at me—I had slept with my soon-to-be brother-in-law, but he seemed to have mistaken me for my sister.

To avoid being exposed, I fled in a panic. On my way home, I made sure to stop by a pharmacy for some emergency contraception.

As I pushed open the front door, I saw my sister Vivian standing at the top of the stairs with a cold smirk. "Out all night? Is this how I taught you to behave?"

"I had a bit too much to drink at a class reunion and crashed at a friend's place," I lied.

Vivian knew full well how poor my social circle was. She let out a mocking laugh, clearly thinking I was just making excuses to drown my sorrows after being blacklisted from the entertainment industry despite all my efforts.

Vivian and I are twins.

When our parents divorced, it made sense to split us up—one went with Dad, the other with Mom.

I was the one who returned to our hometown with Mom.

Unfortunately, that area was quite underdeveloped, and I got lost not long after. It took years before I was found and brought back.

By the time I returned home, Mom had already passed away, and Grandma who had been raising me for a few years had also died.

That's how I ended up being brought back to the Quinn family by Dad.

But Dad was hands-off, leaving everything to Vivian once he brought me home. She's been running the household ever since.

I worked hard in the shadow of Vivian's academic brilliance. Though I could never match up to her, it was still much better than life in our small hometown.

The two sisters lived together peacefully like this for years.

Until the night before I participated in a talent show, when Vivian caught me in bed with her boyfriend.

She took photos and videos of the scene, cursing me for being shameless and cheap. Our sisterly relationship was never the same after that.

From then on, Vivian made no effort to hide her contempt for me. She threatened me, controlled me, and monitored my every move.

Even when I debuted in the entertainment industry with a face similar to hers, she saw it as something beneath her status. She didn't hesitate to release a flood of false scandals about "me" to ruin my career.

Everything about me was laid bare before Vivian. As time went on, I somehow got used to it and never thought about resisting her control.

Looking back now, I realize I never actually slept with her ex-boyfriend.

The so-called evidence in Vivian's hands was either staged photos or pictures of herself.

It was all just a ploy for her to manipulate me.

Back in my room, I locked myself in the bathroom, stuffed my clothes into the washing machine, and stood under the shower.

To my surprise, I heard Vivian shouting and opening the door outside.

Years of conditioning under Vivian's rule had stripped me of the habit of locking doors. I hadn't thought of it this time either. If Vivian barged in and saw me covered in hickeys...

I didn't dare imagine what that psycho would do.

In a panic, I hastily wrapped a towel around myself and ran smack into Vivian as she opened the door.

Vivian stood with her arms crossed, eyeing me suspiciously. "Why are you showering in the middle of the day?"

I said, "I was out drinking all night and smell awful. You don't like that, right?"

My show of weakness didn't soften Vivian's heart one bit. She looked me up and down for a while, then suddenly smiled with her eyes narrowed, though there was no warmth in her gaze. "Slept with a man?"

Is Vivian so sensitive about me being with men because she's afraid I'll discover I didn't actually lose my virginity back then?

I kept my head down, meekly saying, "No, I really was at a friend's place last night. You can call and ask her if you don't believe me, sis."

"That won't be necessary," Vivian said.

Then, with a cold look in her eyes and a curl of her lips, she continued, "If you didn't sleep with a man, what are you afraid of? Open your towel and let me take a look."

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