Chapter 1

I came home after six months abroad—and my home was gone.

The bedroom I’d lived in for twenty years had become my foster sister’s room. My trophies, photo albums, and keepsakes had been stuffed into cardboard boxes and dumped in the hallway like trash.

My brother said, “She’s had a hard life. Can’t you give her some space?”

My childhood sweetheart and fiancé said, “You have everything you need. Can’t you be a little more generous?”

Later, when they tried to force me to apologize to my foster sister, they even pinned me down and shoved a birthday cake that had been moldy for half a month into my mouth.

It was only then that I finally understood—

There had been no place for me in this family for a long time.

Lily POV

The autumn rain in London still seemed to cling to the hem of my trench coat.

Dragging my heavy suitcase behind me, I pushed open the front door of the house I hadn’t seen in six months.

The living room was brightly lit, and the familiar scent of lilies lingered in the air.

The exhaustion from the long flight made my temples throb. All I wanted was to return to my room at the end of the second-floor hallway, take a hot bath, and sleep for three days straight.

But when I dragged my suitcase upstairs, I froze in front of my bedroom door.

The little wooden bear that had hung on the door—a birthday gift Julian had carved for me when he was seventeen—was gone.

In its place hung a cheap plastic dream catcher.

My heartbeat skipped. I reached out and pushed open the half-closed door.

The sight before me made me feel as if I’d fallen into an ice bath. This wasn’t my room anymore.

My favorite minimalist gray-and-white bedding had been replaced with glaring pink floral sheets.

The architectural blueprints and textbooks that had once been neatly arranged across my desk were nowhere to be seen. In their place were piles of makeup and several stuffed animals.

What hurt my eyes the most was the lamp beside the bed. It was an antique brass lamp my grandfather had left me—a family keepsake. Now it had been replaced with a cheap star projector flashing tacky rainbow lights.

I turned sharply toward the hallway.

That was when I noticed several huge cardboard boxes piled in the corner.

I walked over stiffly and tore open the tape on the top box.

My clothes, photo albums, textbooks, and every trophy I had earned growing up had been shoved inside without care.

The traces of my twenty years of life had been packed up like garbage, swept out of the way, and dumped in this dark corner where no one would see them.

“You…you’re back early?”

A timid voice came from the top of the stairs.

Nora was wearing my silk pajamas. She held a glass of milk in her hands and stared at me nervously.

I had only worn those pajamas once. They were slightly too large, so I’d left them at the back of my closet. On Nora, they made her look even more fragile and pitiful, like a paper doll that might be blown away by the slightest breeze.

I ignored her, walked past her, and went downstairs. Then I pushed open the door to my brother Ethan’s study.

Ethan was reading documents. He looked up at the sound, surprise flashing briefly across his face before irritation replaced it.

“Ethan, what happened to my room?” I asked, my voice trembling.

He set down his pen and frowned slightly. “Why didn’t you tell us you were coming back? That room gets plenty of sunlight, and Nora’s health isn’t great. She needs the sun. Besides, Nora grew up poor, in a dark, rundown house. She’s never lived in a room this nice. You’ve been abroad for six months. The room was sitting empty. Couldn’t you let her have it?”

“Why?” I stared at my own brother. “That’s my room! I lived there for twenty years! My personal belongings were thrown into the hallway like trash, and you’re telling me to let her have it?”

“Lily, when did you become so petty?”

The study door opened again, and a clear, gentle male voice drifted inside.

Julian stood there in a perfectly tailored suit, holding an elegant dessert box.

When he looked at me, there was no joy at seeing me again. Only faint reproach.

Julian walked over and placed the box on the desk. It was Nora’s favorite cheesecake.

Then he turned toward me. My eyes were red, but his voice remained gentle. The words that came out, however, were cold.

“Lily, Nora’s had a terrible life. Her parents treated her like an ATM. They even tried to sell her for money. She doesn’t feel safe here. Having a sunny room is the only thing that makes her feel a little better. You’ve never lacked anything. Can’t you be a little more generous? Why do you have to throw a tantrum now?”

I looked at the two men in front of me.

One was my brother, who had promised to protect me for the rest of my life.

The other was my boyfriend, who had promised to marry me when we grew up.

Three years earlier, on a night of pouring rain, I had found Nora beside the trash cans outside our house. Her whole body was bruised, and she was shivering violently.

She had knelt in the muddy water, clutching my pant leg and sobbing, “Please, save me. My parents are going to sell me to a sixty-year-old blind man…”

Back then, my heart had broken for her.

I brought Nora home with me. I bought her clothes, paid for her education, and treated her like my own sister.

At the time, Julian had dried my rain-soaked hair for me. He’d gently tapped my nose and said, “My Lily is the kindest girl in the world.”

Back then, Ethan had brought me hot tea and proudly ruffled my hair. “Lily’s just too softhearted. But it’s fine. I can support you. You’re the best person in the world.”

But three years later, that “kindness” had become evidence that I wasn’t being “generous” enough toward Nora.

They looked down from their high horses and pitied her. They played the heroes in front of her so they could appear generous, while making me look selfish.

I didn’t know when Nora had followed us, but she was now standing behind Julian, tears streaming down her face.

“I’m sorry. This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have wanted that room just because it gets sunlight. I’ll move out tonight. I can sleep on the living room sofa. Please don’t fight because of me…”

“Listen to her!” Ethan slammed his palm against the desk and pointed at me furiously. “Nora is so considerate! Look at you! You’re being cruel and spiteful! When did you become so heartless?”

Julian sighed softly. He pulled a tissue from his pocket and handed it to Nora.

“Nora, this isn’t your fault. You don’t need to move out. Lily’s just tired from traveling. She’s not herself right now.”

I stood in the middle of the study, watching the three of them form a picture of a happy family.

And I was the unreasonable intruder.

My nails dug deep into my palms. I did everything I could to stay calm and hold on to the last scrap of my dignity.

“Fine. I won’t fight over it,” I said quietly.

Then I turned and walked, one step at a time, toward the pile of cardboard boxes.

The hallway light stretched my lonely shadow longer and longer.

I didn’t know when it had happened, but somehow, I had suddenly become homeless.