Chapter 1

“Good heavens, what is going on here? How could that woman come to a place like this?”

“Oh my. There’s a limit to shamelessness. After stealing her sister’s fiancé, she shows up so boldly…”

Voices filled with disdain, shock, and intrigue passed through the spread fans. Harriet looked down at her smooth gloves and picked up a glass of champagne from a waiter’s silver tray. Like the parting of the Red Sea, a woman was approaching through the bustling crowd.

Harriet greeted her with a faint smile, not the reaction the guests were expecting. The woman sighed a small breath of relief upon seeing Harriet’s smile.

“It’s been a long time, sister……. Have you been well?”

“Of course. I’ve been well. What brings you here?”

“What do you mean… it’s your birthday, sister. Congratulations. I wanted to give you the gift personally, but I handed it over to your secretary.”

“Thank you for thinking of me. Enjoy your stay.”

Harriet turned her back after a short reply, maintaining a face of appropriate indifference and a smile with all her patience. But her efforts were quickly in vain.

“S-sister!”

The spectators, who were about to disperse after a rather unremarkable reunion, gasped. The atmosphere in the wide banquet hall instantly froze over with tension. Harriet glanced at the hand placed on her shoulder. It felt like a small spider crawling up her skin.

Harriet barely swallowed her nausea. The unbearable disgust rose, making it hard to endure. She shook off the hand coldly.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Marianne immediately apologized, shrinking at the harsh rejection. Harriet turned her body again and looked down at her coldly.

“For what?”

“For ruining your wedding three years ago…….”

At the mention of the event, everyone around them covered their mouths one by one. Harriet Vanetti’s wedding three years ago was an incident known to the whole country, yet no one dared to mention it in front of her. A bride standing before the officiant in a white wedding dress without a groom in a tuxedo.

“And?”

Marianne’s eyes wavered at the question. It was unexpected. She thought Harriet would get agitated as soon as the incident was mentioned, but Harriet remained calm. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Caught off guard by the unexpected reaction, Marianne stammered as she continued.

“You were so kind to me, an orphan…”

“Yes, I was.”

Harriet nodded and blatantly looked Marianne up and down.

“My father brought you in because you were a distant cousin, an orphan girl with nothing. I wanted a younger sister, so I cherished and cared for you like my own. Little did I know it would come back to bite me.”

“Sister…….”

“You were scruffy and shriveled back then, nothing to look at, but now it seems you’re living quite well. That necklace, earrings, and ring are all limited editions from the designer I like.”

“If you want, you can have them! I’ll give them to you as a birthday present!”

Marianne, her eyes sparkling, reached to remove her earrings as if she would take them off immediately. Harriet laughed and waved her hand dismissively.

“No. It’s fine. How could I wear something anyone else has worn?”

“Sister……. Anyone? How could you say that…….”

Marianne, as if she had been waiting, followed Harriet’s words, tears welling up in her large eyes. Some of the initially disdainful gazes began to turn sympathetic. Sensing the change in atmosphere, Marianne put on an even more sorrowful expression.

“I admit I was wrong……. But love is something you can’t help…….”

With a blank expression, Harriet downed her champagne and crossed her arms. Her reaction seemed to invite Marianne to continue her dramatic plea.

“Mikhail-oppa chose me… it was love. Even though you were engaged for ten years, it’s true you couldn’t win his heart…”

“Oh. So it’s my fault for not keeping a man’s heart?”

“That’s not what I meant…….”

By now, a hand should have flown. Marianne closed her eyes tightly, following the script she had prepared. With Harriet’s temper, it would either be grabbing her hair or slapping her. Harriet Vanetti, known for her dirty and temperamental nature, should have done so. That way, she could gain sympathy and re-enter the social scene of this country, from which she was almost expelled. It should have been that way…….

No matter how much she closed her eyes, the hand didn’t fly. In the next moment, Marianne was startled and froze as someone held her hands.

“Listening to you, you’re right, Marianne.”

“……Sister?”

“It’s not like people’s hearts can be controlled, and perhaps I’ve blamed you too much all this time.”

With a more generous face than ever, Harriet smiled kindly at her. She kindly suggested to Marianne, who was blinking dumbfoundedly at her.

“Let’s get along well from now on. Let’s keep in touch often.”

“Sister…….”

What is this? Is someone wearing Harriet Vanetti’s skin and standing here? Has she changed over the past three years? Did she hit her head hard? 

Marianne barely managed to lift the corners of her mouth, which were twitching.

“Thank you so much for forgiving me… I won’t forget this kindness.”

Instead of answering, Harriet spread her arms. Marianne, creaking like a hinge that hadn’t been oiled in a long time, hugged her. At that moment, a chilling voice whispered into her ear.

“Forgive? Do you think I’d do something like that?”

“……”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to get by crawling back, but it’s not going to happen.”

It was a whisper so soft that no one else could hear. Marianne inwardly chuckled. It was all an act. She couldn’t help but admire it. Like it or not, she had to acknowledge that the once simple and straightforward Harriet Vanetti had grown. Marianne wiped her tears and responded with a bright face after the hug was released.

“You’ve changed a lot over the years, sister.”

“Thanks to you.”

The guests, who had been watching the amicable scene, awkwardly approached with smiles.

“Seeing you two standing together, it really feels like old times.”

“You’re like real sisters, so it suits you to be on good terms.”

“Does Earl Vanetti know that his youngest daughter has returned?”

Amidst formal compliments, a subtle question slipped in.

The Vanetti family, known for their real estate empire, had recently expanded to luxury department stores. The succession structure of the Vanetti family had been rapidly changing recently. It all started when Earl Vanetti, who directly handled both business operations and family matters, suffered a stroke.

The eldest son, Theodore Vanetti, the eldest daughter, Harriet Vanetti, the second son, Aaron Vanetti, and the youngest, Marianne Vanetti.

Public opinion and the nobility supported Harriet Vanetti as the successor, who managed most of the business in place of the incompetent eldest son. The fact that so many guests had come from afar, disregarding appearances, for her twenty-ninth birthday was proof of that.

“Well…”

Marianne, pausing briefly at the awaited question, gave Harriet a short sneer.

“Father wrote to me, saying he wanted to see me.”

A crack appeared on Harriet’s previously firm face. Finally, the reaction Marianne had been hoping for. She smiled triumphantly.

“I came back because I wanted to take care of him personally since he’s not feeling well. I didn’t get a chance to tell you, sister.”

“Oh. Such a story…”

Harriet clenched her fist invisibly. It felt as if cold water had been poured over her head. Marianne was using her to re-enter society. That much she could tolerate but…

“Did he tell you to apologize to me?”

Instead of answering, Marianne nodded. At the same time, Harriet’s faith in her father shattered to pieces at her feet. She couldn’t even think of picking up the sharp fragments, so she simply stared at Marianne.

Though she barely maintained a calm expression, the anger cracking through the thin mask was about to burst forth.

“So, about that… Is it okay if I stay at the family mansion, sister?”

“……”

“I want to see Mother, too…”

Mother. A word she thought Marianne would never dare to utter so casually. The limit was crossed. Harriet closed her eyes tightly and then opened them.

“Excuse me.”

“Huh?”

She couldn’t take it anymore. Instead of answering, Harriet snatched a new glass from someone standing next to her. She was about to pour the wine over her sister’s head.

“No. That would be a bit difficult.”

A low voice resonated deeply from above her head. A large hand gently enveloped Harriet’s hand, lowering the glass. The tense atmosphere, as taut as a drawn string, enveloped the entire space. Harriet frowned as she looked up.

A man with a tall stature and broad shoulders stood behind her like a reliable ally—just her type.

With hair that seemed woven from golden threads and eyes like a wolf’s, it was Lennox Diorne, her brother Aaron’s close friend and her own adversary.

“I don’t want someone who hurt my lover living under the same roof.”

The man, smirking crookedly, gulped down the wine from Harriet’s glass and returned the empty glass to its original owner.

In a movement so natural it was almost brazen, Harriet stiffened, glaring at her adversary.

“L-lover?”