Chapter 1

My boyfriend obsessed over "fairness," especially when it came to his adopted sister.

He was always preaching:

"To be fair, whatever you have, she should have too."

When I brought back designer skincare from a business trip, he made me give half of it to her.

When we talked about buying a house for our marriage, he insisted on buying another apartment under her name.

Even on our anniversary, when he bought ninety-nine roses, he handed forty-five of them to her.

Holding the remaining forty-four roses, I looked at him in disbelief.

"Didn't you say you wanted to be fair?"

"Why does she get one more rose than I do?"

Ethan just frowned and sighed at me.

"Nothing in this world can ever be truly equal."

"I just do what lets me sleep at night with a clear conscience."

So his "fairness" was just a cheap lie.

It was merely an excuse to always put me behind his adopted sister.

Looking at his self-righteous face,

I suddenly burst into bitter laughter.

Without hesitation, I tossed every single rose into the trash can.

"I don't want a single one anymore."

"To be fair, you should throw away her forty-five roses too."

Watching forty-four roses slam into the garbage bin,

Ethan's face darkened instantly.

"Elena, can you not be so childish?"

"Throwing a tantrum over one stupid flower?"

I didn't say a word. I just stared at the bouquet in his arms.

I waited to see if he would make the "fair" choice.

Throw them away.

Give me a single reason to still hold onto hope for him.

He didn't.

Instead, Ethan pulled the bouquet tighter against his chest.

As if terrified I would lose my mind and snatch them from him.

Just then, Hailey came bouncing over, blinking playfully at the flowers in Ethan's hands:

"Wait, only one bouquet?"

"Did you forget all about your sister the second you got a girlfriend? Where are my flowers!"

Ethan's lips curved as he gently placed the roses into her arms:

"How could I ever forget yours?"

Hailey beamed, instantly showering him with hugs and sweet thank-yous before shooting me a sidelong glance.

A subtle smirk flashed across her eyes:

"I bet Ethan was just too busy to buy you flowers, right, Elena?"

She was always like this.

Ever since Ethan and I started dating, she competed with me over everything.

I worked as a translator at a multinational corporate firm, so she begged Ethan to pull strings to get her a job there.

I bought luxury makeup on a business trip, and she whined until Ethan bought her the exact same set.

When we planned to buy a home, she claimed she needed her own property to be independent.

And Ethan, hiding behind his banner of "fairness," catered to her every whim.

Just like today.

A sharp, stinging ache pierced my chest, but I kept my face indifferent and nodded:

"Of course he got me flowers."

"I didn't like them, so I trashed them."

Hailey pouted immediately, about to whine about how ungrateful I was.

Ethan quickly stroked her hair in a pampering gesture, reassuring her that I was just talking nonsense.

"I knew it! There's no way she'd throw away anything you gave her!" Hailey giggled. "She kept that cheap pen you lent her over a decade ago like it was sacred treasure."

Then, she put on an innocent, wide-eyed look: "Ethan, do you think Elena is what people call a desperate simp?"

Ethan told her to stop talking nonsense, but he didn't correct her. He silently agreed.

The suffocating pain in my chest spread quietly.

A wave of exhaustion washed over me.

I was sick of Ethan's hypocritical fairness, and sick of their disgustingly blurred "sibling bond."

I stopped in my tracks:

"I'm not hungry anymore. I'm going home to rest."

Hailey looked ready to celebrate out loud, but Ethan frowned in disapproval.

"Stop making a scene. You reserved this place three months in advance."

I stared at him in complete silence.

Realizing I was dead serious, Ethan stepped closer.

He took my hand and whispered,

"I'll secretly make it up to you tomorrow with a full bouquet of ninety-nine roses. More than Hailey got."

"Today is our three-year anniversary. Let's not ruin it."

The warmth from his hand seeped into mine.

My eyes burned with tears.

Right. Our anniversary.

I had loved Ethan for ten years, and we'd been together for three.

Was I really going to throw it all away right here?

Slowly, I squeezed his hand back.