One week ago, the real Sterling heiress showed up at our doorstep. That was the moment I found out I was a fraud. But since my biological parents were long dead, the Sterlings decided to keep me around. The real daughter, the one who just came back, seemed to have a lot of beef with me—the imposter. She not only monopolized Mom, Dad, and my brother’s attention, but she was also determined to reclaim the fiancé who was originally supposed to be hers. I honestly didn't care. I just wanted to survive and keep a roof over my head. But when I tried to return my fiancé to her, the man who had always been gentle with me showed a dark, gloomy expression I’d never seen before. He gripped my waist tight, looking down at me with an oppressive, natural-born dominance. "Harper," he whispered, "since we were kids, I’ve known... you can only be mine." Right at that moment, the real heiress pushed the door open. She blinked, flashing a smile that revealed two cute canine teeth. "Julian! Didn't you promise Mrs. Vanderbilt you’d have dinner with me?" Weirdly, at that exact second, I heard the roar of her inner thoughts. — "You batsh*t crazy male lead! Get the hell away from the heroine! She belongs to the second male lead!" 1. I’ve become weird. Normal people can’t read minds, but I can. Specifically, I can only read Hailey’s mind. Hailey is my sister in name, but she’s the real blood of the Sterling family. I’m the fake. The day she was brought back, Mom, Dad, and my brother Austin held her and cried their eyes out. I stood to the side, clearly the outsider. After that day, I knew the drill. No more acting spoiled, no more being willful. I just needed to be a good piece of furniture in this house. The whole world started revolving around Hailey. Hailey hated me, the imposter. I understood. I’d been the cuckoo in the nest for nineteen years, living a life of luxury while she suffered out there. I was content with the status quo. Mom, Dad, and Austin were hers. My childhood fiancé, Julian Vanderbilt, should be hers too. Hailey had been visiting the Vanderbilt estate a lot lately. She’d come back and brag in front of me about how nice Julian’s mother was to her, how polite and gentlemanly Julian was, and how lively the house became with her around. My brother, usually close to me, looked like he wanted to say something but held back. Finally, Mom came to me. "Harper, Hailey really poured her heart into Julian. Knitting scarves, baking pastries... If Hailey hadn't been lost all those years ago, she would have been the one engaged to him..." Before she could finish, I cut in immediately. "Mom, as long as my sister is happy, I’m happy." Mom breathed a sigh of relief, then seemed to feel a delayed pang of guilt. "Good child. I’ll keep an eye out for other eligible bachelors for you. We won’t treat you unfairly." I nodded obediently. But everyone knew how awkward my position in the Sterling family was now. Any decent guy would avoid me like the plague. Whatever. I wasn't planning on relying on a man anyway. 2. But Julian must have heard the rumors. He walked into my room casually, just like when we were kids. He used to love hanging out in my room while I played house, forcing him to eat "fried rice" made of Play-Doh. But this was the first time since we grew up that he barged in without knocking. "Julian..." I barely got a word out before he yanked me up from the sofa by my wrist. His grip was rough. Standing in front of him, I realized I only reached his chest. Through his thin white dress shirt, I could see the definition of his muscles, radiating a dangerous kind of wildness. He was mischievous as a kid but grew up gentle and quiet. I’d never seen this side of him. My wrist throbbed. I wanted to yell at him like old times, but then I remembered—this guy was about to be my brother-in-law. Let it slide. But when I stayed silent, he got worse. His arm snaked around my waist, pulling me tight against him. Even though we were engaged early on, we’d never been this intimate. "Julian, are you crazy?" I couldn't help but snap, trying to break free. "Shh," his voice was hoarse, whispering right in my ear. "Be good. Just let me hold you for a minute." I struggled harder, but against his absolute strength, it was useless. He held me for a while, then suddenly looked down. His eyes were dark enough to swallow a person whole. "Harper, since we were kids, I’ve known... you can only be mine." His predatory stare made my skin crawl. It felt like my childhood friend had morphed into a wolf that had been lying in ambush for years. 3. When Hailey walked in, Julian didn't let go. I was caught in a literal nightmare scenario, my scalp tingling with awkwardness. But Hailey was clearly a girl with deep thoughts. Faced with this scene, she didn't flinch. She just smiled. "Julian! Didn't you promise Mrs. Vanderbilt you’d have dinner with me?" At the same time, her lips didn't move, but I heard a roar full of energy echoing in my room like thunder. — "You batsh*t crazy male lead! Get the hell away from the heroine! She belongs to the second male lead!" Julian’s expression didn't change. I thought I was hallucinating. But then came another line. — "You toxic trash man, get your ass downstairs and eat dinner! Stop harassing the heroine!" — "Or I swear to God, I’ll send you to prison myself!" Me: ? I looked at Hailey, who was smiling innocently, and felt my worldview shattering. She had no idea I could hear her screaming internally. — "Big Sis is here. I won’t let you hurt the heroine." — "Got it?" 4. From then on, I kept hearing these weird, bizarre thoughts coming from Hailey. For example, the day she came back from dinner with Julian, she bragged to me as usual. "Julian is so sweet. He heard I hate deboning fish, so he picked out all the bones for me. He said he knows a place with amazing fish and he’ll take me there next time. I’m going to fall in love with seafood~" In reality, her mind was spewing profanity. — "Bullsh*t!" — "That bastard Julian, giving me that resting b*tch face the whole meal. Who was he showing attitude to? It’s not like I kidnapped him!" — "He wants the heroine but also wants the Sterling family’s support to solidify his status. Greedy pig." — "Trash. Absolute societal garbage." — "Useless except for his face." — "I sincerely hope he’s compensating for something. Tiny. Three-second man." Me: ... Me: "Pfft." Hailey looked at me instantly, her fake bragging expression cracking. Her inner voice rang out again. — "? Why is she laughing?" Then she realized. — "Sigh, look at her mental state. I must have driven her crazy with jealousy." — "Hope she’s okay." — "But short-term pain is better than long-term suffering. Stay away from that perverted scumbag and you’ll be happy for eight hundred lifetimes." Hailey walked past me, up the stairs, then turned back to give me a provocative smirk. "Sister," she said, "Julian... I’m going to win him over, you know." She strutted away like a peacock spreading its tail. Accompanied by her excited inner thoughts. — "Yessss!" — "I am a genius." — "I should win an Oscar for this." 5. My brother Austin came back from a business trip to Chile. He brought gifts. Hailey and I each got a crystal bracelet. She got an extra pair of pearl earrings. I got a jar of chocolates—I specifically asked Austin to bring them. He knew I didn't care much for jewelry but loved sweets. Hailey eyed my chocolates. She wanted the whole jar. Austin couldn't handle her pestering. He turned to me, "Harper, Hailey never had these things growing up. Her foster family couldn't afford them... How about you give the chocolates to her this time? I’ll have someone buy you more later." I never realized my family was so good at "future faking"—selling me empty promises. The moment I handed the chocolates to Hailey, a hurricane raged in her mind. — "Speechless. I am literally speechless." — "If he’s this good at selling dreams, why isn't he working at a bakery? He’s spinning so much dough he could open a pizzeria." — "Spineless coward. His brain flew away with the pizza dough." — "Heroine, please give up on this useless man." — "In the future, when this guy gets a wife, it’ll be even worse. He’ll just let his wife bully you." — "Right now he asks you to 'endure' over chocolate. Later, when his wife slaps you, he’ll tell you to 'endure' that too." — "Harper! Wake up!" — "There aren't that many things in this world worth enduring!" I looked up at her, stunned. There aren't that many things in this world worth enduring. I don't know why, but that sentence hit me hard. Plip, plop. My tears started falling. 6. Since childhood, my education was all about endurance. Etiquette meant if you want to laugh, hold it in. Be strong. If you want to cry, hold it in. Keep your figure. If you want to eat, hold it in. Bullied at school? Endure it. Afraid of the dark, ghosts, thunder? Endure it. They needed a perfect Sterling heiress, Harper Sterling. The phrase I heard most was: "Harper, just endure it, it’ll be fine." This was the first time someone said to me: "There aren't that many things in this world worth enduring." So I didn't hold it in. Tears fell one after another, an inexplicable grievance washing over me. Hailey was visibly panicked. Austin was stunned too. "Harper, it’s just a jar of chocolates..." "Shut up!" Hailey barked at him viciously. Austin flinched. Her inner voice became incredibly frantic. — "Ahhhhhhh! Does she love chocolate that much?! If I knew I wouldn't have snatched it!" — "I'm so mad! Why do I have to follow the Villainess script?!" — "Can someone tell me..." — "If the villainess gives back half the stolen chocolate, does she still look evil?" — "Stop crying, Sis. You’re my sister, okay?" She was dancing on my funny bone again. I was about to laugh through my tears. Suddenly, a man’s low, magnetic voice came from the side. "Tsk. Why the tears?" I looked up. A man in a sharp suit was sitting on the sofa. I hadn't noticed him. His features resembled Julian’s, but sharper, colder, more aggressive. I stopped crying and greeted him politely. "Uncle Silas." Of course, he wasn't my uncle. I just followed Julian’s lead. He was Julian’s youngest uncle, the youngest son of the Vanderbilt patriarch. He was also the new king of the business world, having doubled the Vanderbilt fortune in recent years. At the same time, I heard Hailey scream internally. — "Holy mother of god!!! Why is the Second Male Lead here?!"
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