Chapter 1

My adoptive sister Daphne is the daughter of Dad’s comrade. When she was six, a car accident unexpectedly took her parents’ lives.

Daphne was driven away and shunned by her relatives.

She ended up dirty and wandering the streets until Dad, who came to pay his respects to an old friend, found her.

From then on, she became the second daughter in our family.

That year, I was ten, and Daphne was six. Dad and Mom told me, “Nora, you’re already a big kid.

You need to learn to take care of your sister.” I wasn’t sure how to take care of a sister.

All I knew was that Daphne always seemed so fragile. She didn’t have to do anything but stand there and look at me with her tear-reddened eyes.

Everything of mine would become hers. At ten, I lost my bedroom and moved into the guest room.

At twelve, my piano lessons were canceled, and the piano at home was sold. The empty music room became Daphne’s dance studio.

After fifteen, I never wore new clothes again, always alternating between two school uniforms. My parents didn’t care.

They dressed Daphne beautifully and praised her looks to everyone they met.

From that time, I rarely went home. The year I was about to graduate from college, Daphne went to another city for university. My parents briefly remembered me.

They often called to ask about my life, sometimes sending me job postings from my city.

Raising a comrade’s orphan to college was Dad’s greatest achievement.

He was in high spirits, saying he wanted to visit me in my city and help me see if my boyfriend of three years was reliable.

I no longer had any expectations of them.

But I still booked a hotel and restaurant for their visit, not expecting Daphne to show up with them.

That day, her smile was as pure as when she first came to our home. She smiled at my boyfriend like that all evening.

Later, I saw Daphne’s avatar pinned at the top of my boyfriend Declan’s Snapchat chat.