The family’s fiancé was named James Nordling.
He was the heir to the Nordling Corporation and was originally engaged to Aurora.
After I was found, the engagement became… awkward.
More than once, Aurora performed her “kindness and generosity” for my parents.
“Dad, Mom, the engagement was with the Sterling family. Now that my sister is back, she should be the one
to inherit it. I’m willing to step aside and wish James and my sister all the best.”
Every time she said it, my parents’ hearts ached for her, and they would look at me as if I were a thief.
The first time James came over for dinner, the atmosphere was thick with tension.
He sat across from me, his gaze polite but distant. He spent most of his time talking to Aurora.
They talked about mutual friends, high-society parties, and topics I couldn’t even begin to understand.
I just ate my food quietly, a ghost at the table.
During the meal, Aurora put some food on my plate, her gesture as intimate as if we were real sisters. “Lily eat more. You’re too thin.”
Then, her hand “slipped.” A piece of greasy braised pork fell directly onto my faded, worn-out t-shirt.
A large grease stain bloomed across the fabric.
“Oh!” she gasped, her face a mask of apology. “I’m so sorry, Lily, I didn’t do it on purpose! Your clothes…”
All eyes focused on the stain on my chest.
The t-shirt was one I’d brought from the countryside, a ten-dollar bargain bin find.
In a room full of couture and luxury brands, it was already out of place. Now, it was a joke.
If I got angry, I’d be making a scene.
If I swallowed it, I’d be admitting I was inferior.
looked at the stain. I didn’t get angry. Instead, I smiled.
A smile that was sadder than tears.
Then I looked up, my eyes swimming with moisture I refused to let fall.
“It’s okay, sister,” I said, my voice hoarse. “It’s just an old shirt. If it’s dirty, I’ll just throw it away.”
“It’s the only kind of clothes I have, anyway. Not like you, sister. You wear designer brands I can’t even recog nize.”
“I’m the one embarrassing this family. I shouldn’t have worn something like this to the dinner table.”
I put down my chopsticks, stood up, and bowed deeply to everyone. “I’m sorry, Dad, Mom, Mr. Nordling Please excuse me.”
I turned and walked away, my back ramrod straight.
Every step I took felt like it was landing on their hearts.
I could feel James’s gaze shift from Aurora to me for the first time, a look of curiosity and pity in his eyes.
Behind me, I heard my mother’s suppressed fury. “Aurora Sterling! Look what you’ve done!”
Aurora was speechless. “Mom, I really didn’t mean to…”
“Enough! I think you did it on purpose!”
A carefully planned family dinner, ruined by a single, unshed tear.
That night, I received a text from James.
[Are you free tomorrow? I’ll take you to buy some clothes.]
I looked at the message and smiled.
The fish was on the hook.
