I didn’t turn James down.
The next day, I showed up at the designated mall, wearing the same grease-stained t-shirt.
When James saw me, his handsome brows knitted together.
“Why are you still wearing this?”
I looked down. “This… this is the only decent shirt I have to wear out.”
His expression grew even more complicated.
He said nothing, simply took my wrist and pulled me into the most exclusive luxury boutique in the mall.
The sales assistants’ eyes were full of contempt when they saw my outfit.
But after they saw James’s black card, their faces instantly lit up with the warmest smiles.
James pointed to a rack of the latest dresses. “Anything that suits her, wrap it up.”
Then he looked at me, his voice softening slightly. “Go try them on.”
I acted like a startled rabbit, waving my hands frantically. “No, no, it’s too expensive, I can’t accept.”
“It’s not for you,” he said flatly. “It’s for the Sterling family’s reputation. When you go out in cheap clothes, you
embarrass all of us.”
The words were harsh, but I knew it was his clumsy way of being kind.
I was “forced” to change into a white dress.
The girl in the mirror was slender, pale, with a timid look in her eyes-a complete stranger to my usual self.
When I walked out, James’s gaze faltered for a moment.
He quickly recovered, handing his card to the assistant. “Wrap them all up.”
When we left the store, he was carrying more than a dozen bags.
I trailed behind him, head down. “Mr. Nordling, thank you. But I still can’t…”
‘Call me James,” he interrupted.
I paused.
He stopped and turned to look at me, his eyes deep. “Lily Sterling, you don’t have to live so cautiously. You are the rightful heiress of the Sterling family.”
n the sunlight, his features were sharp, his eyes holding an emotion I couldn’t decipher.
sneered internally, but my words were soft. “But in their hearts, my sister is the real one. I’m just an outsider.
The tears started to well up again.
‘I don’t want to take anything that belongs to my sister,” I looked him in the eye. “Including you.”
‘E-James,” I stammered, “you and my sister look so good together. I wish you both the best.”
‘And I wish… that I can get used to being alone soon.”
With that, I grabbed the shopping bags and ran, leaving James standing alone, his brow furrowed and his
face dark.
He started avoiding Aurora.
When she called him, he was always in a meeting or on a business trip.
When she went to his office, his secretary would say he wasn’t there.
Aurora was going mad. She came to confront me. “Lily Sterling, what did you say to James?”
I looked at her with wide, innocent eyes. A mist began to form. “Sister, what are you talking about? Why wou-
Id I say anything to Mr. Nordling?”
“I only told him that I wish you both the best and that he should treat you well.”
“Sister, don’t you believe me?” I clutched my chest, my face a mask of hurt. “How could you think of me like that? Am I really the kind of person who would ruin your relationship?”
‘I…” Aurora was speechless.
pressed my advantage, my tears flowing freely. “I know, it’s all my fault! I shouldn’t have come back, I shou- dn’t have appeared in your lives! I’ll leave now, I’ll leave the Sterling family and never bother you again!”
made a show of rushing for the door.
My parents, who were just coming downstairs, saw the scene and were horrified.
‘Aurora! What are you doing to your sister again!” my father roared.
Your sister is fragile, and you’re still provoking her! What are your intentions!” my mother added.
Aurora stood there, trembling, watching me cower in our mother’s arms. Her eyes were filled with venom.
She knew she had lost again.
Jtterly and completely.
