Chapter 1
Senna Rivers was my sister in name only, so she had every right to hate me.
Because I was the mistress’s daughter.
I stole her father, slept with her fiancé and even drove her out of the States.
But in the third year, she still managed to come back-as a world famous planist and the flancée of a New York aristocrat.
At the welcome party, she held her wine glass with elegant, charming grace, yet kept inappropriately frowning toward the entrance.
“Where’s Scarlett? Too scared to face me? Hmph, what a coward.”
But sister-I’m not too scared to see you-I truly can never see you again.
Because… three years ago, I already died in your place.
Senna searched every inch of the Rivers mansion but couldn’t find a single trace of me.
he kicked the coffee table in frustration, seriously pissed off.
Isually, before she even stepped through the front door, she’d hear my fake-ass laughter echoing through the halls as I chatted up the help.
he moment she walked in, she’d spot all the designer gifts I’d deliberately spread across the dining table to show off.
Now that the house was completely free of my presence, Senna felt… off.
he rubbed her temples and shoved thoughts of me aside.
ime to put on her million-dollar smile for all the people waiting to kiss her ass.
Our Senna just keeps getting more gorgeous! I heard people online are calling you the most beautiful pianist ever.”
You and Preston’s wedding is coming up soon, right? You have to let me be a bridesmaid!”
Senna, could you maybe sign something for an old classmate? My daughter saw your competition videos and is totally obsessed with you-we’ve got your
osters all over our walls.”
floated above, watching Senna maintain that perfectly polished facade while dealing with all the brown-nosing.
Ligh school was exactly like this.
Wherever Senna Rivers went, she was the center of attention.
When people talked about her, words like “perfect,” “elegant,” “gorgeous,” and “ambitious” came to mind.
Looking at all those classmates sucking up to Senna, I suddenly realized that I was pretty much the center of attention in high school too.
But what did people say about me?
Homewrecker’s daughter. 36DD. Slut. Bitch. Whore.
Senna really was a good person-she was literally the only one in our entire class who didn’t look at me like I was trash.
The first clean, actually decent pad I ever used came from her.
Back then, I remember thinking how awesome it would be if I could be Senna’s sister, so I could be closer to her.
And then I actually fucking became her sister.
Turns out my mom was her dad’s mistress.
Life’s got a twisted sense of humor.
From that moment on, Senna and I became tangled up in each other’s fate.
In the Rivers house, we only had each other to lean on.
And we only had each other to hate.
Thinking about all this made my mood turn dark.
The classmates around seemed to sense something and started sneezing like crazy.
Just as Senna was about to bail after dealing with the old crew, some guy nervously called out to her.
Lucas Manning stared at her, his eyes full of undisguised awe.
“Senna, you’re so beautiful.”
“If I hadn’t let that slut Scarlett seduce me back then…”
“Would you be marrying me instead?”
I rolled my eyes hard.
If Senna hadn’t been engaged to him, I wouldn’t have given him a second glance.
When he finished, the noisy crowd suddenly went dead silent.
Everyone was looking around at each other, totally awkward.
Another classmate John tried to laugh it off, saying the alcohol was really strong-even Lucas was wasted.
But Lucas just shoved him away and snapped:
‘Quit pretending to be nice.”
‘If you hadn’t started those dorm room discussions about Scarlett’s killer body, would I have been tempted enough to dump Senna?”
ohn’s face went red, then white.
Everyone’s eyes drifted over to him, like they were thinking, “Oh, so the goody-two-shoes John is actually a perv.”
But once they remembered he was fantasizing about me, they all shared that knowing smile.
That smile? I’d seen a million times.
Juring every PE class when we ran laps, a bunch of guys would gather around with basketballs, watching me and smirking.
They’d whisper. They’d point.
if you got mad and yelled at them, they’d say you were full of yourself.
I could fight back when people insulted me, I could hit back when they harassed me.
But that subtle, hidden malice? I was powerless against it.
I even wanted to rip the flesh off my chest and cut out every single one of their tongues.
After hearing this, Senna bristled like an angry cat, glaring viciously at all those people with their disgusting smiles.
“Whatever else Scarlett might be, she’s still my sister. How dare you trash talk her in front of me?”
“And you, Lucas.”
“If Dad hadn’t specifically introduced you to me, I wouldn’t have given you a second look.”
“Only an idiot like Scarlett would fall for you.”
Lucas tried to say something else.
Senna added through gritted teeth:
‘Actually, no Scarlett wasn’t necessarily attracted to you.”
‘She just liked taking my stuff.”
From jewelry to men, Scarlett wanted to steal it all.”
The only thing special about you in her eyes was probably that you were my fiancé.”
Without that, Scarlett wouldn’t have looked twice at you.”
floated above, laughing my ass off.
enna really was my sister-she totally got me!
ucas got pissed and stepped forward to argue, but someone suddenly grabbed his shoulder.
e looked up to see Preston Kane giving him a stone-cold stare.
he Kane family heir lived up to his reputation-one look was enough to make Lucas stammer out an apology.
ut wait… he looked familiar. I felt like I’d seen him somewhere before.
probably saw his photo when I was looking for rich, powerful guys to hook up with.
shook my head and focused on hovering over Senna’s shoulder, mentally roasting Lucas.
verage-looking and thick-skinned. If Dad hadn’t arranged your engagement with my sister, I wouldn’t have bothered looking at you.
it Senna, you don’t know, do you?
is time, I was actually trying to save you.
oking at Senna’s distant expression, I couldn’t help but wonder:
hen she finds out that her little sister-who’d always loved competing with her-died to save her, would she still be able to wear that proud mask?
