When the kiss finally broke, Lily gently nuzzled against his face.
“Ethan, on your wedding day, do you dare to elope with me?”
“You mean…”
Ethan’s eyes lit up briefly. He lightly brushed her nose with his finger, and they smiled at each other.
Closing the screen, I laughed, too.
My smile was so bitter that it drew glances from passersby.
My heart felt like it was being crushed under a heavy weight — a pain that was unbearable yet unavoidable.
The most cruel part wasn’t that I had become Lily’s substitute, but that the man I loved had calculated and humiliated me.
Ethan, you are truly ruthless!
I sat by the roadside for what felt like hours, my thoughts swirling in a chaotic mess, until I saw Ethan walking out with Lily. His arm, which had been protectively wrapped around hers, dropped the moment he noticed me.
"Why are you sitting here instead of going inside? It’s filthy," he remarked with disdain, completely oblivious to my tear-swollen eyes. As my gaze fell on Lily, he instinctively moved to shield her, his stance resembling the way he used to protect me when we were children.
But now, our roles have reversed. I couldn’t help but curl my lips into a bitter smile. I hadn't even said anything yet, but Ethan spoke first.
“Don’t misunderstand,” he began hastily. “Lily drank too much tonight, so I just brought her back here to rest for a bit. She was feeling embarrassed and wanted to leave as soon as it got dark. I was worried about her going alone, so I thought I’d walk her back.”
Ethan, who never bothered to explain himself to me, was now stumbling over his words, trying to justify Lily's presence. He seemed like a stranger, a man I barely knew, even though I had stood by his side for twenty-two years.
I took a deep breath, my tone filled with sarcasm. “If she had any sense, she wouldn't be here with someone else's fiancé. And, by the way, it's already past midnight.”
Exposed, Ethan's expression quickly darkened. “Samantha, Lily is your sister. What do you mean by saying that?”
Sister?
I felt my eyelashes tremble. He was calling the woman who had taken everything from me, my sister. Did he forget what Lily had done to me?