Chapter 1

After five years of marriage, despite all the social stigma and the fact that he was her stepbrother, Everly realized he was cheating on her.

He was seeing a girl who was her polar opposite.

The young girl was radiant, daring, and spoiled. If she even scratched a finger, she would pout and demand he comfort her.

Everly, on the other hand, had lived under the Bennett family's roof for years, knowing all too well that she was nothing more than an unwanted burden. She had learned to swallow her pain early on; even if she broke a bone, she would bite her lip and stay silent, too terrified to even let out a cry.

Behind the curtain in the hospital room, the young girl hadn't stopped whining since she started getting her wound cleaned.

"Damon, this is all your fault! If I hadn't been busy cooking for you, I wouldn't be suffering like this."

"Damon, it hurts so much… it's all your fault, all your fault!"

"Damon…"

Then there was Everly. Her entire arm was soaked in blood, with grit and fabric fused to her torn flesh. The pain was excruciating. When the doctor used tweezers to peel away the scraps of cloth stuck to her skin, she simply gritted her teeth, not making a sound.

That was when she heard the man's voice from behind the neighboring curtain―tender, patient, and full of indulgence.

"Alright, alright, it's my fault. Don't cry, my little queen. From now on, let the help handle the cooking, okay?"

At that moment, Everly couldn't hold back her tears; they simply flowed down, unbidden.

She thought that if she hadn't heard that exact same voice whispering those sweet nothings to her in bed every single night, she might have actually felt envious and wished the happy couple well.

But this was Damon…

The only person who had ever been kind to her while she was staying in the Bennett house.

When the household staff bullied her, forcing her to wash their clothes in freezing water during the dead of winter, it was Damon who stepped in to defend her, firing and punishing those servants.

When a group of mean girls cornered her in the bathroom to film her, it was Damon who arrived just in time, wrapping her in his crisp, clean school jacket and warning them that Everly was his sister―and anyone who bullied her was an enemy of the Bennett family!

When her own mother set her up, delivering her to the bed of a lecherous forty-year-old widower, it was Damon who kicked the hotel door open, his hands trembling as he pulled her from the devil's grip.

That night, Damon took ninety-nine lashes from his father just to ensure Everly didn't suffer a single scratch.

And it was that same night that he took her and fled the Bennett house, embarking on a life of being hunted and ostracized.

The once-dignified prince of the Bennett family had been reduced to delivering food and courier packages just to survive.

Even so, he scrimped and saved every penny to put Everly through college.

It was Damon who told her she could be weak, that she could be brave, that she could drop her guard, and that she didn't have to suffer in silence…

Yet, this was the same Damon who, when she called him twenty-seven times after a car accident, hadn't picked up a single one. Instead, he was busy coddling a girl who had come to the hospital for a minor scratch.

Everly's tears flowed uncontrollably, and her whole body shook.

The nurse thought she was crying because of the pain. "It's okay to scream if it hurts, honey. This cloth is really embedded in the wound; it's not easy to pull out."

Everly nodded through red-rimmed eyes, still not making a sound.

The nurse sighed. "Haven't you reached your family yet? Even though your accident isn't life-threatening, it's still better to have someone here with you."

Everly shook her head, tears dripping down one by one.

She remained silent, and the nurse stopped talking as well.

Then, the girl's sweet, sugary voice drifted from the next stall again. "Damon, I think your 'little sister' got into a car accident too. She sent you messages and called a bunch of times. Aren't you going to check on her?"

The reply was a light, amused chuckle from the man. "Everly is different from you. She's always been timid and good at enduring. Since she can still call and text, it means she's fine. No need to worry about her."

"Unlike you, getting a scratch just from cooking. If I didn't keep an eye on you, I don't know what you'd do."

Though the words sounded annoyed, the indulgence in his tone was enough to make anyone's teeth ache.

Everly kept her head down, her fingers tightening into fists.

Something must have happened behind the curtain to make Damon gasp, followed by a note of helplessness in his voice.

"See? I can't even say a word to you. If I really went to show her some concern, you'd probably tear the house down."

"I'll tear it down right now if I want!"

The girl raised her voice, and her movement lifted the corner of the curtain.

In her peripheral vision, Everly saw the beautiful, spoiled girl straddle the man's lap, boldly biting his lips.

The man's handsome face wore a smile, his long arm naturally wrapping around her slender waist as he deepened the kiss.

The blue curtain fell back into place, and soon, the sound of wet, rhythmic kisses and muffled, restrained breathing filled the air…

The young nurse shot Everly an awkward glance and coughed slightly, but the sounds next door didn't stop.

Everly stared straight ahead, expressionless.