The CEO's Sister, The Rival's Wife

The bells of the Starlight Charity Gala echoed through the glittering night.

Suppressing the frantic flutter in my chest, I texted my secret lover, Edwin, the Vice President of the Cameron Group.

"When are we going to tell everyone, Edwin? When can we finally go public?"

As I held my breath, waiting for his reply, my brother, Connor—the CEO of the group—suddenly raised his hand.

He gestured toward the center of the stage, his voice edged with surprise.

"Hey, Audrey, isn't that Edwin? He's holding some girl's hand... What's going on?"

My gaze shot to where Connor was pointing.

In that instant, it felt as if all the blood in my body had turned to ice.

There was Edwin, down on one knee, proposing tenderly to a girl I recognized immediately.

It was Anaya, the intern Edwin had personally recruited just a week ago.

The one he'd supposedly been "mentoring."

My stare must have burned a hole through him, because Edwin suddenly looked up, his eyes locking with mine.

The moment he saw me, his pupils constricted.

A few seconds later, he slowly rose to his feet, taking the girl's hand.

"Connor, Audrey. Allow me to make a formal introduction."

"This is Anaya, my fiancée."

When his eyes met mine, they immediately darted away.

He shot a quick, nervous glance at my pale face before turning to Anaya beside him.

"This is Audrey, CEO Connor's sister. As far as I'm concerned, she's like a little sister."

A year. A whole year we’d shared a bed, and this is what I was to him? A "little sister."

Fine. Let’s see how you feel when your "little sister" marries the CEO of a rival company. You'll wish me well then, won't you, Edwin?

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1

Anaya turned her head, her eyes glinting with pure triumph.

"Audrey, we'll be seeing a lot more of each other at the office from now on."

She leaned into Edwin, her hands gripping his arm possessively.

"After all, an executive-in-the-making like Edwin is incredibly busy. The company demands all of his attention."

"He barely has the energy to guide a newcomer like me."

I stared at the dazzling diamond engagement ring on her finger.

My eyes burned, and a cold, toxic jealousy wrapped around my heart like a vine.

Edwin was busy, all right.

Busy lying to me that he was stuck in a tedious board meeting.

Busy holding another girl's hand and basking in the congratulations of New York's elite.

Busy kissing another woman under the glaring spotlight while I stared at my phone, waiting for a text that would never come.

The tips of Edwin's ears flushed an unnatural shade of red.

He looked down at Anaya, his voice softening with a tenderness I had never heard from him.

"Don't say that. No matter how busy I am, I'd never neglect you."

"Whenever you've needed me, haven't I always shown up right away?"

His words were like swallowing broken glass, a bitter bile burning its way up my throat.

I remembered a week ago, when a raging fever left me too weak to even get out of bed.

I texted him from my empty apartment, pleading for him to come.

He only replied that he was swamped with an urgent project.

He told me to just order some takeout, and then his phone went dead silent.

It turned out he wasn't out of time.

His time had just never belonged to me.

Just then, Connor gave Edwin a hearty slap on the shoulder.

His voice boomed with genuine enthusiasm.

"This is fantastic, Edwin! A Vice President and a fiancée all in one night. I'm truly happy for you."

He then turned to me, a teasing glint in his eyes.

"You know, for a while there, I almost thought you and Audrey might have something going on."

"After all, you're my right-hand man, and you two always seemed so close."

Connor let out a hearty laugh, taking a celebratory gulp of champagne.

"But seeing your fiancée today, I see how wrong I was!"

Cheers and applause erupted around us.

The sound only served to drain the last bit of color from my face.

Edwin spoke up almost immediately, his tone flawlessly smooth.