Chapter 1

My online boyfriend had been my sister's nemesis.

He and my sister had been desk mates in high school, always competing for the top spot in their grade. He ranked first, while she ranked second.

They could barely stand each other, yet they both ended up attending the same university in our city.

Every time my sister came home for a break, she spent days complaining to me about him.

This time, she came home with her suitcase and an unusually bright smile on her face.

Mom teased her. "How come you did not mention your favorite nemesis this time? You seem to be in such a good mood. Do you have something going on?"

My sister laughed and handed Mom a gold necklace.

"Here. Your future son‑in‑law bought it for you."

The moment I saw the necklace in Mom's hand, my heart skipped a beat.

I pulled out my phone. My chat with Edward Jones was still there, our last conversation from 3 days earlier.

He had asked me, "Which of these gold necklaces do you think looks best?"

I had studied the pictures carefully before choosing one.

It was the exact same necklace Mom held.

My sister glanced at me and suddenly asked, "Suzanna, your final exam results are out, right? Have you decided which college you want to attend? You spend all day glued to that phone!"

Then she turned to Mom. "Mom, if Suzanna is not sure what she wants, you and Dad need to pay a little more attention to her..."

Mom had barely lifted a hand to wave her off when I spoke up.

"I have decided. I want to go to Solstice City."

My sister froze for a moment before saying, "Solstice City? That is more than 1,240 miles from home."

Chapter 1

"You have always been timid. How were you supposed to go that far away all by yourself when there would be no one there to take care of you?"

My sister, Nevaeh Charlton, frowned as she spoke.

My nose stung, and I lowered my head, my voice muffled. "I have made up my mind. There are more job opportunities there, and it will be easier to find a job after graduation."

Nevaeh noticed something was off with me, so she did not press any further.

Mom pressed her lips together, looking surprised.

After all, I had never mentioned wanting to move somewhere else before.

Afraid I would not be able to hold back my tears, I mumbled a few casual excuses and hurried back to my room, trying not to look as pathetic as I felt.

My sister had always been the one who stood out.

She was better at talking, better at winning people over, and better at school. She had even skipped several grades.

Whenever our relatives mentioned my sister, they praised Mom and Dad for being so lucky to have a daughter like her.

However, whenever the conversation turned to me, they exchanged awkward smiles. They said I was sensible, obedient, and easy to take care of.

Sensible. Obedient. No trouble.

Those were pretty much the only things I had going for me.

With my grades, the best I could hope for was an ordinary college. My sister, on the other hand, had always been the center of attention from elementary school through college.

That was also when she and Edward Jones first became tangled up with each other.

They had been desk mates for all 3 years of high school.

One ranked first in their grade, and the other ranked second. Neither of them was willing to admit defeat.

Edward could not stand my sister. He was annoyed that she always managed to beat him by just enough to stay on top, and he had an attitude to match.

Still, everyone could see what was really going on.

The more Edward claimed he could not stand my sister, the more often his eyes seemed to find her.

Every time we went home for a break, my sister spent days complaining to me about Edward.

She said he was childish, obnoxious, and annoying. She said there had to be something wrong with his brain. His grades were terrible, yet he was always trying to compete with her.

I sat beside her and quietly listened.

The more I heard his name, the more Edward slowly took up a little space in my heart.

Later, I met someone in a gaming group who had an incredibly sharp tongue.

His username was "Q."

He typed fast, and his words were even faster. Whenever he got into an argument with someone in the group, he never backed down.

I could not stand watching it, so I finally shot back at him.

Somehow, that night, the two of us ended up going back and forth in the group chat for hours.

By the end of it, he actually added me as a friend.

His very first message was:

[Not so good with words anymore? Why did you stop?]

I was still annoyed, so I replied:

[Are you crazy?]

He sent back a question mark. Then he wrote:

[Wow. You have quite a temper.]

We kept arguing for another 2 days. Then, on the third day, he suddenly asked me:

[Wanna play a game?]

Chapter 2

I replied:

[No.]

He asked again:

[Then why'd you add me?]

I typed back with an icy expression:

[You were the one who added me first, remember?]

There was a long silence on his end. Then one message appeared.

[Oh.]

That day, I stared at that single word for some reason, and a tiny smile slipped across my face.

After that, we somehow started getting closer.

We went from talking about games to school, from school to everyday life, and then from everyday life to saying good night every night before bed.

He did not know who I was. He did not know that I was Nevaeh's sister.

As for me, it was not until almost a month after we met that I slowly figured out who he was from a class schedule he sent me and some of his complaints about school.

Edward.

I stared at his name for a long time. My heart was pounding, yet I did not dare ask a single question.

I knew what I was doing was wrong, yet I could not make myself let him go.

Online, I was not Nevaeh's invisible little sister.

I could argue with him, I could tease him, and I could act like a brat. Whenever a message from him popped up on my phone, I could secretly be happy about it for hours.

Back then, he always called me Char.

One day, I asked him why.

He said:

[It rolls off the tongue.]

[It sounds kind of cute, too.]

I stared at those words as my ears slowly grew hot.

What I did not know was whether he called me Char because of me, or because he thought I was Nevaeh.

After the final exams, he confessed his feelings.

[Char, wanna give dating me a try?]

I stared at the message, completely stunned. It took me a long time to carefully type back:

[What do you like about me?]

Edward replied almost immediately.

[Your temper.]

[You're stubborn.]

[You love arguing with me.]

[Every single one of those things is annoying, but somehow, when you put them all together, I kind of like you.]

My hands were shaking so badly that I could barely hold my phone.

In the end, I sent back one word:

[Okay.]

From that day on, Edward became my boyfriend, as well as the deepest, most carefully guarded secret I had ever kept.

I thought that as long as I never told him the truth, things could stay this way forever.

Three days ago, Edward sent me several pictures of gold necklaces.

He asked:

[Which one do you think looks best?]

I lay on my stomach on the bed and studied them for a long time. In the end, I picked the simplest, most elegant one.

I told him:

[This one. I think an older relative would like it.]

Edward sent back a nodding emoji. Then he said:

[I think so too.]

At the time, I stared at my phone and secretly smiled for a long time.

Now, I stared at the gold necklace in Mom's hand, and my heart slowly sank to the bottom of my chest.

It was exactly the same one.

That was when I finally understood. He had not been asking me which necklace I liked. He had been asking me to pick out a gift for my sister.

The reason he had not replied to my messages for the past 3 days was not because he had been busy. He had been with Nevaeh instead.

I covered my mouth tightly with one hand, yet the tears still slipped down one after another.

My phone suddenly lit up. A message from Edward.

Just 3 words:

[Are you asleep?]

I stared at those 3 words, and my heart actually hurt.

Moments earlier, at the dinner table, my sister had been laughing as she said the necklace was a gift from her future boyfriend.

The truth was right in front of me, yet Edward still messaged me as if nothing had happened.

I stared at the screen for a long time. In the end, I did not reply. I opened his profile and deleted him.

I did not block him. I simply removed him from my contacts, as if I were leaving myself one last way out without making things even more humiliating.

The moment I deleted him, I felt strangely empty.

Then, almost the very next second, a new friend request popped up.

Chapter 3

The note attached to the request said:

[Char, what are you getting so mad about?]

My fingers trembled, and the tears came even harder.

He actually thought I was just throwing a fit.

I did not accept the request. I turned off my phone and tossed it onto the bed.

Less than 2 minutes later, the screen lit up again. Another friend request. This time, the note said:

[Reply when you see this.]

I bit down hard on my lip and stared at those words, my heart aching all over again.

This had always been the way whenever we fought.

If I ignored him, he kept coming after me, message after message. He always acted tough, yet he was clingier than anyone.

Once, I deliberately ignored him for half a day. He sent more than a dozen messages. Finally, as if he had reached the end of his patience, he sent:

[If you keep ignoring me, I'm calling the cops.]

I replied:

[For what?]

He said:

[My online girlfriend went missing.]

At the time, I had laughed so hard that I collapsed over my desk and could not straighten up for ages.

Now, as I stared at his friend request, my eyes burned so badly that I could barely keep them open.

Then I finally understood.

All that patience, all that clinginess I had once believed was meant only for me might never have been mine to begin with. Perhaps some of it had never been meant for me at all.

I curled up beside my bed and put my phone on silent, yet the requests kept popping up one after another.

[?]

[Where are you?]

[Char.]

[What's wrong with you? You didn't like the necklace?]

[Talk to me.]

The last message came 10 minutes later.

Just a few short words.

[Did something happen?]

I closed my eyes, and a tear landed on the screen.

Even now, he was still worried about me. Yet I did not even have the right to question him.

Because from beginning to end, I was the one who had hidden my identity first.

I had no idea how he and my sister had ended up together, how they had started talking about their online relationship, or how he had mistaken me for my sister's secret account.

Whatever the truth was, I could not keep going.

The next morning, Mom called me out to fill out my college applications.

I walked out with swollen eyes, and Nevaeh was already sitting on the couch.

She had just washed her hair. It was still half wet, and she was looking down at her phone, replying to messages.

When she saw me, she frowned. "You've been crying?"

I immediately lowered my head. "No. I just didn't sleep well last night."

She studied me for a few seconds, clearly not convinced. However, she did not ask any more questions. She simply pushed a glass of warm milk toward me.

"Drink this first."

I gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment.

As soon as I sat down, Nevaeh's phone suddenly rang. She glanced at the screen. Her expression turned cold, and she hung up.

Mom smiled from beside us. "Your boyfriend?"

Nevaeh gave a dismissive scoff. "Who knows what he's freaking out about.

"He's been asking me all kinds of weird questions since yesterday."

My grip tightened around the glass.

Mom looked interested. "What kind of questions?"

Nevaeh frowned, her voice full of irritation.

"He asked if I remembered things I used to say to him. He asked if I was pretending not to know him on purpose. He even asked if I had a secret account.

"So weird."

My breath caught, and my fingers suddenly went cold.

Mom laughed. "That is because he cares about you.

"That is what young people do when they are dating."

Nevaeh curled her lips into an icy smile.

"Who said I'm dating him?

"If he likes me or not, that is his problem."

However, despite saying she did not care, she still did not block him.

I looked at her beautiful, distant face, and a deep sense of helplessness settled over me.

It had always been this way.

Ever since we were little, she never had to try to get everyone's attention. It simply came to her.

Meanwhile, I had fought so hard just to hide one tiny little crush, only to end up feeling like a complete joke.

At noon, I went to school to pick up my college application forms. My teacher studied my tran for a long time before looking up at me.

"Are you sure you want to apply to a college out of state?"

I nodded.

"Yes. I'm sure."

She frowned.

"With your grades, you could easily stay here and go to a local school. Why move so far away?"

I lowered my eyes and said quietly:

"I want to get farther away from home."

The words were vague, yet I knew exactly what I wanted to get away from: everything in this city, including him.

The sun was blazing when I left school. I lowered my head and walked toward the front gate when my phone suddenly buzzed.

Another friend request.

It was Edward again.

Apparently, he was not giving up. He had switched to another account and tried adding me again.

The profile picture was completely black, and the note was short:

[Don't ignore me.]

I stood at the school gate and stared at those words for a long time.

The wind made my eyes sting. In the end, I still did not accept the request. I simply turned off my phone.

When I got home that evening, Nevaeh was not there.

Mom told me she had gone out. I gave a quiet hum and went back to my room to sort through my college paperwork.

Not long after, I heard a car pull up downstairs. My heart gave an inexplicable jump.

Without thinking, I walked over to the window and looked down.

A black car was parked outside, and a boy was leaning against the door, his head lowered as he stared at his phone. I could see only his side profile, yet I recognized him instantly.

Edward.

I froze.

Chapter 4

Almost at the same time, I heard the front door open downstairs.

It was Nevaeh.

She must have seen the person outside, too. She stood in the entryway for a couple of seconds before frowning and heading downstairs.

I hid behind the curtain and watched them talk beneath the tree.

They were too far away for me to hear what they were saying, yet I could tell Nevaeh was getting impatient. She stood with her arms crossed, her face cold, saying something I could not make out.

Edward stood in front of her. His usual carefree expression was unusually tense. He looked like he was holding back his anger, or maybe trying to confirm something.

Finally, he said something in a low voice, and Nevaeh's expression changed slightly.

A few seconds later, she let out an icy laugh and turned to leave.

Edward stood there, frozen for a moment. Then he stepped forward and grabbed Nevaeh's hand.

Under the streetlight, the two of them hugged.

I gripped the windowsill, my hands and feet turning cold.

That night, Edward did not send another friend request.

I deleted that account for good. It felt like if I erased it, I could erase that secret, shameful relationship between Edward and me along with it.

Once I received my college admission notice, I quickly packed my things and moved to another state.

On the day I left, Nevaeh drove me to the airport. She pushed my suitcase along while complaining that I was taking too long.

"Do you have all your documents?

"Text us when you get there.

"If you don't like the dorm, tell me. I'll send you whatever you need."

I answered softly, yet my eyes kept burning.

Right before I boarded the plane, she suddenly shoved a card into my hand.

"If you don't have enough spending money, use this."

I quickly shook my head. "I have money."

She frowned, her voice suddenly sharp.

"I said take it.

"Don't make things hard for yourself out there."

My nose stung, and I almost burst into tears right there.

Nevaeh had always been like that. Her words could be sharp, yet her heart was impossibly soft.

Once college began, I settled into my new life: a new roommate, a new class schedule, and a new city.

Nevaeh messaged me every now and then.

Sometimes she asked if I was cold, other times she complained that I was ignoring her calls again. Sometimes she also told me about her relationship with Edward.

According to her, he was still the same as ever, annoying as hell, with a bad temper and an increasingly controlling streak. He was always checking her phone and questioning who she was talking to.

I could tell that Nevaeh did have some feelings for Edward.

Toward the end of my freshman fall semester, the university announced an exchange program that would let students study abroad for a year.

The requirements were demanding, and the application process was complicated.

My roommate asked why I suddenly wanted to apply. I lowered my head and sorted through my paperwork.

"I just want to see the world."

That was not really true. I just wanted to get farther away.

Before winter break, Mom called and told me to come home early. There was something the family needed to discuss.

I asked what it was. There was a brief pause on the other end of the phone. Then she laughed.

"You'll find out when you get home."

For some reason, my heart sank.

I bought a ticket home but did not tell them exactly when I would arrive.

It was evening when I finally got home.

I dragged my suitcase to the front door and had just reached for the keypad when the door opened from inside.

Mom was standing there. She clearly had not expected me to show up at that hour. She froze for a second, then broke into a smile.

"Suzanna's home? Why didn't you tell us you were coming?"

I was just about to answer when the voices coming from the living room suddenly stopped.

I looked up and saw several people sitting on the couch. Dad was there, along with Nevaeh, and sitting beside her was Edward.

He was dressed all in black, sitting in my family's living room with tea and several gift boxes arranged in front of him.

My feet stopped moving.

The air seemed to go still, and everyone turned to look at me.

Nevaeh was the first to recover. She stood up and walked toward me.

"Why did you come home at this hour?"

She casually took my suitcase from me, her tone perfectly normal. I could not stop myself from looking at Edward.

He was looking at me, too.

For one brief moment, his expression was completely blank.

However, I still caught the tiny pause in his eyes.

The next second, he casually looked away as if nothing had happened.

Mom smiled beside me.

"We were just talking to Edward about your sister's engagement.

"Your timing is perfect."

Engagement.

The word hit me like a blow to the chest. My breathing felt heavy.

However, all I could do was nod. "Yeah."

Nevaeh pulled me farther inside. "Go put your things away first."

Before I could move, Edward suddenly spoke from the couch. His voice was calm, almost casual.

"Getting used to college?"

My fingers tightened. "Yeah. Pretty much."

He nodded. Then, as if he were asking something completely ordinary, he added:

"You dating anyone?"

The question made everyone in the living room freeze for a moment.

Mom was the first to laugh.

"Her? She's too timid. How could she start dating this early?"

I looked up at Edward, only to find his eyes already on me. My throat tightened.

After a couple of seconds, I finally said quietly:

"No.

"However, I applied for an exchange program abroad. I won't be coming home for the holidays next year."

The moment I finished speaking, everyone's expression changed.

Edward remained seated on the couch, his grip tightening around the teacup in his hand.