Chapter 1Not Your Average Brother

When my real family found the true daughter they’d been missing, I staged a hunger strike at home.

"Now that the real daughter is back, you guys definitely won't love me anymore. I'm going on a hunger strike. I'm going to enter my villain era."

My big brother, just like when we were kids, smacked me right on the butt.

I froze.

He turned bright red.

After the real daughter moved in, my big brother snuck into my room one night.

"Do you have any idea how long I've wanted you? Little sister."

* * *

I always thought if our family ever had some dramatic "switched at birth" scandal, it would surely involve my big brother, Sebastian.

Because honestly, the rest of us—Mom, Dad, and me—are total sweethearts with heads full of clouds.

Sebastian, on the other hand, is this cool, brilliant, unattainable figure who often seems like he doesn't belong with us goofballs.

When Sebastian came home from work, I was busy packing my bags.

He leaned against the doorframe, his long legs crossed.

His gold-rimmed glasses perched on his high nose, hiding most of his emotions. But I could still feel his exasperation.

He rubbed his temples wearily.

"Princess, what are you fussing about now?"

I shot him a sideways glance but didn't stop packing.

"Your biological sister is coming back. You guys are going to stop loving me any second now. I'm running away from home. I'm entering my villain era."

Sebastian scoffed. "Villain era? How exactly?"

I stood up, annoyed.

"None of your business. Anyway, the next time we meet, I won't be the same Harper you knew."

Saying that, I grabbed a bag bigger than me and swung it onto my shoulder.

Momentum took over, and I spun in a circle before face-planting on the floor.

Sebastian sighed softly.

I looked up at him, pouting, tears ready on command.

"I fell and you didn't even help me up. You just laughed. You don't love me anymore. Waahhh~"

Sebastian resigned himself to his fate and grabbed my arm to help me up.

But I refused to budge.

Right now, I was harder to wrangle than a greased pig.

Sebastian had to crouch down to meet my eyes. He spoke in that gentle tone he uses to coax children.

"Be good. Even without a blood relation, our bond over all these years is the same. Eat first, okay?"

Sebastian held up a bowl of soup. It was my favorite—corn and pork rib soup.

He had even thoughtfully picked out all the scallions.

I don't eat scallions, but I think the soup lacks flavor without them cooked in. So Sebastian always painstakingly picks every single green bit out for me.

But I was still mad.

I didn't know what exactly I was mad about, but I was fuming.

"I'm not eating. I'm on a hunger strike. You're not my brother, you have no right to boss me around."

In my struggle, I accidentally knocked the bowl over.

Sebastian instinctively moved the bowl away from me.

So the entire bowl of hot soup splashed onto him.

I watched the pale skin on his arm turn angry red instantly.

But Sebastian, as if he couldn't feel pain, grabbed my wrist with red-rimmed eyes.

"What did you say? I'm not what?"

Growing up, I was most afraid of Sebastian.

I was the late-in-life baby, the only girl in this generation of the Sterling family. Even my strict grandfather would crack a smile when he saw me.

So I was spoiled rotten by the family, practically lawless.

Only Sebastian, my big brother, strictly managed me. Studies, friends, manners.

I was willful and bratty, but thanks to Sebastian, I didn't grow up crooked and even achieved a little success.

I feared him, but I relied on him even more.

So when I found out I wasn't the Sterlings' biological daughter, the first person I thought of was Sebastian.

Big Brother isn't my big brother anymore.

What do I do?