Chapter 4My Brother and I Got Our Wires Crossed

Once everything was finalized, both the Vance and Sterling families were thrilled.

My brother and I smoothly added Serena and Arthur on WeChat.

But after more than half a month, my chat history with Arthur hadn't progressed past the initial, formal greeting from the day we added each other.

On the other hand, Serena—my future sister-in-law—was incredibly enthusiastic toward me.

Every single day, rain or shine, she reliably sent me "Good morning," "Good afternoon," and "Goodnight."

One day, Serena sent me a photo.

It was a picture of a fair, beautiful hand. The fingers were long and slender, the knuckles distinct, and the nails were filed into neat, rounded shapes.

Looking at the photo of Serena's hand, I thought about her face and the faint scent she always carried, and I swallowed hard.

If that hand were...

Realizing my thoughts were drifting into very inappropriate territory, I quickly shook my head, trying to dump the dirty trash out of my brain.

My focus returned, and I finally noticed that Serena had also sent a message.

[Little Chloe, what do you think of this wedding ring?]

Following Serena's text, I noticed she was actually wearing a ring in the photo.

It was a silver band with an intricate, interwoven design, set with a beautiful diamond shaped like a rose. It was understated yet luxurious.

Thinking about our conversations over the past few days, I felt a wave of profound defeat.

Even though my fiancé, Arthur, hadn't spoken a single word to me, the woman of my dreams spent every day talking to me... about my brother.

Damn it, is my sister-in-law actually straight?

The thought that she would be marrying my brother in a few months made me so miserable I couldn't even speak.

I threw a little inner tantrum and deliberately replied:

[It's ugly.]

I didn't expect Serena to reply instantly.

[What's wrong? Do you not like it?]

I froze, suddenly realizing that this was her and my brother's wedding ring. I shouldn't be so petty.

Just as I was trying to figure out how to backtrack, Serena sent another message.

[Since little Chloe doesn't like it, next time you can come with me to pick one out.]

My brain short-circuited. I couldn't figure out what was going on.

When I looked up, I saw my brother looking equally depressed.

We looked like two neglected concubines in a royal palace, staring at each other with mutual disgust, sighing deeply.

I asked him: "How are things going on your end?"

My brother shook his head and sighed: "Don't even ask. When I chat with him, eight out of ten sentences are about you."

Then he asked me: "What about you?"

I let out a long sigh, my face full of bitterness: "Same."

We hugged each other, buried our heads in each other's shoulders, and cried.