Chapter 4The Perfect Illusion

A few days later, Liam seemed to have finally processed the fact that I wasn’t his biological sister. Seeing that my mood had stabilized, he cautiously brought up the topic.

It seemed a major life crisis really could make a person grow up overnight. I even found myself reflecting on my own behavior. Liam had always been so good to me, and I’d used his love to emotionally blackmail him. It was completely out of line. The old me, the one who held everyone else to impossible standards while letting myself off the hook, would never have thought that way.

But I wasn’t a pampered heiress anymore.

A girl’s got to know when to adapt.

I sighed inwardly and forced a smile. “It’s a good thing Mom and Dad found their real daughter. What’s her name? Where does she go to school?”

Liam looked at me, his gaze deep and unreadable.

“Her name is Isla. She’s currently studying abroad… at the same university as Ethan Vance. It seems they’re… quite close.”

He paused on the last sentence, his eyes dropping to avoid mine.

I froze.

Isla. I’d heard that name before.

The first time was during a phone call with Ethan. I heard a girl’s voice in the background and immediately, jealously demanded to know who she was. He was silent for a moment before answering coolly, “Isla. She’s a classmate in my project group.”

The second time, Mia got accepted into an exchange program at the same university as Ethan. Knowing about my massive crush, she volunteered to do some recon for me. She found out that he and this Isla girl had indeed partnered on several major projects.

And the third time… was Liam telling me she was the real Howard heiress.

Trashy romance novels were too tame. My life was way more dramatic. If I flipped off the sky right now, would it strike me with lightning? What cosmic force had I pissed off to deserve this?

Seeing me looking completely lost, Liam sighed softly.

“Ethan has always been cold and aloof. I never wanted you to pursue him because I was afraid you’d get hurt. If you—”

I shook my head vigorously, my gaze determined. “Don’t worry, Liam. I’m done chasing him.”

The Vances and the Howards were old family friends. Ethan and I had grown up together. He was brilliant, devastatingly handsome, and had this untouchable, icy aura that perfectly fit my image of the unattainable male lead. So I used our childhood connection to stake my claim, making sure not a single other girl got near him for years.

He once said he liked girls who were his equal, so I gritted my teeth and studied for hundreds of sleepless nights to get into a top university in the same city as him. Although Ethan was cold to everyone, he always tacitly allowed my not-so-subtle advances. I took that as a sign that he wasn't rejecting me, which only encouraged me to try harder. Our families had even floated the idea of us getting engaged after graduation.

But now, by some twist of fate, he’d met the real heiress, Isla. This must be what he meant by his “equal.”

What could I do? Fate itself had tied them together. I couldn’t even imagine how ugly my downfall would be if I refused to see the writing on the wall and kept clinging to him.

Hearing my answer, Liam’s eyes flickered, and his Adam’s apple bobbed.

“Really?”

I nodded glumly. “For real. Being in different countries for so long… the feelings have faded. I don’t think I even liked him that much anymore.”

Ugh, such a clumsy lie. He’d see right through it. He could always tell when I was just pretending to be tough. I braced myself for his comforting words, but when I looked up, I was stunned.

“Hey, what are you smiling about?”

Liam’s smile hadn’t quite vanished. He quickly raised a fist to his mouth and cleared his throat.

“Good. It’s good to see you’ve come to your senses.”

My senses?

Where were my senses supposed to be? I had a feeling he was mocking me. I eyed him suspiciously for a long moment.

He suddenly stood up, back to his usual prim and proper self. “I’m heading to work.”