Chapter 5

My relationship with Kate was complicated.

We were indeed twins, but we hadn't grown up together.

I'd been with our parents in New York while they ran their business; she'd stayed with our grandparents in our hometown.

Our parents always felt they'd wronged her. After bringing her to New York, they doted on her excessively and made me give in to her in everything.

Whenever anything happened, it was always:

"You stole Kate's affection. You owe her this!"

Later, when my sister didn't get into high school, our parents sent her to study in Europe while I stayed in the country. We weren't very close to each other.

So hearing her speak to me in such a warm, familiar tone, my first reaction was confusion:

"What do you want?"

"I heard from Mom about our family's arrangement with Matias."

Hearing my impatience, she stopped with the fake politeness:

"Now that I'm back, shouldn't you return the position of Matias's wife to me?"

"Come back to steal the position! What, did that gangster boyfriend dump you?" I mocked.

"Violet, don't push your luck!" She lowered her voice angrily:

"Don't forget, the Matias's wife that the Williams family acknowledges is only me, Kate. What right does a fake like you have to be arrogant?"

She had a point. Whether it was the Johnson family claiming their married-off daughter, or the wife Matias publicly acknowledged, it was Kate.

Sometimes when Matias got in the mood, he'd call me Kate sweetly in bed.

Disgusting.

I crossed my arms: "I can't clean up your mess for nothing!"

"What do you mean?" She asked warily.

"Give me ten million, or we'll go to Matias and hash out who's really his wife."

I said with a beaming smile:

"Ten million for the position of Matias's wife—that's a great deal."

Out of guilt toward her, our parents stopped giving me money after I became an adult, using all their money to support her instead.

When I was working odd jobs everywhere to pay for tuition, she was living it up in Europe.

I had to get back some of what I was owed.

But no matter how much our parents spoiled her, they couldn't give her the entire family fortune.

Ten million—even if she could come up with it, it would cost her dearly.

So she hesitated for a long time before asking cautiously: "You promise you'll leave after taking the money?"

"If you don't trust me, forget it. I'll go right now..."

"Don't... I'll give it to you!"

She made up her mind: "I'll give it to you, but you have to promise never to appear in front of Matias again."

I agreed readily.

After hanging up, my mood improved considerably. I removed all my makeup, put on a blouse and pencil skirt, and admired my figure in the mirror.

Thinking about how Matias said I was imitating and seducing him, I was silent for a moment, then let out a soft laugh.

I found it absurd, but I didn't want to cause more trouble.

I replaced the pearl earrings with sapphire ones, then dug a long trench coat out of the closet, covering my body's curves completely, before heading out to work.