An hour ago, I walked past the makeup room and saw my sister, Catherine Darnell.
She was sitting on Edward Montgomery's lap, wearing a short skirt.
Edward smiled and held her close, teasing her bra through the thin fabric.
Catherine lifted his chin with a finger: "I'm encouraging Cecilia to propose to you tonight. You won't refuse her, right?"
Edward scoffed: "If it wasn't for her acting like a dog when I broke my leg three years ago, always there for me, making my mom like her, I wouldn't have bothered with her."
He continued, "To put it nicely, she's obedient and sensible. To put it bluntly, she's just a maid."
"She's been obedient these three years, hasn't asked me about marriage, but if she dares to ask, I'll break up with her immediately."
"Playing around with her is fine, but marrying her... thinking about it, it's actually quite terrifying."
He shuddered at the thought.
Catherine gently rubbed his thigh: "So, I'm the better one, huh? I'm willing to play whatever games with you."
Edward's eyes darkened as he pinned her head and kissed her deeply.
That night, I cried in the storage room until the party started.
At the party, for the first time, I zoned out in front of Edward.
I was holding the bouquet and engagement ring.
The original plan was for me to propose to him tonight.
Because my sister Catherine told me she saw a tattoo on Edward's body, "CDS."
Cecilia Darnell.
I got overly excited, but how could I almost forget? My sister's initials are also these three letters.
The comment was full of regret:
"Wait until the second female lead proposes to Edward and gets rejected, crying, 'But I knew your tattoo had my initials,' he'll mock her for being delusional, that the tattoo is actually for Catherine."
"I say, these two are really despicable. They're together, but still trick the second female lead into proposing, then embarrass her in public, making her the laughingstock of the entire party for years."
"They just treat the second female lead as a part of their game. Poor thing, they were sweet to her, and now look."
"The second female lead's sister is the sweet, pampered female lead, taking away all of the second female lead's fortune."
I froze.
So, Catherine is the female lead.
No wonder whatever I had would be taken away by her.
When I showed my mom my first-place award from the competition, Catherine immediately clung to mom, asking her to buy her a new dress, stealing all her attention.
I had a talent for playing the cello, and Catherine, seeing me praised by the teacher, demanded to learn too, but after years of lessons, she only reached a beginner level.
When we both entered the same cello competition, I spent months preparing day and night.
But on the day of the competition, my mom locked me at home because my performance was scheduled before Catherine's. They feared I'd stress her out, so they locked me in and didn't let me compete.
Even so, my sister still made mistakes at the competition. To comfort her, my parents took her to a five-star restaurant, forgetting about me locked at home.
I entered a prestigious university, but Catherine failed.
When my parents refused to accept interviews, I casually mentioned if I would receive any rewards. Catherine immediately started crying, and my mom slapped me.
They always said Catherine was cute and kind, and I should protect her, not let her feel sad.
Catherine was indeed a naïve sweetheart, at least on the surface.
She was the beneficiary of everything, never had to fight for herself, everyone around her fought for her.
She knew I liked Edward since I was young, so she always whispered in my ear: "Cecilia, you're so smart and pretty, Edward will definitely marry you."
"He likes obedient girls. You're perfect for him."
But while saying this, she secretly dated Edward behind my back for who knows how long.
Seeing me zoning out, Catherine nudged me: "What are you spacing out for? Propose already."
The comment flooded my screen again:
"Damn, propose, propose! Once you do, your knees will be sore by the end of the night."
"Julian's already looking over here. His gaze is so intense, he might just devour the second female lead on the spot. Good luck to her."
"Sigh, who told the second female lead to be such a drama queen? She messed with the wrong guy, mistook him for Edward, then got him in bed."
"She kept forcing it for a month, then said his skills in bed were too poor and dumped him. No wonder he turned dark and prepared the basement for her."
I looked at Julian and swallowed hard.
