At dusk, in a cozy little diner by the roadside, Annie and Chad sat across from each other. "So, if my math's right, Jade is a senior this year, yeah?"
Chad nodded, "Yep, she's starting her senior year this fall."
"It's summer break now. Why didn't she come to pick you up? She used to swing by our campus to take you home whenever she had a chance."
Chad sighed, "She's grown up now, following my mom to intern at the company. She's busier than I am."
Annie glanced at the ring on Chad's finger, "I didn't expect you to get married so soon. I heard she's Andre's younger sister. What's her name?"
Chad looked at his wedding ring, giving it a slight twist. "Molly."
"Molly again, even her name is the same as hers." Annie gave a bitter smile. "Chad, no offense, but I'm really curious. How did your wife win your heart, shifting your love from Jade to her? I chased you for over a year and was with you for two months, yet I couldn’t find a place in your heart, let alone surpass Jade. How did she do it?"
Chad noticed the tears welling up in Annie's eyes. He began slowly, "No one could ever take her place. The 'Molly' I married is the 'Jade Byrne' from back then."
"What? You guys, really, you…" Annie was stunned.
When she was dating Chad, she knew his affection for his sister exceeded normal sibling love. She had her suspicions, which were later confirmed. She always thought their taboo love would never last, yet Chad actually ended up marrying his sister?
"My biological sister passed away when she was five. Molly was a girl I found by the seaside. My mom was traumatized at the time, so we let Molly live under my sister's name, the 'Jade' you all met. Her real name is 'Molly.'"
"So, you knew from the start she wasn't your biological sister? That’s why you dared to love her so openly?"
Chad nodded.
He had always treated Molly as his real sister, unaware of when his feelings began to change, and by the time he realized, it was too late.
At that time, there was a girl who kept pursuing him, and everyone around them was pushing them together. To change his state of mind, he agreed to be with her. That girl was Annie, the woman sitting in front of him now.
After some time together, Chad still ended up breaking up with her. "Annie, I'm sorry for wasting your time. We're not meant for each other."
Others might not have noticed, but during that time, Annie, being close to Chad, clearly understood the special place someone else held in his heart.
Sometimes, when Chad was in class, she would sneak to his classroom, and accidentally bump into him. He would deliberately avoid her. Even when calling her name, others would playfully call her, but he, her boyfriend, would call her by her full name, more distant than a classmate.
She thought it was because they were not yet familiar or maybe Chad was just shy. However, when she saw the girl running towards him, and the smile that lit up Chad’s eyes upon seeing her, she knew.
"Bro, I heard there's a new barbecue place near your school. Let’s go eat. If you don’t want to, I'll just go with Mia and Leo."
Chad doted on her, "All my allowance goes to you."
Jade hugged Chad's arm and looked up at him with a cunning smile, "It’s not like I forced you at knifepoint to take me out to eat. You’re the one who’s willing to spend on me."
When Jade saw Annie, her eyes lit up with admiration, "Pretty sister! Bro, is she going to be my sister-in-law?"
Chad immediately flicked his sister's forehead, causing her to hold her head and yell on campus, "Chad, I'm not eating anymore. I'm going home to complain to mom about you hitting me; you nearly sent my head flying."
Chad's laughter filled the air, "If your head flew off, whose pig head is on your neck?"
Jade retorted with a sharp tongue, "I’m going to tell mom and dad that you called them pigs." She always dragged Chad down with her whenever she got into trouble. It was her usual tactic.
She stormed off, her anger evident, but the smile never left Chad’s face as he turned to Annie, "I have to go, you should head back to the dorm too."
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