Always Sylvie

I was the princess of the Capital Circle.

A lot of people wanted to date me, including the prodigy who had been my tutor for a long time.

I noticed him secretly stealing glances at me.

I crushed his hopes instantly. "We're not from the same world."

He blushed and turned his head away.

After graduation, he made his fortune in software and became one of the Capital Circle's new elite.

We met again at a banquet, where he walked up to my sister.

"Let me introduce you. This is my girlfriend."

I knew he was doing it to get back at me.

But I was dying.

1

It had been five years since I'd last seen Joel Alastair, and I never expected to see him again in a place like this.

At the engagement ceremony, Joel Alastair and my sister, Fiona Sterling, exchanged rings under the watchful eyes of every guest.

They were the perfect couple, lauded by all.

And I, once the untouchable Red Rose of the Capital Circle, was now just a waitress carrying a tray in the corner.

Everyone in the Capital Circle knew that I, Sylvia Sterling, was a materialistic woman who had abandoned Joel Alastair when Alastair's company was at its lowest point.

It was my sister, Fiona Sterling, who had stood by him for five years while he staged his comeback.

My own parents, ashamed to have a daughter like me, had kicked me out of the house.

And the once-renowned Sterling Family of the Capital Circle, thanks to Fiona, had been saved from collapse by a helping hand from Joel Alastair, narrowly avoiding ruin.

But back then, I was the one who had slowly warmed that gloomy delinquent, transforming him into a cool, aloof prodigy.

In a daze, I saw it all again: the obsessive love, like a tidal wave in the eyes of that intense boy under the cherry blossom tree, as he confessed to me, word by word.

"Sylvie, you are the only light in my bleak life! I like you. I really, really like you!"

We spent those sweet, youthful years together and had planned to get married right after college graduation.

'So how did it all end up like this?'

RING RING RING.

I fought back tears.

"Hello?"

"Miss Sterling, your late-stage Stomach Cancer can't be put off any longer. Prompt treatment can still extend your life."

My voice was flat.

"I know. I'm working to save up the money."

The past is smoke. Joel Alastair and I live in two different worlds now.

We'll likely never cross paths again. Letting go of the past is a way of letting myself go free, too.

But I never imagined they wouldn't let me go.

Suddenly, the banquet hall went dark.

Just as the crowd began to murmur in confusion, a spotlight abruptly landed on me.

Another spotlight fell on Joel Alastair and Fiona Sterling.

In an instant, we became the only two points of light in the darkness, drawing everyone's attention.

"Hey, isn't that Sylvia Sterling? What is she doing here?!"

Someone had recognized me, their surprised voice laced with contempt.

"Don't tell me she heard about Joel Alastair and Miss Sterling's engagement and came here to cause a scene?"

"Look how pathetic she is now. The once-untouchable Red Rose of the Capital Circle... TSK TSK TSK!"

Countless scornful and gloating eyes fell upon me.

When the sun, once so high and untouchable, falls from the sky, everyone wants to come up and stomp on it.

Under their gazes, I gritted my teeth and straightened my back.

'No.' I hadn't known beforehand that Joel Alastair and Fiona Sterling were getting engaged today.

Someone had contacted me, saying they were short-staffed here and were willing to pay a high price for me to fill in.

Even though the whole thing seemed suspicious, I was so desperate for money that I didn't think too much about it.

Fiona Sterling, dressed in an expensive wedding gown, sized me up with a look of disdain and triumph.

"My dear sister, long time no see. It seems my efforts to bring you here weren't in vain after all."