I didn't cry. My eyes just burned, raw and stinging.
But that didn't stop me from tendering my resignation and demanding my shares back.
Elwin actually laughed.
"Maureen, stop being dramatic. Without Valerie backing you all these years, how could you have possibly held onto your position and that generous salary? Leave Starlight, leave me, and you'll be nothing."
So that was how he saw it. Everything I'd poured into this company—invisible. All of it credited to Valerie.
I couldn't help but laugh.
"If your precious Valerie weren't the billionaire's daughter, would you still be marrying her?"
He didn't even hesitate. "No—I love her, not her status."
"Just like I once loved you."
My stomach turned.
"You've always said you wanted to be part of my family, haven't you?" He tilted his head, magnanimous. "Valerie is generous. She's agreed to let me take you on as my sworn sister. As long as you behave, my parents will accept you too. Getting you into the family registry might be difficult, of course."
"Unless you return the Starlight shares to Valerie..."
He stood there, looking down at me with absolute certainty that I would agree.
I laughed out loud.
I must have loved him too much, once. Enough to make him think I'd accept this absurd charity.
He mistook my laughter for joy. After all, the Gilbert family was one of the most prominent in Crescent City.
"Little sis, I knew you'd be sensible!"
He'd already changed what he called me before I could even respond.
The crowd around us erupted.
"Oh my God, even someone like Maureen gets to be the Gilbert heir's sworn sister? Does that mean we qualify too?"
A chorus of voices started calling him "brother."
Elwin basked in the adulation, chin lifted like a preening peacock. He gestured to his assistant, who handed me a document.
"Maureen, sign this agreement, and you can settle into your role as the Gilbert family's adopted daughter. With me and your future sister-in-law looking after you, you'll never want for anything."
The agreement stated in black and white that the Starlight shares were registered under my name.
But the actual shareholder was Valerie.
The date was three years ago.
Elwin was trying to use a forged proxy agreement to steal my equity.
Whatever love I'd once felt—that towering, overwhelming love—crumbled to ash.
I looked away and turned to leave.
Elwin grabbed my arm. "Little sis, where are you going?"
The seamless way he'd adopted that title made my hand move before I could think. My palm cracked across his face.
"Shut up. You think you're fit to call yourself my brother?"
He clutched his reddening cheek, disbelief written across his features.
"Maureen, what is wrong with you? Becoming a Gilbert daughter is something people would kill for. Why can't you just be grateful?"
"I suffered through everything to be with you. I thought love could conquer anything. But apparently, all my success was really because Valerie was secretly helping me behind the scenes."
"She sacrificed so much for me, and all she wanted was the title of Mrs. Gilbert. You're the one benefiting from all of this—you're about to leap up the social ladder. Why can't you just see the bigger picture?"
"If you could help me take this company public the way Valerie did, I wouldn't mind giving you the Gilbert name either."
I froze.
Valerie—the decorative secretary who couldn't even carry a cup of tea without spilling it—had helped take the company public?
Then what were my five years of blood, sweat, and tears?
I spent my days fixing the flaws in Elwin's development work. My nights were spent drinking with clients, securing investments.
I'd been hospitalized for stomach bleeding more times than I could count. And where was Valerie during all of that? Checking in at nightclubs. Eating street food at night markets.
Then showing up the next morning with heavy smoky eye makeup to hide the dark circles.
