He Kissed My Sister, Forgot His Savior

I hurried down the sterile white hallway of St. Jude’s Hospital, clutching a massive bouquet of white lilies. My heart hammered against my ribs.

Today was the day. The doctors were finally taking the medical gauze off Darius’s eyes.

"Just wait for me, Loria," he had whispered a week ago, sliding the heavy, brilliant-cut diamond onto my finger in the pitch black of his hospital room. "Once I can see again, we’re getting married."

I pushed the heavy oak door of VIP Suite 3. It swung inward without a sound.

"Darius, I brought—"

The words died in my throat.

Darius sat on the edge of the hospital bed. The thick layers of bandages were gone. His striking gray eyes were open, bright, and completely focused. But he wasn't looking at the door. He was looking at the woman straddling his lap.

Celeste. My older sister.

Her lips were locked onto his. Her hands tangled in his dark hair.

My gaze dropped automatically. Celeste’s perfectly manicured hand rested against the collar of his hospital gown. A massive diamond caught the harsh fluorescent light.

My ring. The exact same band.

I looked down at my own bare left hand. I had taken it off this morning to polish the silver, wanting it to be absolutely perfect for today.

The plastic wrapping of the bouquet crinkled under my tightening grip. A lily stem snapped loudly in the quiet room.

The sharp sound made Celeste pull back. She turned her head, her glossy lips curving into a sharp, knowing smile. She didn't jump off him. Instead, she draped her arms around his neck, pressing her chest flush against his.

"Well, look who finally decided to visit," Celeste purred, her voice laced with mock sweetness.

Darius shifted his attention. Those gray eyes—the ones I had kissed shut a hundred times over the past month—locked onto my face.

Nothing. No spark. No warmth. Just mild curiosity.

"Who is this?" Darius asked. His deep baritone voice vibrated through the room.

My stomach plummeted.

"Celeste," I managed to choke out. "What are you doing?"

Celeste stroked Darius’s jaw. "Darling, meet Loria. My family’s little charity case. The adopted daughter."

I stepped fully into the room. "Charity case?"

"Don't mind her manners," Celeste told him, ignoring me completely. "She always barges in uninvited."

"Darius," I said, stepping closer to the foot of the bed. "It's me."

He frowned. The lines around his mouth tightened. "Should I know you?"

The room spun. "What?"

"Loria, don't be rude to my fiancé," Celeste scolded. She lifted her left hand, wiggling her fingers. The diamond flashed again. "Darius and I are getting married as soon as he's discharged. Isn't that right, babe?"

Darius smiled. A real, genuine smile that he used to save only for me. He pressed a kiss to Celeste's knuckles. "The second I get out of here. I promised you."

*You promised her?*

"You promised *me*!" I demanded, my voice rising. "Darius, look at me. Look at my face!"

His gray eyes narrowed. A flash of annoyance crossed his handsome features. "I am looking at you. And I'd appreciate it if you lowered your voice. My head is still pounding from the light exposure."

"Tell her about the proposal, sweetheart," Celeste coaxed.

"I proposed in the dark," Darius said smoothly, his eyes never leaving my sister's face. "I told the woman holding my hand that she was the only one for me. I gave her the ring." He finally glanced back at me, his expression turning icy. "Celeste wore the ring today so I could finally see it on her finger. Do you have a problem with my engagement, Loria?"

He didn't recognize my voice.

"Your voice," I whispered, the lilies trembling in my hands. "You don't recognize me speaking?"

"Why would I?" he countered. "We've never met."

"We spent the last month together! I fed you. I changed your IV bags when the nurses were busy. I sat by this bed every single night!"

Celeste laughed softly. "Oh, Loria. Stop making things up. You're embarrassing yourself."

"I'm not making anything up!" I threw the bouquet onto the small visitor's table. "Darius, ask her about the scar on your left shoulder. Ask her who traced it every night."

Darius’s posture went rigid. He shot a questioning look at Celeste.

Celeste didn't miss a beat. "I told her about your scar, darling. I shouldn't have shared our private moments with her. She's always been jealous of me. Always trying to steal what's mine."

"I'm trying to steal?" I scoffed, taking another step toward the bed. "You took my ring! You took my place!"

"What about the thunderstorms?" I asked, refusing to back down. "Two nights ago. The power went out on this floor. You panicked because you hate the feeling of being trapped in the dark. I sat beside you and sang that old jazz song until you fell asleep."

Darius frowned. "Celeste sang to me."

I whipped my head toward my sister. "You can't even carry a tune!"

"I hummed it," Celeste corrected smoothly, her eyes flashing a warning at me. "My throat was sore that night. Darius remembers."

"Yes," Darius agreed, his jaw setting. "She stayed right here. Holding my hand."

"She wasn't even in the building!" I shouted.

"Lower your voice," Darius snapped.

"That ring," I pointed a trembling finger at Celeste's hand. "Look inside the band, Darius. You had it engraved. *Light in the dark.* You told me that phrase right before you slid it on my finger."

Darius looked at Celeste's hand.

Celeste didn't flinch. She simply turned her hand over, admiring the diamond. "He told me that weeks ago, Loria. Stop eavesdropping on my relationship and twisting things to fit your bizarre fantasies."

"Security," Darius said.

I froze. "What?"

He reached for the call button on the side of the bed. "I'm calling security. You're upsetting Celeste, and you're acting completely unhinged."

"Darius, please," I begged, my voice cracking. "Just listen to me. Close your eyes. Just for a second. Close your eyes and listen to my voice."

"Get out," he ordered. The warmth in his eyes was entirely gone, replaced by a glacial stare. "Before I have you thrown out."

Celeste leaned her head against his shoulder. "She's just acting out, babe. Let her go. She'll calm down at home."

"She needs to learn boundaries," Darius muttered, wrapping an arm around Celeste's waist. He pulled her closer. "I won't have anyone disrespecting my future wife."

My chest caved in. I stood there, staring at the man who had promised me forever exactly seven days ago. The man who had mapped my face with his fingertips, vowing he would know me anywhere.

He didn't know me at all.

"Fine," I said, my voice dropping to a hollow whisper. "I'll go."

"And Loria?" Celeste called out just as I reached the door handle.

I paused, refusing to turn around.

"Don't wait up for me tonight. Darius and I have a lot of celebrating to do."

I pushed the door open and stepped back into the sterile hallway. The heavy wood clicked shut behind me, cutting off the sound of his low, rumbling laughter.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out. A text message from an unknown number glowed on the screen.

*He’s completely blind to the truth. But I have the security footage from the night he proposed. Meet me in the lobby in five minutes if you want your fiancé back.*