Ten years had taught me to grow used to the silent, restrained Kendrick. But I had forgotten, at eighteen, he too had once burned with reckless passion.
Uncle had been right. Kendrick was first introduced to Ophelia by the family. The explanation back then was careful, almost gentle: Kendrick had been withdrawn since childhood, just returned from overseas, and might struggle to adapt, so they wanted to find him a friend to keep him company.
No one knew his true identity. But Ophelia, captivated by his striking face, still chose to step closer.
Back then, she was the proud and dazzling eldest daughter of the Hansen family, the radiant star who outshone everyone.
She was like a blazing flame, wrapping herself around Kendrick, melting that cold, unyielding block of ice.
Their love was wild and inseparable. At the height of it, Kendrick, ignoring his family’s objections, carved her name into his chest with ink that would never fade. They had promised, right after graduation, that they would marry.
Kendrick, brimming with hope, had carefully planned a proposal.
Yet when he sought out Ophelia, he found her laughing brightly, her hand tightly clasped in another man’s.
Refusing to accept it, Kendrick rushed forward, only to be met with a stinging slap across his face from Ophelia.
Her finger jabbed toward him as she sneered.
“Kendrick, it was only a game. You didn’t think I was serious, did you? Look at yourself, other than your face, what else do you have? Check your pockets. Can you even provide for me after marriage? If not, then disappear from my sight!”
With those words, the fragile pride of youth crumbled into dust. And Kendrick’s heart, once sincere, was torn open and scarred.
Kendrick fell gravely ill because of it, murmuring her name even in his dreams.
No one in the Hansen family paid it any mind.
It wasn’t until the Beckham family stormed in with fury to demand answers that everyone realized, this delicate, handsome boy was not only striking in appearance, but carried a formidable background.
He was the only son of the Beckham family. The future heir of the Beckham Group.
The family had feared he would struggle after returning to the US, so they concealed his identity, allowing him to gain experience on his own.
Who could have imagined that the very first test of love would erupt into such chaos?
My parents grew terrified.
Afraid Ophelia would be dragged into the matter, they sent her abroad overnight, while pushing me forward in her place.
I can still recall that day; it was my birthday.
For the very first time, Mom baked me a cake. She looked at me with a smile and said, “Cassidy, you are the elder sister. You must protect your younger sister. Ophelia is still young. Her whole future must not be destroyed in Kendrick’s hands.”
Back then, I had no power, no courage to resist my family’s will.
So, on my birthday, I was tied with a ribbon like a present and delivered to the Beckham family, to Kendrick’s side.
Kendrick despised me. He despised the Hansen family. He despised everything connected to Ophelia.
He called me cheap, hurled vases at me, shouted for me to get out, mocked me as stupid, and said my eyes carried the same hatred as Ophelia’s.
But no matter how cruel he was, I clenched my teeth and stayed by his side.
Then one day, Kendrick saw the engagement photo of Ophelia with another man. He stared at it in silence for a long time, then drowned himself in glass after glass of liquor.
At the height of his drunkenness, he dragged me out and, under the haze of alcohol, took to the streets in a reckless race. As expected, it ended in a car crash.
