He studied. I saved his seat.
At first, he always frowned and shooed me away.
"Lillian, can you stop following me around?"
Over time, his scolding softened into a resigned sigh. And eventually, it became habit.
After basketball practice, he'd hand me his half-finished bottle of water without a second thought.
When he went to the library, he'd leave a book on the seat beside him out of pure reflex.
He'd stay up late watching games, and still remember to bring me my favorite midnight snack.
On the day of our college graduation, I stood onstage delivering a speech as the valedictorian.
The audience was packed, but I spotted him instantly.
Daniel was standing right there, watching me with quiet focus, the faintest smile tugging at the corner of his mouth—one he didn't even seem aware of.
In that moment, I knew what we had was already far more than a childhood friendship.
At our engagement dinner, both families sat together, beaming as they mapped out our future.
When relatives teased us, Daniel didn't say a word.
He just silently placed a piece of fish—every last bone carefully removed—into my bowl.
That single gesture made me feel safer than any "I love you" ever could.
I lowered my head, eating the fish in small bites, warmth spreading through my chest.
I was certain he was the man I would marry.
I believed our happiness was just beginning.
Then Claire Finch appeared.
Claire was the daughter of a family close to the Sanchezes. Ten years ago, her parents died in an accident, and the Sanchez family took her in.
The day she returned from abroad, I went to the airport to pick her up.
She was a pretty girl with a sweet face, calling me "sis" in the most affectionate, sugary voice.
I treated her with genuine warmth, as if she were my own little sister.
When she wanted a designer handbag, I had a friend bring one back from overseas for her.
When she hit a wall at work, I stayed up late with her revising her proposals.
I thought our relationship would always be like that.
Until that night.
I'd just gotten out of the shower and was wearing a silk camisole nightgown, heading to the living room for a glass of water.
Claire happened to step out of her room. The moment she saw me, she clapped her hands over her eyes in exaggerated shock.
"Kathryn Lambert, look at how gorgeous my sister-in-law's figure is! Too bad my brother's always away on business trips. Must get a little lonely all by herself."
My face turned scarlet in an instant.
I stood frozen, burning with shame and anger, not knowing what to do with my hands.
It was the most ordinary nightgown anyone could wear at home.
But from her mouth, it became proof that I was desperate and starving for attention.
When Claire saw my expression change, she rushed over and looped her arm through mine, her face the picture of innocence.
"Sis, don't be mad! I was just joking around."
"I was only worried someone outside the family might see and start gossiping. I'm looking out for you, really."
Daniel happened to walk out of his study at that moment. He caught the tail end of her words and frowned.
"You're in your own home. Don't talk nonsense."
That was the first time—and the last—he ever said a word to Claire on my behalf.
Claire's eyes immediately reddened, and she bit her lip, the portrait of wounded innocence.
"Danny, I… I was just worried about her…"
Daniel looked at her like that and said nothing more. His silence was its own kind of answer.
After that night, the silk camisoles in my closet were gradually buried at the bottom of a storage box.
Long sleeves and high necklines became the only things I wore at home.
I thought giving ground would buy me peace.
I was wrong.
One day, I slipped in the bathroom and slammed my knee against the edge of the tub, leaving a large, ugly bruise.
The skin was mottled purple and blue—alarming to look at.
The next morning at the breakfast table, Claire's eyes landed on the bruise on my knee the second she sat down.
