Blurb：
When Leo Sullivan left for abroad, he broke her heart. Three years later, Evelyn Williams is now married to his older brother, Noah Sullivan. At the family dinner, Leo’s cold rejection stings—but mysterious comments reveal his hidden feelings. As Chloe, the adopted Sullivan daughter, mocks Evelyn’s fallen status, tensions rise. Noah’s unexpected return shifts the power dynamic, forcing apologies and exposing buried emotions. In a world of family drama, revenge, and secret love, who will Evelyn choose? Dive into this angsty romance filled with betrayal, redemption, and the Sullivan brothers’ rivalry.
Content：
The year Leo Sullivan went abroad, he broke up with me.
Three years later, when he returned, I had already married his older brother, Noah.
At the welcome dinner, everyone urged him to acknowledge me as his brother’s wife
He sneered, his face cold. Her? She doesn’t deserve the title.
Mocking laughter rippled through the room. I bowed my head, burning with shame.
Then, the commentary appeared.
[The male lead is pretending not to care, then turning around to knock on the female lead’s door when his brother’s gone.]
[He just needs to suffer a bit longer. Once his elder brother’s died, he can step up properly.]
[Don’t get it twisted,sweatheart! He never forgot you. He still loves you so, so much!]
I looked up and met Leo’s gaze.
“If you can’t even be polite, it seems you didn’t learn much abroad after all.”
As soon as I spoke, several sharp intakes of breath echoed around me.
Leo frowned with his expression unreadable.
Chloe, who had been standing behind him, stormed forward and pointed at me.
“Leo’s right. You don’t deserve it!
Do you really think you’re still the heiress of the Williams family?
What can you even do? Everyone knows you were sold off to the Sullivans!
If it weren’t for the Sullivans, your family would’ve gone bankrupt. You’d be who-knows-where on the streets!”
Chloe wasn’t wrong.
I was indeed sold by my father to the Sullivans.
Put nicely, Noah Sullivan married me.
Put bluntly, Noah took pity on me and reluctantly offered a lifeline..
But Chloe was just an adopted daughter of the Sullivans. Where did she get off acting so superior
I was ready to fight back.
Leo suddenly spoke. “Chloe, enough. Don’t bother with someone so irrelevant.”
[See! He’s protecting her! All tough talk but a soft heart! What a man!]
[Don’t you see, sweetheart? His eyes haven’t left you for a second. If that isn’t love, what is?!]
I closed my eyes for a brief moment, then reached out and grabbed Chole’s arm before she could retreat.
“Regardless of anything else, I am Noah’s wife now. I demand an apology from both of you.”
Chloe looked at me as if I’d said something ridiculous.
“Why should I?”
“Because I’m your brother, and because I can have you thrown out of the Sullivan family.”
Noah had arrived.
The moment he appeared, the room fell silent.
No one dared meet his eyes, afraid of angering the head of the Sullivan family.
Even Chloe shrank back.
In the months since I’d married Noah, she’d only dared to bully me behind Noah’s back.
Tonight, she’d been bold because she knew Noah was away on business.
She never expected he’d come back just for this.
“Apologize to Evelyn.”
At Noah’s command, Chloe reluctantly muttered, “Sorry, Evelyn.”
All eyes turned to Leo.
[OMG, put yourself in his shoes. You come back from studying abroad, your ex who you never got over is married to your brother, and now you’re forced to call her ‘Mrs. Sullivan? The pain must be unbearable.]
[Just die already, Noah! If you hadn’t stolen her away, our OTP wouldn’t be suffering like this!]
[Leo, be a man! Don’t give in! She won’t really hold it against you.]
Noah didn’t push Leo further since he’d just returned.
Instead, he walked straight to me, wrapped his arm around my waist, and led me to the head of the table.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Leo’s face turn pale.
Chloe’s hushed voice reached my ears.
“Leo, you don’t still have feelings for her, do you? You have no idea how fiercely Big Brother protects her.
Ever since she came, I’m nothing in this house… Back when we were kids, I was the one you both doted on the most…”
I stiffened slightly.
Noah noticed and held me tighter.
“It’s alright. I’m here now. No one will dare bully you again.”
I was deeply moved.
I remembered when my father first delivered me to Noah’s bedroom. He had looked at me with that same gentle gaze and said,
“Don’t be afraid. I won’t force you. I’ve already promised your father I’d help your family.
But I need a valid reason, or the other shareholders won’t accept it.
Evelyn, will you marry me?”
Noah was perhaps the most charming and gentlemanly man I’d ever met.
I had no reason to refuse.
Dinner hadn’t officially started yet.
Noah picked up a wine glass and swept his gaze across the room, his tone frosty.
“Evelyn is my wife. From now on, anyone who speaks a single word against her is making an enemy of me.
I don’t want to make an enemy of any of you.”
It was a reminder, and a warning..
After that, everyone looked at me with newfound respect.
Only Leo kept his head down, silently drinking.
I ignored him and left with Noah after dinner.
But on the way home, I felt uneasy.
I hadn’t forgotten the commentary.
I was really anxious. So I was unconsciously fidgeting with Noah’s hand.
He noticed immediately, his voice softening with concern. “What’s wrong, baby? Are you alright?”
Meeting his warm, smiling eyes, I found myself momentarily lost in them.
My hand unconsciously touched his handsome face.
“Noah, you have to stay well.”
You have to stay by my side, always.
He drew me into his embrace, his hold firm and reassuring. “Mm,” he murmured against my hair, his voice a quiet promise. “We’ll be just fine together.”
Noah and I hadn’t seen each other for days.
After showering, he pulled me into his arms and refused to let go, nuzzling his face against the fabric of my sleepshirt.
His touch stirred something deep within me. My hands had just found their way to his neck when the commentary rudely intruded.
[Wait, she’s actually going to sleep with Noah? I’m out.]
[Hello? She’s married to him. Are you expecting her to reject her own husband?]
[This is the empowered content I’m here for! Why should men have all the fun?]
[The male lead’s drinking himself to the hospital rn.]
[If only he’d taken her abroad back then, none of this would’ve happened.]
[Let’s be real, her family’s collapse was inevitable. The male lead couldn’t have saved her then. The angst is part of the journey]
Noticing my distraction, Noah stopped.
“Tired?”
I shook my head, but before I could speak, his phone rang.
I nudged him to answer.
He released me and went to the balcony.
Two minutes later, he returned and started dressing.
“Something happened with Leo. I need to go. Don’t wait up.”
I grabbed his hand. “What’s wrong with Leo?”
Surprised by my urgency, he said, “He drank too much. He’s in the hospital.”
This confirmed the comments were real.
Anxiety spiked.
I was terrified something would happen to Noah.
But I didn’t know when or how.
I couldn’t just stop him from leaving.
So I said, “Noah, tell the driver to be carefully.”
I repeated it several times before reluctantly letting go.
After Noah left, I couldn’t sleep.
I picked up my phone, hoping some mindless scrolling would help.
Suddenly, a message popped up.
[Open the door.]
It was an unknown number.
I thought it was a prank and was about to delete it when the doorbell rang.
After marrying Noah, we moved to a penthouse downtown.
We valued our privacy, so we had no live-in staff.
The vast space felt suddenly very empty, and very silent.
The buzzing came again, insistent.
Another message arrived.
[It’s me. Open up.]
Somehow, I knew it was Leo.
I didn’t open immediately but replied:
[It’s late. Talk tomorrow.]
[What are you afraid of?]
[Nothing.]
[You think I’m still hung up on you? Evelyn, you’re overestimating yourself.]
I sighed tiredly and typed. [I never said that.]
[Then why won’t you open the door?]
So if I didn’t open, it meant I believed he still cared?
Fine. I’d open it.
Three years ago, he’d broken up with me because I refused to go abroad with him—then cut all contact.
A man with pride that fierce didn’t carry torches. He burned bridges.
But I was wrong.
The moment I opened the door, Leo pinned me against the wall, reeking of alcohol.
He forced my legs apart with his knee, pinned my hands above my head, and tried to kiss me.
I turned my face away.
Undeterred, he kissed my cheek, moving downward.
He froze. His eyes were fixed on the faint marks on my neck left by Noah’s stubble.
He pulled back slightly, his voice trembling.
“You made love him?”
I looked at him, amused. “What are you talking about? I’m his wife.”
I emphasized the last word.
If he didn’t see it with his own eyes, he might not give up.
Ever since the comments appeared, I’d prepared for this.
No man could accept the woman he loved sleeping with someone else.
Calmly, I said, “Leo, wake up.”
Whether he’d moved on or not, we were impossible.
“Ha.”
Leo laughed, but his eyes reddened.
“What if I don’t want to?”
He gripped my chin, trying to kiss me again.
Slap!
A sharp sound echoed.
I pulled my hand back; Leo’s face was turned to the side.
He tongued his cheek and smiled defiantly.
Then he pulled me into a hug. “Hit me all you want, as long as you’re happy.”
“You’re insane.”
I struggled. “Leo, let me go.”
During the struggle, I looked up and saw Noah standing at the door.
When had he returned?
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