His Stepsister’s Shadow, Her Broken Heart

Cara went to the marriage registration office at the city hall and retrieved her marriage registration form from the puzzled staff.

It was quite an ironic situation, after all. Austin had only just been crowned mayor of the city. Worried that their marriage would negatively impact his work, Cara had postponed the submission of their marriage form.

Little did she know that she had actually given herself a way out of her current situation now.

She rode home on her bike and heard quarrelling coming from inside the mansion through the narrow door.

Winter was crying bitterly. "Austin! We weren't like this in the past! We could hug and hold hands with each other! Why can't we do it anymore?"

Austin, who was standing opposite her, refused to hug her. He said, "I'm going to get married soon. We can't do this."

There was a loud crash. Winter had grabbed the ashtray on the table and flung it at Austin's head with all her might.

"Then don't marry her! You're already the mayor! We don't need her charity anymore!" Winter screamed.

Austin had a deep gash on his forehead, but he was still as gentle as ever with her. He sighed softly and pulled the trembling Winter into his embrace, patting her softly on the back. "Just wait, okay? Just wait for me."

Winter continued sobbing in his arms. Austin restrained himself as much as possible and kissed the top of her head.

Cara witnessed everything from outside and felt her blood completely freeze over. She clapped a hand over her mouth and slumped to the floor, her mind replaying Austin's words over and over again.

What had Austin meant by telling Winter to wait? What was he waiting for?

Was he waiting until the dust settled before he finally abandoned her?

Cara didn't want to continue thinking about it.

She was going to leave the country very soon. She didn't want to continue being toyed with by Austin and Winter anymore.

That evening, Austin had to leave the mansion because something urgent came up at work.

Winter had locked herself in her room, so Cara took the opportunity to pack up everything she owned in the mansion.

She had been with Austin for five years, and yet, everything she owned could be fitted inside a 26-inch cardboard box.

Before going to sleep, Cara drank the mug of warm milk on her placed on the bedside table as usual and fell into a deep sleep.

She could feel someone tearing her clothes in her dreams, and her body was also very hot and warm to the touch.

Cara naturally thought that it was Austin. Then, she tugged open her collar as she opened her eyes.

When she did, however, a stranger's face suddenly appeared before her.

"You're awake, Cara."

Cara screamed and woke up immediately. "Who are you? What are you doing in my house?"

The man, Rocky Smithson, smiled, flashing his dirty, yellowed teeth. He kept inching closer to the terrified Cara, cornering her.

"Don't you want a baby? The Smithson family has good genes! I promise I can give you a baby boy just like you wish!"

Cara was sweating and felt her vision going blurry, and she knew that she'd been drugged. Rocky's hands were reaching for her chest and were about to tear off her bra when Cara suddenly gritted her teeth and grabbed the pair of scissors she kept on her bedside table. Then, she stabbed it right through Rocky's arm.

Blood began gushing from Rocky's arm. Cara then screeched at him, saying, "If you lay another finger on me again, I will kill you first, and then myself!"

…

It was early in the morning at the police station when Cara was there with just a thin shawl over her shoulders. She had only just managed to call Austin on his phone.

"Austin, I'm at the police station."

There was a slight pause at the other end of the line. Then, Austin said, "I'm busy with work. Settle things yourself."

He ended the call right away without giving Cara another chance to speak.

The police sitting opposite Cara saw how upset she looked. He then shifted his attention toward Winter, who was sitting on the other side of the table.

"Alright. Spill. Why did you bribe Rocky into doing this?" the police questioned.

Winter lowered her head and refused to say anything.

The policeman knocked on the table and gave her an ultimatum. "Something as serious as this could land you in jail for three days. Aren't you afraid of leaving a permanent criminal record, Ms. Langford?"

Cara recalled how she had also "sponsored" every single penny of Winter's college fees last time, and now, this was how Winter repaid her.

When Winter heard what the policeman said, she finally showed a different kind of emotion on her face.

"I'm calling my brother!"

When Austin arrived, his forehead was beaded in sweat, and his shirt was a little disheveled from running too quickly as he rushed to the police station.

It had only been about ten minutes since Winter called him.

"What happened, Winter?" he asked.

Winter looked like she'd just met her lifesaver and hid behind him, looking like she was about to burst into tears.

"Hasn't Cara always been asking you for a baby? Does it really matter who the baby's father was? I've already done my research and found out that the Smithsons have really good genes that would definitely give her a baby boy!

"How could Cara not be grateful that I'd done such a huge favor for her?"

Austin listened to her quietly, his eyes occasionally darting to the deep scratches on Cara's chest. Then, he asked Winter and Cara to leave the room for a while.

Winter crossed her arms and looked smugly at Cara as they stood outside in the cold. "Wanna bet that Austin's going to take my side no matter what?"

Cara didn't bother answering her.

Half an hour later, Austin pushed the door open and walked straight toward her.

Cara didn't know why, but she actually caught herself harboring some hope as she looked into his eyes.

"Don't bring this up again next time. Rocky will be sent to jail, and you will not hold this against Winter anymore."

This was an answer that Cara didn't expect. Her lips trembled as she exclaimed, "Austin Langford! Your sister was behind that the whole time!"

Austin sounded impatient. "Well? You're still alive."

It was just a single line from him, but that was enough to strip Cara of all her energy then and there. Her arms fell limply to the sides.

Just as she thought of saying something to him, it began raining outside.

"Let's go, Winter," Austin said, holding up an umbrella with one hand and putting his other arm around Winter's shoulders. They then disappeared into the rain.

It was as if none of them realized that Cara needed an umbrella to get home.

The rain only got heavier and heavier after that, falling on Cara's face until she didn't know if they were raindrops or her tears anymore.