He Jumped for My Sister

On a reality show, my sister and I both fell into the water.

My husband, Holt, jumped into the water without a second thought to save my sister.

He held her close with concern and urgency, leaving without looking back.

I was left behind, nearly sinking to the bottom of the lake before the crew finally pulled me out.

The next day, when I handed Holt the divorce papers, he glared at me darkly. "Lila can't swim, so I saved her first. Are you seriously jealous over this?"

I looked calmly into his eyes. "Yeah. Sign it."

Holt and I quietly obtained our divorce certificate.

Holt kept his handsome brow furrowed, but at this point, it couldn't stir even a fraction of emotion in me.

He tucked the certificate into his pocket. "I'll drive you."

I shook my head. "No need."

Holt seemed dissatisfied with my attitude. "Tessa, there's no need to be like this. We've been together for three years, after all. Divorce doesn't mean we have to act like strangers."

I was shocked for a second, barely believing these words could come from Holt's mouth. After all, now that Lila had returned, he should be thrilled that I was smart enough to get out of their way.

"Mr. Sterling, to me, divorce means divorce. We're not family, and we can't be friends either."

"You..."

"Besides, we don't have children. There's no need to stay in touch."

My words angered Holt, and he turned and left.

I watched his retreating figure and sighed helplessly.

But when I thought about my bank account balance, all that unhappiness vanished in an instant.

Although I was Tessa Grant of the Grant family, I hadn't received any money from them. Instead, the divorce made me a small-time millionaire.

There was no way I could get half of Sterling Corporation, so when I had the lawyer draft the divorce agreement, I only asked for twenty million dollars.

Holt agreed, and he also gave me luxury properties in New York and Los Angeles, three domestic properties, and six apartments in prime downtown locations.

This was enough to keep me comfortable for the rest of my life.

Looking at these cold numbers, I suddenly couldn't help but laugh out loud.

How wonderful. I could finally start living for myself.

After the divorce, in just one day, I moved into a penthouse apartment in the city center.

Having it registered in my name gave me an unprecedented sense of security.

I thought leaving Holt would be painful and devastating. After all, during our three-year marriage, I had loved him.

But unexpectedly, that night I slept exceptionally well. The long-lost relaxation let me sleep until noon the next day.

Holt and I had a business marriage. Grandpa Sterling and Grandpa Grant were war buddies who, after surviving life and death together, arranged this match.

But originally, this marriage was meant for Lila. The reason was simpleshe was the rose the Grant family had raised for eighteen years.

As for me, I was the Grant family's biological daughter who had been switched at birth.

Someone like me would never have had a chance to meet someone like Holta golden boy, an heir. Much less fall in love.

Until I was eighteen, when the Grant parents found me, tearfully telling me I was their biological daughter, and that a nurse's mistake at birth had caused our separation.

At that time, I was living in an orphanage. When I saw my parents arrive in their luxury car, I thought my future days would be easier. At least I wouldn't have to collect trash to sell for tuition money. The orphanage was poor, and not every child could go to school.

But I didn't receive the guilt and compensation from my parents. Only cold treatment. I thought, as long as I can go to school, it's fine.

They said the fake daughter's parents had passed away, so they wouldn't send her away. But their daily treatment of us was worlds apart.

I didn't feel like the Grant family's Tessa. I felt more like the maid's daughter.

It wasn't until my parents asked me to enter a business marriage that I learned the handsome young man Lila had always followed around had been in a serious car accident. They said his leg would never heal, and he would limp for the rest of his life.

Lila cried and screamed that she would never marry a cripple.

So this mission fell to me.

I could have refused. But when I thought of that face, so handsome under the sunlight, which I hadn't seen in a year, I agreed as if possessed.

That year I was twenty, about to start my sophomore year. My parents made me take a leave of absence, and I got married at a young age.

When I went to see him, he threw a terrible tantrum, smashing a vase at my feet and shouting for Lila to come.

But Lila had already gone abroad to study, funded by our parents' black card.

The Grant parents' business relied on Sterling Corporation. Lila didn't want to marry a cripple, but they needed someone to stabilize the relationship between the two families, so they pushed me forward.

That was the first time my mother, Mrs. Grant, showed me any kindness. She cried about how difficult things were for the family, cried about how pitiful Lila was, cried about how Mr. Grant's hair was already turning white.

I remained unmoved. I said, why are you telling me all this? If I want to marry him, it's not because of you. It's because of Holt himself.

When I was a freshman, Holt was a senior. He was the famous campus heartthrob and campus king. The confession wall was filled with countless confessions, and countless daughters of wealthy families tried to win his favor. But at that time, only Lila was by his side.

Because of this, Lila became the object of everyone's admiration. She proudly talked about how unique she was to Holt, how she occupied an unshakable position in his heart.

I appreciated people with good looks, but what I appreciated more was his academic achievement.

His obsession with and dedication to mathematics led him to publish many SCI papers. I had read every single one, and they had even solved several problems I'd been stuck on.

I was impressed by his talent. It wasn't hard to go from admiration to love.

On our wedding day, Holt didn't smile once. I was so nervous that I kept trembling and wiping the sweat from my hands.

I almost fell when Holt took my hand.

The people around us laughed. I felt like something that couldn't be presented in public. I faintly heard people mention Lila, and Holt's face darkened even more.

I thought, he must love Lila. Otherwise, why would he resent me so much?

In that instant, I regretted itregretted my marriage and regretted my secret crush.

That night, Holt vented on my body, but his leg wasn't working well. It hurt so much that I pushed him down, stopped him from moving, and sat on top of him myself, slowly taking him in. Before long, both our breathing grew heavy. Holt's face flushed red, and I too was lost in my own movements.

There wasn't much conflict in the Sterling household. Here, I actually felt more comfortable than I had at the Grant house.

I loved reading and still loved researching academic problems. Although I had taken a leave of absence, I hadn't forgotten to study.

As for Holt, he went from not coming home for days at a time to coming home on time every day.

Even when work was busy, he would send me messages saying where he'd gone.

I learned massage techniques from a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. I wondered if Holt's leg could slowly improve through massage.

Once I had the idea, I started doing it. At first, I was a bit shy when I told Holt about my plan.

Later, I became skilled at massaging him. After six months, I could even recite all the acupuncture points on the human body from memory.

Holt went from protesting at first to accepting it, and eventually waited for me to give him a half-hour massage every day. I felt my hands were getting stronger.

Life was actually quite boring. So when I went to Sterling Corporation once to deliver documents Holt had left at home, a short drama editor noticed me. He asked if I wanted to try playing a supporting role in their dramaa scholar character. He thought my temperament was perfect.

I agreed on impulse, and Holt didn't object either.

Unexpectedly, that short drama became a huge hit, and even I, as the third female lead, gained my own fans.

I found it novel. I had never imagined entering the entertainment industry, a place that had nothing to do with me.

Sterling Corporation had many businesses. Rain Entertainment was just a very small part of it. Holt said as long as I didn't use the Sterling name outside, I could do whatever I wanted.

So gradually, I got an agent, Lynn, and a small assistant. I also took on fourth, fifth, and sixth female lead roles in several big IP dramas.

I became an unknown small-time actress. Sometimes scrolling through Twitter, I found it really interesting.

I would lie in bed reading fan comments to Holt while massaging his leg with one hand.

Without paying attention, I pressed somewhere I shouldn't have. Holt let out a muffled groan. I thought I'd hurt him and quickly dropped my phone to check, but Holt pressed me down on the bed.

Kissing came naturally, and what followed was just as natural. We became more and more in sync, both finding pleasure in it.

From that point on, our relationship advanced by leaps and bounds.

He would bring me my favorite little cakes, buy me clothes and jewelry, and occasionally take me to movies or walks by the lake.

We were like an ordinary couple. Holt's leg was getting better and better under my massage. Even the doctor called it a miracle. Now when Holt walked, as long as he didn't move too fast, you couldn't tell he had a limp at all.

In the third year of our marriage, Lila came back.

The day she returned, Holt surprisingly didn't cling to me.

My parents also called for the first time in three years, asking Holt and me to come home.

Lila had been gone for three years and had never come back. At the only family gathering during Chinese New Year, Mr. and Mrs. Grant would awkwardly say that Lila was busy with her studies.

Holt's face was cold, and he said nothing. I didn't know what he was thinking. After all, even though I was their biological daughter, I had barely been back to the Grant house since getting married.

But the preferential treatment that should have gone to the Grant family had never stopped flowing their way.

When Holt and I arrived at the Grant house, I saw a graceful young woman throw herself into Holt's arms like the wind.

I watched from the side. Holt didn't push her away either.

Tears fell from that woman's eyes in large drops, soaking Holt's suit.

Watching this scene, my heart felt like it was being pricked by needles. I deeply regretted agreeing to return to the Grant house.

Seeing me beside them, Lila straightened up. "I'm sorry, I was just so happy."

Holt's temple twitched. With a cold face, he took my hand and led me to our seats.

Lila looked at us with shock in her eyes.

The meal was unbearable. Mr. and Mrs. Grant didn't ask me once how I'd been doing recently. Instead, they desperately tried to get Lila and Holt to talk, saying things like "Lila has been thinking about you this whole time, Holt."

It suddenly struck me that my parents seemed to be pimping out Lila.

From that day on, Lila appeared constantly around Holt and me like a fly.

And Holt went from resisting at first to accepting her in less than a month.

Lila wanted to enter the entertainment industry, so Holt had Rain Entertainment's top agent handle her.

Lila came and went from the Sterling Corporation building like the lady of the house. Everyone assumed she was Mrs. Sterling. After all, I had hidden my identity at Rain Entertainment. No one knew about my relationship with Holt.

But Lila was different. She would loudly call Holt to act cute on the phone, then bring takeout to Holt's office.

As for me, after Holt coldly scolded me the first time I visited, I never went again. Everyone else thought I was some unknown actress trying to seduce the CEO.

Lila was pure and lovely. With Holt's backing, she quickly became popular, with resources constantly flowing her way.

When Lynn asked me if I knew Lila, I said I didn't. Lynn started gossiping about Lila, saying she was a diva who relied on her relationship with the CEO to snatch whatever endorsements she wanted.

It wasn't until three of my endorsements were stolen that I realized Lila was targeting me.

As for Holt, since I entered this industry, he had never given me any preferential treatment. When we ran into each other in the building, he would act as if he didn't see me.

At that time, I hadn't thought about divorce yet. After all, I really did like Holt.

Until something happened that seemed small to him.

It was the first time I felt that Holt and I couldn't go on anymore.

It started with a popular wilderness reality show that invited both Lila and me. The whole process had been fairly harmonious.

Lila played the role of a lively, cheerful celebrity, while I dutifully excelled in the games.

That day, Holt rarely came to visit the set. The directors around him all courteously exchanged pleasantries with him.

That's when the accident happened. The bamboo bridge by the lake was old and in disrepair. When both Lila and I stepped onto it, it suddenly collapsed.

Both of us fell into the lake.

The surroundings erupted in chaos. The crew members all started to go into the water to save us.

But what no one expected was that Sterling Corporation's CEO, Holt, would be the first to jump into the lake.

I couldn't swim. When I saw Holt come in, I thought he was coming to save me. After all, I was his wife, no matter what.

But when I saw him grab Lila and start swimming toward the shore, my heart suddenly felt at peace.

I had only one thought: So after three years together, he doesn't love me at all!

Holt seemed not to notice that I had also fallen into the water. He picked up Lila and got into his Maybach. That urgency, that heartacheas I sank to the bottom of the lake, all I saw was the car driving away.

By the time the crew pulled me out, I had passed out.

It was just that coincidental. Everyone thought someone would save me, but Holt's intervention made everyone forget about me. When the assistant director shouted to save me, everyone finally remembered I existed.

I was rushed to the hospital. The reality show was suspended.

When I woke up, only my agent Lynn was by my side.

She was terrified, her eyes red as she looked at me.

I moved my body. It seemed like nothing serious.

"Lynn, it's not like I died."

"Don't say that! You scared me to death, Tessa. How could you be so unlucky? It's all Mr. Sterling's fault for making such a big show of saving Lila that everyone forgot about you. Don't you feel hurt?"

"I don't."

My heart was very calm. I had foolishly thought Holt and I were husband and wife, that married couples were one. Reality had given me a harsh blow.

I thought, Holt and Ithis is where our fate ends.

That afternoon when I was discharged, I saw Holt supporting Lila, with my parents following behind them.

They were smiling, like a happy family. Lila leaned weakly on Holt, and my parents gently draped a coat over her.

They seemed to have completely forgotten about me.

I stared at their backs in a daze, then took out my phone and found the number of the lawyer Lynn had recommended to me. I asked him to draft a divorce agreement for me.