My Betraying Fiancée Is My Sister

The night we were both poisoned, the first dose of the antidote went up for auction at an underground gala. In a move of reckless devotion, Cassie Beaumont placed a blank-check bidthe kind of high-stakes power move that signaled to everyone in the room that she would pay any price to win.

Everyone whispered that she did it for me.

Obviously, shes saving Ben, they murmured. She worships the ground he walks on.

But under the cold glare of the chandeliers, Cassie didnt even look my way. Instead, she took the vial, tilted back Damian Coles head, and pressed her lips to his, forcing the medicine into his mouth with a lingering, desperate kiss.

When the second iteman ancient signet ring rumored to have neutralizing propertiesappeared on the block, Cassie did it again. She outbid everyone, her eyes hard and focused. But when she spoke, she didn't call my name. She announced to the stunned crowd that the ring was her engagement gift to Damian.

The third and final hope was the Beaumont Covenantan ancient family ledger. According to legend, if a name was inscribed upon its first page with the blood of the lineage, the familys luckand healthwould be shared. I was coughing, my vision blurring with internal hemorrhaging, and I begged her to use her influence to secure it for me.

Cassie checked her accounts. She looked at me with a mixture of boredom and irritation.

Ben, Ive got exactly one dollar left in the liquid assets account. Its not enough to play the hero for you tonight.

Cassie, Im dying, I wheezed, blood staining my teeth.

This toxin isnt fatal, Ben. Stop being so dramatic. Youre embarrassing yourself.

She used that final dollar to secure the Beaumont Covenant in a symbolic closing bid. Then she walked away with Damian, leaving me on the cold floor of the auction house.

As the lights flickered out and the room emptied, a voice echoed in my headthe "System," the strange entity that had plucked me out of my life six months ago and dropped me into this nightmare future. A ringthe very one Cassie had bought for Damianclattered onto the floor in front of me, stolen back by the entity.

Ben, the voice hissed. You chose to jump ahead to see how your perfect love story ended. Are you finally ready to give up and go back?

I wiped the blood from my chin, my hand trembling as I reached for the ring.

No, I whispered, my voice raspy but certain. Im not going back to the past.

Then what?

Where is your Master? The girl you said I was destined for? Tell her Ill marry her.

The Systems voice erupted in a jubilant shout.

Hold on tight, Ben! Im going back six months to tell her to start the wedding preparations!

And then, the presence vanished.

The moment I slid the signet ring onto my finger, a cool wave washed through my veins. The agonizing fire of the poison began to recede, leaving behind a dull, manageable ache. I sat alone in the hollowed-out silence of the auction house and laugheda bitter, hollow sound.

Before this "glitch" in time, I had been like everyone else: I believed Cassie Beaumont would never love another man. I thought we were endgame. But six months in the future, everything had rotted.

I managed to stumble out of the building, my body still weak. I was heading for my car when the screech of tires tore through the night. A black SUV barreled around the corner, aiming straight for me. The impact was a blur of steel and glass, throwing me into the darkness.

I dont know how long I was out. When I finally forced my eyes open, I realized my handthe one wearing the ringwas pinned under the SUVs tire. The driver was slowly oscillating the car, crushing my fingers, rolling over the bone again and again. The ring was gone.

Two men stood a few feet away, leaning against the hood and smoking.

Does the boss actually love this guy or what? one asked, flicking ash. She told us to make sure he hurts, but warned us not to break a single bone. Thats some high-level mental gymnastics.

Eh, dont overthink it. Six months ago, she was obsessed with him. Then Damian Cole showed up.

I had jumped straight from six months ago to this moment, leaving a half-year gap in my memory. But as they spoke, the missing pieces began to flood my brain like a dark tide.

Half a year ago, Damian had been hired as Cassies personal assistant. Cassie, famous for her icy professionalism and singular devotion to me, suddenly couldn't be without him.

I remembered his first challenge. It was at a private club, a celebration for a major merger. Damian had gotten "drunk" and stripped his shirt off in front of the board members, sprawling on a velvet sofa and declaring hed have Cassie by the end of the night.

Hey, Ben, hed smirked at me. If we both stood naked in front of her right now, who do you think shed touch first?

I had ignored him, confident in our five-year history. Cassie had looked at him, her face dark with feigned anger.

Damian, if you were the last man on earth, I wouldnt be interested. Get dressed or youre fired.

The room had roared with laughter. They laughed at his audacity; they laughed because they knew Cassie loved me "to death."

But no one noticed that later that night, Cassies designer coat was draped over Damians bare shoulders because he "refused" to put his shirt back on. And no one noticed that when I shivered because the AC was too low, Cassie didn't even glance my way.

Looking back now, I realized I had lost that night.

Even if I went back to the past, I couldn't change a heart that had already started to stray. Why go back and suffer through the slow rot twice?

I tried to pull my hand out from under the tire. The movement caught their attention.

Easy there, Mr. Mercer. Don't struggle. This little love tap wont kill you.

The ring needed three days to fully neutralize the toxin. I looked at them, my voice cold. Where is the ring?

One of them tapped his phone screen. Boss has it. Shes at the family estate right now, using it to propose to Damian in front of the whole Beaumont clan.

Five years. Every time I had asked to meet her parents, Cassie had an excuse. The timing wasn't right. Her father was too traditional. Her mother was ill.

Damian had been around for six months, and she had already brought him home.

I stared at the screen, at the blurry image of the Beaumont Manor. I recognized that place. I had been there before.

The mens phone buzzed. It was Cassie. Her voice came through the speaker, sounding languid and satisfiedthe voice of a woman who had just stepped out of a very active bedroom.

The proposal is done. Take Ben to the ER. And make sure theres no permanent damage to his hand. I dont want him scarred.

As they drove me to the hospital, the two thugs couldn't stop gossiping.

I swear, the Boss is a total psycho, one muttered. Total internal conflict.

The guys guarding the penthouse said she had them run out for protection seven times tonight. Seven. They said the bed sounded like it was going to collapse. The noise was insane.

Hey, Mr. Mercer, the driver called out, glancing at me in the rearview mirror. Rumor was the Boss never looked at another guy because she only wanted you. But my boys said she never once asked for protection when she was with you. You got some kind of problem downstairs?

I sat in the back, my hands bound, and let out a soft, dry laugh.

Cassie always told me she liked "structure." She said our love was too pure for animalistic urges. I had suppressed every desire, followed her "rules," thinking I was being the perfect partner.

But the memories were still flooding back. I remembered the night after the club incident. The Cassie who said she wouldn't touch Damian if he were the last man on earth had "accidentally" gotten drunk and knocked on his hotel room door.

In my memory, I was standing in the hallway, listening to her breathless cries through the doorthe sounds of a woman begging for more, while Damian whispered for her to try a different position.

I finally understood. Cassie liked "rules." But she craved Damians wreckage.

Tears soaked my collar. The man in the passenger seat turned around. Damn, Mr. Mercer. You crying? We didn't even hit you that hard. It was just a little pressure on the hand.

They did a hack job at the hospitaldabbed some antiseptic on my crushed hand, wrapped it in a thick, bulky bandage, and dumped me at the "marital home."

It was a house Cassie had chosen and I had decorated. It was supposed to be our sanctuary. But as I walked in, Cassie stepped out of the master bedroom, pressing a finger to her lips.

Shhh, she whispered. Hes sleeping.

The heart I thought was already broken shattered into even smaller pieces.

My mother likes Damian, she said, her voice matter-of-fact as she walked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows. She wouldn't approve of us.

So youre marrying him? my voice was a ghost of itself.

Its a strategy, Ben. I marry him, we have a kid, my mother gets her heir and stops breathing down my neck. But the role of Beaumont Son-in-Law... that will always belong to you in my heart.

She didn't even look at my bandaged arm. She had said these things a dozen times in the last six months of the timeline I was now remembering. I had gone from shock to screaming to numbness. I had even tried to break up with her.

And the night I tried to leave, Damian had poisoned my drink.

I remembered stumbling to the auction to find the cure, only to see Damian backstage, swallowing a vial of the same poison with a smirk.

He had leaned his head on Cassies shoulder, whining like a child. Now Im sick too, Cassie-baby. Who are you going to save?

And Cassie had pulled him into her arms, kissing his forehead. You, you idiot. Always you.

Her assistant had whispered, Maam, there are three doses. You can save both.

Cassie had glared at him. No. I won't risk Damians recovery. Give him all three.

The memory was a jagged blade. Cassie turned back to me now, her expression softening into that fake pity I had come to loathe.

Ben, the poisoning... Damian didn't mean it. Hes just impulsive. Hes so insecure about us that he does stupid things. Don't hold it against him, okay? As an apology, Im not going to let you break up with me.

She pointed to the Beaumont Covenant lying open on the table.

Our names will be on that ledger eventually. Want to see? After the wedding with Damian, Ill find a way to write yours in next to mine.

I walked over and glanced at the ledger. I froze for a second.

I didn't need to wait. My name was already on the first page.

The Beaumont Covenant was a relica heavy, leather-bound volume worth more than the house we were standing in. They say the couple whose names are inscribed together on the first page are bound by soul and fate.

Damian had orchestrated the auction to flaunt Cassies choice. He thought he had won.

I closed the book and handed it back to her. I walked to the guest room, grabbed my passport and my birth certificate, and headed for the door.

Cassie caught my arm, her voice laced with genuine confusion.

Ben, stop this. Im not saying I wont marry you eventually. I just need to give my parents what they want first. Stay. Youre still my fianc. Youre always complaining that I never take you to the family estatewell, Im taking you there in a few days for the gala. Isn't that what you wanted?

She tightened her grip. But if you walk out that door now, youre nothing. Youll never set foot in the Beaumont world again. Think carefully.

I didn't think. I just walked. If I stayed a second longer, I would have vomited.

For five years, shed kept me in the shadows. The estate is too suffocating, Ben, shed say. My parents are building a custom wing for us. Well go when its ready.

It took Damian four months to dismantle that lie.

I remembered the day at the office when Damian was handing out gift cards and expensive champagne to the staff. Someone asked how a "simple assistant" could afford it.

Damian had looked directly at my office door and shouted, The Beaumonts gave me a huge welcome-to-the-family bonus! They even let me move into the new wing they built for the 'future son-in-law.' Theyre so sweet, I just had to share the love!

The entire floor went silent. Later, I heard him whispering in the breakroom to a group of gossiping interns.

The rules aren't that bad, hed giggled. The new wing is huge, but I got scared the first night, so Cassie stayed and slept with me for three days. Shes very... respectful of my needs.

He had walked into my office later with a coffee, leaning over my desk so I could see the dark, purple bruises on his neck.

Ben, the Beaumont estate is massive. I screamed so loud in that new bed and no one heard a thing. He smirked. Cassie said next time shell take me to every room in the house. She likes the variety. Oh, waityouve never been there, have you? You probably don't even know how to make her vocalize like that. Want me to record it for you?

I had stood up, picked up the hot coffee, and poured the entire cup over his head.

No need for a recording, Damian. Lets hear you scream right now.

The ice and heat sent him into a screeching fit. I knew the noise would bring Cassie. I just didn't expect what happened next.

She had kicked the door open, seen Damian dripping in coffee, and didn't ask a single question. She grabbed him by the waist, comforted him, and then looked at her security team.

Take Ben to the executive washroom, shed said, her voice like dry ice. Hold his head under the water until he cools off. He clearly needs to wake up.

They had held me under for four hours.

That night, she had apologized. She claimed she didn't know the guards would be "so rough" and fired them as a show of good faith.

But from that day on, she stopped hiding Damian.

On my birthday, she was at a theme park with him. Photos of them kissing on the Ferris wheel went viral.

On our anniversary, she was teaching him how to swim. I waited at a restaurant for six hours while Damian posted a photo of them wrapped in a single towel. My girl, my coach. Guess what I learned today?

Then came the text: Ben, make sure they change the water in the pool. We couldn't help ourselves. We didn't leave the water all afternoon.

I had sent the screenshot to Cassie, demanding an explanation.

Her reply? Damian is just looking out for you. He knows you like the water clean.

A cold breeze snapped me back to the present. I shook the memories out of my head.

The next morning, I woke up in a hotel. A courier delivered an invitation: a gala at the Beaumont estate. My name had been handwritten over a white-out smudge.

I laughed and tossed it in the trash. I was going to that gala, but I didn't need her invitation. I would be entering as someone else entirely.

I cut my hair, changed my style, and ditched the soft, pastel shirts Cassie liked. I was halfway to the estate when the black SUV appeared again.

The same two men looked at me grimly. Sorry, Mr. Mercer. Boss's orders. Again.

Why now?

Damians having a relapse. The toxin is acting up. She says you need to come and apologize for stealing the ring at the auction.

When the car pulled up to the Beaumont Manor, I didn't fight. I looked at the towering stone pillars and smiled.

Before I could even take a breath of the air, Cassie grabbed me by the collar and dragged me toward the drawing room. She threw me onto the floor at Damians feet.

You coward! she screamed. You took the ring! If Damian suffers because you stole his medicine, I will ruin you! Get on your knees and apologize!

The impact with the floor caused a sickening crack in my wrist. A lightning bolt of agony shot up my arm, but I didn't make a sound. I bit my lip until it bled.

Damian, meanwhile, was holding a pair of desk scissors to his own throat, wailing like a sacrificial lamb. Kill me, Cassie! It hurts so much! I can't take the pain!

Cassies eyes went red with panic. She snatched the scissors from him and, in a fit of mindless rage, flung them toward me.

I ducked, but the blade sliced deep into my forearm. Blood sprayed across the white rug.

Seeing my blood, Damian suddenly calmed down. A glint of triumph flashed in his eyes. He looked up at Cassie, pouting. Cassie-baby... I just remembered. Doesn't your family have that magic ledger? If we write our names in it, the legend says my pain will vanish and well be bonded forever.

Cassie hesitated. She hadn't written his name in the Covenant yet. Not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn't. The ledger only accepted those of the bloodline or their officially sanctioned spouses.

But she was desperate. Tonight is the family gala anyway, she declared. Ill announce our engagement and well perform the blood-oath on the Covenant.

Damian couldn't wait.

Before the patriarch of the familythe legendary Alistair Beaumonteven arrived, Cassie stood before the gathered elite. She loudly announced that she had broken up with me months ago, that I was fired from the company, and that Damian Cole was her future husband.

I stood in the corner, clutching my bleeding arm, watching the circus.

Cassie gave me one last look of disgust, then took Damians hand. Together, they flipped open the Beaumont Covenant.

But the moment the page turned, Cassies eyes went wide. She stared at the first page, her face draining of all color.

She looked at me, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. Before she could speak, the heavy oak doors swung open.

Alistair Beaumont entered. The old man marched onto the stage, and without a word, delivered two thunderous slaps to Cassies face.

You disgraceful girl! he roared, his voice trembling with fury. He pointed a shaking finger at me. Do you have any idea who he is?