"Sister, you don’t have to do this. Even if you’re not our parents’ biological child, I’ll convince them to keep treating you well. You don’t have to degrade yourself for the Hewitt brothers just to stay in a wealthy family or force them into marriage. That would be too pathetic."
At the time, Howard and Brad merely sneered.
"She’s just afraid of losing her cushy life. To secure a place in the family, she’ll resort to anything—no matter how shameless."
"Exactly. Lora, you’ve been through hardships, so you can’t understand her desperation to cling to a rich family like a parasite."
Their words had struck her like a slap.
She had a sudden, painful recollection of the past—of her real brother, the one who had died in an accident when they were children. The Hewitt brothers had been devastated, crying alongside her.
One had pounded his chest, the other had clenched his fists.
"Nikki is our little sister now! When we grow up, one of us will marry her, and we’ll never let her suffer or cry!"
Their innocent vows had made the adults smile.
"Nikki can only marry one of you. Whoever treats her best will be the one she chooses."
"Then we’ll compete to see who takes better care of Nikki! She’ll pick the best one when she grows up!"
Back then, Nikki’s parents had always been absent, and her real brother had been her world. Their bond had been unshakable.
After his death, she only knew that he had signed a donor agreement, and that his heart had been transplanted into one of the Hewitt brothers.
From that moment on, she had seen them as family, as brothers to rely on.
But in the end, everything she had held onto had been stolen.
For three years, she had been nothing more than a loyal dog to the Hewitt brothers, her existence reduced to a cruel joke in high society.
Only Nikki herself knew—what she cared about was never marriage or a life of luxury.
The only thing that truly mattered to her was the heart beating inside either Howard or Brad’s chest.
That heart was the only connection she had left in this world, the only thing she depended on.
But after three years of relentless pursuit, she was exhausted.
And now, she had just learned that she had made a mistake.
Grandma Hewitt gazed at Nikki with deep affection. Despite the truth of her origins, she had long seen Nikki as her granddaughter-in-law.
Now, with everything ending in such absurdity, how could she not feel distressed?