Falling In Love with My Stepbrother1
I was the legitimate daughter of the Holden family. Growing up, I loved my wise and brave stepbrother, Callum Smith, the general.
I am outgoing, but I tend to hide my feelings deep within. Unfortunately, someone with bad intentions found out and exposed my feelings towards my stepbrother to everyone.
They all accused me of being shameless and even my father scolded me, saying I disgraced our Holden Family.
My stepbrother, who used to be kind, suddenly became cold and handed me over to the army's deputy general for discipline.
Three years later, he remembered me and brought me back. He asked if I still had feelings for him and I only shook my head to deny it.
Not until he caught a glimpse of my scars and hickeys all over me did he suddenly understand that his soldiers had used me and took advantage of me out of my will.
At that moment, his eyes widened in astonishment and he started to regret everything…
Part 1
In my third year as a washerwoman in the military camp, my stepbrother, Callum Smith, sent someone to pick me up here.
"It's been three years. How has Vera learned manners? Anyway, bring her back tomorrow for mom's birthday banquet." Those were Callum's exact words.
When the servants from the Holden Family came to fetch me, I was washing clothes for a group of soldiers.
I had to endure washing all the sweat-stained clothes, batch after batch, for three days. That was quite tiring, but I had no choice. It was what I should do.
It was December, in a cold winter season and the surroundings were too cold. If I hadn't washed quickly, the water would have already frozen, so I had to immerse my hands in cold water all day long. My hands were already covered in frostbite, swollen and painful.
Even if I kept on working tirelessly all day long, the sergeant, Henry Sanders, who supervised me here, kept on cursing and yelling at me as if I was not doing anything at all.
"Who do you think you are, acting like a princess here?! You're just a condemned woman, so you better work, or else you'll suffer! You chose it!" Henry always shouted at me that way.
Three years ago, Callum had sent Henry to supervise me. He instructed him to be tough on me.
Henry was the sole sergeant to supervise my duties here in the military camp, but many times, I was so exhausted that I nearly fainted.