Later that morning, Allison smoothed her dress as they stepped out of the car in front of Lu Corporation. Her heels clicked confidently across the marble as the front desk receptionist straightened at the sight of her and Lucian walking side by side.
Everyone looked but there was no whispers. Some in awe, some in envy, some in quiet calculation.
But Allison have gotten accustomed to being watched. She wasn't the same naive girl anymore.
Her phone buzzed.
A message. From a number she hadn't seen in years.
"Hope you're still not dressing like a street vendor. I hear you're playing assistant now. Cute" — Marin.
Allison expression didn't change, but her eyes darkened slightly.
"Everything alright?" Lucian asked, glancing sideways.
She pocketed the phone. "Yeah. Just a text from someone who doesn't know how to stay buried."
---
Flashback:
Marin Feng.
They had grown up in the same house, under the same roof. Same family name. But never the same love.
Where Allison was quiet, Marin was sharp-tongued. Where Allison kept her head down, Marin climbed shoulders to get ahead. Where Allison wasn't the real daughter, Marin was blood.
And Marin never let her forget how she would always come out second.
Their father had doted on Marin dearly as he also doted on her. Their mother? She shows so much more love to Marin . Allison had always been the "charity child" there, but not wanted. Useful, when it served Marin's reputation.
They had shared dresses, shared teachers, shared photo frames.
But not love.
Not kindness.
And certainly not sisterhood.
---
Back in the office, Allison's heels clicked toward the elevator, Lucian beside her.
"I have a feeling someone from my past wants to make a comeback" she said lightly.
Lucian pressed the elevator button. "Friend?"
"Family" she replied. "Unfortunately."
He turned to her. "You don't owe them anything."
"I know" Allison said, meeting his eyes.
But Marin Feng?
Marin never reached out unless she wanted something. And if she was crawling back now…
…it meant something was coming.
Allison smiled, cool and composed, as the elevator doors opened.
----------
Standing near the elevator in six-inch heels and a cherry red bodycon dress was Marin Feng.
Allison's face froze.
Marin was tall, had immaculate makeup. Thin smile that didn't touch her eyes.
Her half-sister, not by blood but they grew up under the same roof. And Allison had long since learned that Marin's smiles were the kind you had to brace yourself against.
"Well, well" Marin said, voice sugary and fake. "Little sister."
Allison tilted her head, arms crossed loosely. "Did you get lost again? This isn't the beauty pageant you failed out of."
Lucian's expression turned to stone behind Yueying. He recognized the name—Marin Feng. He heard of her through Allison's files but had never met her in person.
Marin laughed, too high-pitched. "Still got that fire, huh? I'm here on a recommendation. The Board thought I could bring some... personality to PR."
Allison's stomach dropped.
"PR?" she repeated slowly.
"Mhmm." Marin flashed a saccharine grin. "I'll be working just down the hall from you. Isn't that sweet?"
Before Allison could reply, Lucian stepped forward, voice low and final. "That position hasn't been approved. PR doesn't need another face—they need integrity."
Marin's smile twitched. "It was a Board suggestion—"
"And this company doesn't run on suggestions." His gaze sharpened. "It runs on results. I'll handle it."
Marin's face stiffened for a beat, but she quickly recovered. "Of course, CEO Lucian. I'm sure you know best."
She turned and walked toward the elevators, heels clicking a little too loudly. When she was gone, Allison exhaled, eyes narrow.
"She's up to something" she said.
"She's jealous of you," Lucian's replied simply. "And she always has been, stay clear from her."
Allison turned to him, startled. "You sound like you've known her forever."
"I know your kind of pain" he said. "People who smile in your face and spit behind your back. Marin Feng will not last long here."
A silence settled between them.
Then Allison murmured, "I thought I'd left all that behind. You can recommend another work for her, the one that suits her. Dad would need a lot of support." Though, they had given the Feng family lots of financial support and a house. She didn't want Marin Feng causing problems for the company, she knew what kind of person she was .
"You have me now" Lucian said, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You're not alone."
Their eyes met, the elevator dinged behind them. Work was calling. But Allison stepped into that steel box a little stronger, a little surer. By noon, the office had settled into its usual rhythm.
Emails, calls, department meetings, everything moved like clockwork. Allison reviewed the weekly proposal summaries from Finance while her assistant placed a cup of warm barley tea on her desk she couldn't take another sip.
She didn't ask about Marin.
No one brought it up.
But Allison noticed two things.
Firstly, Marin was already listed as "acting PR liaison" on the updated staff chart in the internal portal. Secondly, no official memo had been issued about it.
Which meant someone on the Board had moved behind Lucian's back.
Allison closed the portal quietly and picked up her tea. The smell hitting her so strong that she felt like throwing up everything she had for breakfast.
---
After lunch, she knocked on the door to Lucian's office.
He looked up from a thick folder and waved her in. "You saw the update?" She asked.
"I did, she's not staying" he said calmly. "I'm already dealing with it."
Allison sat down across from him. "Do you think this is about me?"
He paused, then answered honestly. "Yes. But not just you. Marin Feng is connected. Though I haven't seen her in person, I did dig up about your family when I bumped into you and she has a bad reputation."
Allison didn't argue. "And she's not stupid. If she's here, it's not random."
"No" Luciy agreed. "She's here because someone wants to put pressure on me. And you."
There was a pause.
He leaned back slightly. "But they won't get what they want. You focus on your work. I'll handle the Board."
Allison nodded slowly. "Alright."
---
A WEEK LATER
On Thursday morning, Allison arrived at her desk to find a gift box waiting for her.
Cream wrapping, pale ribbon with no name tag.
Inside it there was a silk scarf in a shade she used to love years ago. A note rested underneath.
"For the face of the company, just a reminder not to forget your place. Love always. — M."
She stared at it for a full minute.
Then she calmly re-wrapped the scarf, folded the note back inside, and placed the box on the corner of her desk.
Ten minutes later, she walked it down to the legal department.
"Please log this" she said flatly. "No response needed."
The assistant there blinked, surprised, but nodded.
That afternoon, Marin passed by her desk with a casual smile and a cup of coffee in hand.
"Oh" she said in mock surprise. "Did you get my little gift?"
Allison didn't look up. "Didn't open it."
Marin clicked her tongue. "Shame. I thought it might bring back memories."
Allison looked at her then. Calm, blank. "You remember more than I do. That's what regret does."
Marin's expression tightened but she kept smiling.
And walked away.
The scarf on the gift box was the one her childhood playful 'fiance ' had gifted her but Marin had to come to the picture. She had lied that she was the one who saved the boy from drowning in the lake. The delusional little boy had taken the scarf forcefully from Allison to wrap it on Marin's neck.
Allison remembered that Marin and him dated till they grew up but Marin was a person with a dirty mind and dirty heart.
Yueying breathed out as she remembered those details.
FLASHBACK
Allison's shoes had sunk into the mud as she tried to reach the struggling boy. He'd fallen through thin ice, and his cries had torn across the silent winter air.
She'd been the first to see him.
The first to run.
And the first to dive.
By the time Marin arrived, Allison had already hauled him out, panting and trembling. He handed her a scarf when he finally opened his eyes, his eyes were the most beautiful blue she has ever seen. The scarf was a soft cream one his grandmother had knitted and was already wet from wrapping it around his neck.
But Marin pushed past her, shrieking the boy's name, and fallen dramatically to her knees.
"He's freezing. Oh my God—someone help"
She soaked herself before she came forward, in the water making it look like she jumped to save him.
She ripped the scarf from Allison's hands.
"She didn't even try" Marin lied. "She just stood there."
The boy, dazed and coughing, had looked between them… and believed the louder voice.
Allison said nothing.
Even when her throat itch to say the truth and with Marin glaring at her from the side, she could only stay quiet.