After the Substitute Left, He Regretted It Dearly

Since I was ten years old, my life has only had Daniel Wilson in it.

He told me to call him brother.

Today is my twenty-first birthday.

Full of hope, I waited and waited, but he never came home.

I went out to look for him, and finally stood there stunned, staring at the woman in his arms.

"Which sister of yours is she?"

Chapter 1

In the fancy private room, the music suddenly stopped. A friend teased, "Won't your girlfriend be mad if she finds out?"

Daniel sat on the sofa in his suit.

His thin lips parted slightly, casually saying, "She won't be mad at me. She's very obedient."

Lena Moore walked over and nestled into Daniel's arms. Pretending to be upset, she said coyly:

"So you already have a girlfriend."

Daniel said lightly, "Foster sister."

After saying that, he added, "Someone I took in."

Then he gave his friends a look.

They'd been friends for years. With just one look, his friends immediately understood and quickly explained to Lena: "Lena, we were just joking earlier. Daniel's been thinking about you all these years."

Lena lowered her eyes and murmured, "If he really remembered me, why would he take in another woman?"

"You don't know—after your family moved abroad, Daniel was lost every day. If he hadn't found Julie, who looks a bit like you, he would've gone crazy."

Her doubts cleared, Lena's expression softened with sympathy. "So Daniel really does remember me."

Daniel said gently to her, "I promised you."

Everyone started teasing them again.

The door to the private room was pushed open. I looked at the scene before me.

I caught the way Daniel looked at Lena.

Just as gentle as how he usually looked at me.

I walked forward in a daze and pointed at Lena in his arms.

"Daniel, is she also your sister?"

Daniel was as gentle with me as always. "This is Julie Wilson, the one I told you about."

He had told me. Yes, he had.

On his desk was a photo frame with a childhood picture of Daniel, standing next to a girl with a bright smile.

I'd asked about it casually, and he explained that the girl was from the neighbor's family, named Lena, five years younger than him. When she was fifteen, her whole family moved abroad.

I knew more than just that. I also learned that Daniel's parents both died in a car accident when he was ten.

The neighbors treated him better than his own relatives did.

He was grateful to the Moore family, and he considered Lena very important. That's why he'd kept that photo for eight years.

He and Lena had only reconnected in the past two years. Before I came here, I saw their chat history on his laptop.

Lena was abroad and had contacted him saying her parents' business was having problems and they needed money. Daniel had sent her money several times.

She also said she was coming back to Celestria to work.

It seemed that Daniel had rushed to pick her up from the airport.

The laptop was left open on the living room table, and he'd even forgotten my birthday.

I thought he just deeply cared about this neighbor from his heart.

But now it looked more like he wanted her as his girlfriend.

Lena saw the complicated emotions on my face and burrowed deeper into Daniel's arms, pressing her cheek against his chest and looking at me smugly.

"Daniel, is this the foster sister they were just talking about?"

I looked at the few friends in the room. "Foster sister? Daniel, didn't you say you loved me and would definitely marry me?"

The friends exchanged glances and said nothing.

Daniel gently pushed her away, got up from the sofa, walked over to me and coaxed softly, "Julie, don't bring this up in public anymore. That was just a joke."

I lowered my eyes. "But you promised me."

He continued, "Lena's been in a bad mood lately. She just got back today, so I threw this party for her to cheer her up. For my sake, don't make her feel uncomfortable."

But I'm the one who's uncomfortable.

Whatever. I forced a smile. "Then I'll head back first."

A friend spoke up to stop me. "Don't go, Julie. Since you're already here, just hang out with us."