Chapter 5 You Will Never Beat Me in This Lifetime

The next morning, Joanna woke naturally in her new apartment.

Sunlight filtered through the curtains, warm against her face.

She opened the window and breathed deeply. The air smelled fresh after last night's storm, clean and crisp. For the first time in years, she felt the same way—cleansed.

She made herself sweet oatmeal and sautéed greens with oyster sauce. No medicinal soups reeking of herbs. No bitter tonics that made her gag. Just simple food she actually wanted to eat.

Pure bliss.

She'd just changed clothes and was about to visit her grandfather when her stepsister called.

Twelve years ago, less than a week after her mother's death, her father Leon Sterling had brought home his mistress Stella Sterling—along with Claire, a girl three years younger than Joanna.

Leon had looked Joanna in the eye and said, "Aunt Stella's health is fragile, and Claire's just a child. They both need looking after. They'll be living with us now. You'll show Aunt Stella respect and help take care of Claire."

Joanna had been too numb with grief to understand what was happening.

It wasn't until later that she learned the truth: Claire was Leon's biological daughter. Stella was already pregnant with Leon's son. And Joanna had become the unwanted remnant of a discarded life.

Perhaps karma had other plans. Stella lost that pregnancy. Then another. And another.

Twelve years later, Leon still had no son. Only two daughters: Joanna and Claire.

"Joanna, I'm getting engaged!" Claire's voice bubbled with excitement. "Want to come home and meet my fiancé?"

Given their relationship, there was no reason for Claire to personally inform her about an engagement.

But the smugness in Claire's tone suggested she had an ulterior motive.

Joanna wasn't interested.

She was about to decline when Claire added, "After all, my fiancé is your childhood sweetheart. He just recovered from a serious illness, and now he's getting engaged. Don't you want to congratulate him?"

Joanna froze. One name came to mind immediately—but that couldn't be right.

"What are you talking about?" Her voice came out cold.

"Ethan, obviously. Didn't you know? Yesterday was his discharge date. To show how serious he is about me, he came straight to the house this morning—the day after leaving the hospital—to discuss our wedding with Dad."

Claire's smugness intensified. "Joanna, so what if you married Justin? He doesn't love you. And Ethan—who used to love you—is mine now. You have nothing left."

"You'll never win against me. Not in this lifetime."

Claire hung up.

Joanna stared at her phone, unable to process what she'd just heard.

After her mother died, Ethan Murphy had been there for her. He'd comforted her. Made promises: "Joanna, I'm going to marry you. I'll give you the purest love in the world. I'll never betray you."

Then they'd gone on a trip together. A landslide. Ethan had shielded her with his body and ended up in a coma. The doctors said he'd never wake up.

Later, to help Ethan's parents—and to save her mother's company—Joanna had agreed to marry Justin.

That was where her story with Ethan had ended.

But even so, what they'd shared still mattered. How could he wake up and immediately get engaged to Claire—the girl who'd tormented Joanna for years?

It made no sense.

She had to see for herself.

Joanna hadn't been back to the Sterling house in three years. To avoid any hint of impropriety, she'd rarely visited Ethan during his coma—and when she did, she'd made sure to avoid his parents. Eventually, they'd lost touch.

She hadn't even known he'd woken up. Or that he'd been discharged.

Why hadn't he contacted her?

Even if they couldn't be together, weren't they at least still friends?

Joanna punched in the door code. Access denied.

Right. She'd been gone so long, they'd changed it again.

Stella and Claire loved changing the code—and conveniently forgetting to tell her.

Once, years ago, she'd come home from school to find herself locked out. She'd stood in the rain with her backpack, calling the landline over and over. No one answered.

By the time Ethan came to get her, she'd been soaked through.

Later, Stella had claimed she and the housekeeper had been too busy caring for sick little Claire to hear the phone. She'd offered a perfunctory apology.

Leon hadn't blamed them. Instead, he'd scolded Joanna for going to the Murphy house—said it made the Murphys think she was being mistreated, which made the Sterling family look bad.

"What are you doing here?"

The housekeeper opened the door, her expression making it clear Joanna wasn't welcome.

All the staff from her mother's time had long since been replaced. The current employees answered only to Stella and Claire. They'd never shown Joanna an ounce of respect.

Joanna ignored her and stepped inside.

Then she heard his voice.

Her heart kicked against her ribs.

"Mrs. Sterling, my parents told me everything. Claire took care of me the whole time I was in the coma. She visited them constantly. I understand how she feels about me, and I won't let her down."

"I'm going to marry her. I'll spend the rest of my life repaying her kindness."

Joanna stopped in her tracks.

Claire and Ethan were holding hands.

They turned at the same moment, as if they'd been waiting for her to arrive. Waiting to make sure she saw.

She hadn't misheard. Hadn't mistaken someone else for him.

This was Ethan. The man who'd once said he loved her more than anything. And he was saying he wanted to marry the person she despised most in the world.

Three years hadn't changed his face much. His body didn't look wasted the way it had the last time she'd visited the hospital.

He'd clearly been awake for a while. Long enough to recover completely.

So why hadn't anyone told her?

"Joanna! You're home."

Stella rushed forward with false warmth. "Perfect timing. Today Ethan and your sister are finalizing their engagement. Now we can all celebrate together as a family."

Claire clung to Ethan's arm. They both stood.

"Joanna," Claire said sweetly, "you don't mind that Ethan and I are together, do you?"

Ethan glanced at Joanna—barely a glance, really—before turning back to Claire with a tender smile. He brushed her cheek with his fingertips. "Don't be silly. Why would she mind?"

Right.

She and Ethan were over. She had no right to object.

Before coming here, Joanna had been full of questions. Now, standing in front of him, she couldn't voice a single one.

She had no standing. Not even as a friend.

Because so far, Ethan hadn't truly looked at her once.

"Joanna," Claire said softly, "you'll give us your blessing, won't you?"

She pushed Ethan's hand away with a shy smile, then looked up at Joanna expectantly.

Finally, Ethan met her eyes.

His gaze was blank. Distant. The way you'd look at a stranger.

"Yes." Joanna nodded.

Then, still holding his gaze, she added, "If you truly love each other, of course I wish you well."

Their eyes locked. Ethan's brow furrowed—just slightly.

Claire tugged on his arm, pulling his attention back to her. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"After all, you were the one who abandoned Ethan and married Justin," she said. "Ethan can choose whoever he wants now."

One sentence. That was all it took for Claire to paint Joanna as the villain who'd betrayed him.