My Billionaire Sister Wants My Heart

After eighteen years in the slums, my sister's billionaire father came to claim her.

The day she left, Serena-the sister I'd never gotten along with-insisted on taking me with her to that better life.

Everyone was jealous. They thought I'd finally escaped this place.

But I refused.

My parents stared at me, caught between fury and despair.

"We're handing you a future, and you're throwing it away? You want to rot here forever?"

Even our relatives saw a chance. "If she won't go, just send my Chloe instead!"

I didn't budge.

"I'm not going."

I knew what awaited there was danger.

My repeated refusals drew a frost over Mr. Sterling's expression. A man of his stature didn't beg. He certainly didn't beg a poor, unrelated girl.

He crossed his arms. "Ungrateful," he spat, the word hanging in the air like a verdict.

Seeing his anger, Mrs. Davies trembled. She stepped forward and slapped my shoulder, her voice a low, furious hiss.

"What is wrong with you? People would kill for this chance, and you say no? Are you insane? What is so good about this dump that you must stay?"

I kept my head down, silent, as they yelled and hit me.

This rundown place truly was awful. We scraped by, working through scorching summers and braving winter blizzards to tend the livestock.

But I still wanted to stay. At least...

Mr. Davies gritted his teeth and shoved me.

"You have to go! This isn't up to you. If you go, it'll ease the burden on this family. Your mother and I won't have to break our backs paying for your education anymore!"

"Lily, stop being stubborn! This is for your own good."

Tears filled my eyes. I knew they meant well. They wanted a better life for me.

But I still shook my head, my voice thick. I can't!"

My aunt Rachel saw her chance. She pushed her daughter Chloe forward, her shrewd eyes darting between us.

"Since Lily won't go, why not Chloe? She's every bit as good!"

Before Mr. Sterling could respond, Serena frowned and cut in.

"No! I only want Lily to come with me!"

Anyone else might have seen a devoted sister. But I, shrank back into the corner, broke into a cold sweat.

Normally, Rachel would have yelled in Serena's face for using that tone.

But things were different now. Serena was the billionaire's daughter, her status transformed. Rachel was too busy currying favor to protest.

She edged closer, her voice sycophantic.

"Serena, just take Chloe. She's hardworking. She'll look after you. Far better than that lazy Lily!"

As she spoke, a look of pure disgust landed on me.

I didn't feel angry. If anything, a quiet relief settled in.

Serena dismissed the idea without a second thought. "No, I only want Lily with me!"

With that, she intimately linked her arm through mine. It felt like a cold, slimy snake coiling around me, suffocating me.

"Lily, please come with me. It's such an amazing chance to change your life. Why do you keep refusing me?"

She blinked, a probing look in her eyes as she stared at me.

I yanked my hand away as if she burned me, stumbling back a few steps before I regained my composure and spoke.

"I'm not going. Find someone else, or just go by yourself."

She put on a wounded expression, her eyes welling up, looking incredibly hurt.

"No, Mom and Dad always taught us to share. Now that I have a good life, I keep thinking of you, and you just keep refusing me."

"Did I do something wrong to upset you? I'm sorry, okay? Just come with me."

"You can try it for a while. If you don't like it, you can come back, okay?"

Rachel watched me, her eyes thick with an envy so potent I could taste it. She wished Serena had asked her.

I cleared my throat, firm.

"I'm not going. My life is here. I wouldn't belong there."

Serena's composure shattered.

"What life?! Slaving at dawn, pinching cents for a flicker of light at night, wearing rags until they fall apart! What is worth clinging to here?"

"Lily, look around! Every girl here is married off the moment she's of age. Is that what you want? To be sold to some stranger twice your age?"

Every accusation struck a deep, familiar chord.

I didn't want this life. It was a grinding, colorless struggle.

But I feared the mansion more than the hardship. A gilded cage was still a cage. I would not go.

I sighed, taking a long moment before speaking slowly.

"I've said it many times. I just don't want to go. No matter how good the life is, I don't want to go. How many times do I have to tell you before you understand?"

My parents shot me a look of furious disappointment, practically gnashing their teeth as they asked me.

"Then why don't you want to go? Tell us, what's so special about this place that you're so attached to it?"

I rubbed my red eyes, hesitating repeatedly before swallowing the truth, knowing no one would ever believe me.

I could only find another excuse to give them.

"I want to stay here with you, okay? If you both leave, who will take care of you if you get sick?"

Mr. Sterling's expression finally softened, and he cleared his throat.

"That's not a problem. We can take your parents with us to live a good life. Consider it our way of repaying you for raising Serena all these years."

His words hit me like a ton of bricks, leaving me dazed.

My parents instantly grinned from ear to ear. "R-really? We can go too?"

Mr. Sterling nodded, but a flicker of inexplicable disdain was hidden deep in his eyes.

Seeing this, my parents slapped their hands together and turned to me, smiling.

"Lily, now our whole family can go. You can rest easy now, right?"

Serena unconsciously let out a sigh of relief, a genuine smile on her face, and chimed in.

"So Lily was worried about this. You should have said something earlier! Taking care of Mom and Dad is my responsibility too; I would never abandon them."

But I couldn't smile. I only wished I had found a different excuse, I'd fallen right into their trap.

Serena started pulling my parents towards the car. I rushed forward to stop them.

"No, you can't go!"

Serena's smile froze on her face. She looked at me in surprise, a flicker of irritation crossing her face.

"Lily, didn't you say if Mom and Dad went, you would too?"

"Why are you disagreeing now? What else do you want?"

I ignored her, just grabbing my parents' hands and pulling them back.

"Don't go, and I won't go either. Can't we just stay in the slums?"

My parents stared, confused. "Lily, what is this? You just agreed to go if we went."

"We said yes. Now you're stopping us?"

Serena clasped her hands, tears glistening in her eyes as she approached me. Her voice trembled with hurt.

"If you don't want to go, fine. But why would you take this chance from Mom and Dad? Why are you being so selfish?"

"I only want what's best for all of us, and you've blocked me at every turn! Why?"

I gritted my teeth, fury burning in my chest. If my parents went alone, I'd never have a moment's peace.

This was Serena's new strategy. If I wouldn't go, she'd take my parents instead.

She had me completely cornered, certain that if my parents went, I would follow.

Her act of being so devoted to my well-being made me seem ungrateful in the eyes of the other relatives.

They stood by, arms crossed, loudly mocking me.

"Lily was just never meant for a good life. I say she should just find a man and get married."

"I know, right? If something like this happened to me, I'd say yes in a heartbeat. She's such an idiot."

"Serena, if she won't go, fine, just take us! We all want a good life!"

Serena ignored them, her eyes meeting mine, with a hint of scrutiny.

I quickly masked the fear in my eyes, not wanting her to notice anything amiss.

Mr. Davies yanked his hand from mine, gasping for breath as he angrily questioned me.

"Lily, what are you doing?! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

Mrs. Davies' face was ashen. "Lily, my patience is wearing thin. You won't go, and you won't let us go. Are you crazy?!"

I was furious and desperate. The truth sat bitter and heavy on my tongue, but I couldn't force it out. All I could do was cry and repeat myself, a broken record of desperation.

"I don't want to go! And you can't go, either!"

"If we go... if we go there, it will-"

"It'll?what?"

Serena cut in, her smile sharp and probing.

I flinched. The words shriveled in my throat. I turned my face away, sealing my lips in a tight, final line.

My mother raised her hand and slapped me hard across the face, then made her final decision.

"Alright, I've decided. Our whole family is going. Lily, stop messing around!"

The tension drained from Serena's face, and a relaxed smile appeared.

But I couldn't just stand by and watch my parents go to the billionaire's house.

Without a word, I rushed to the balcony, swung one leg over the railing, and threatened to kill myself.

"None of you are allowed to go! If you go, I'll jump from here!"

My parents were startled by my actions.

But the person even more agitated than my parents was Mr. Sterling. He quickly raised a hand to stop me.

"Lily, don't be impulsive, don't be impulsive! Let's talk this through!"

I didn't look at him, only stared at my parents, demanding they change their minds.

"Mom, Dad, promise me we won't go, okay? If Serena wants to go, let her go by herself, okay?"

My parents looked hesitant, even starting to wonder.

"Is this kid possessed?"

A profound sense of helplessness welled up in my heart. My voice rose to a shout.

"If you don't promise me, I'll jump from here right now!"

With that, I leaned further out, my whole body hanging precariously from the balcony. One gust of wind and I'd be gone.

My parents were still deliberating, truly unable to understand why I would refuse a good life and insist on staying in this poor place.

After a long time, my tears nearly dried, my parents finally nodded.

"Fine, if she doesn't want to go, then we won't. We're not meant for that kind of life."

My strength gave out, and I crumpled to the floor.

Mr. Sterling looked at me with a complex expression for a long time before speaking.

"Since she's unwilling to go, I won't force it. Serena, let's go home."

Serena was the first to object. She shrieked, her voice hoarse.

"No! Lily has to come with me!"

Her face twisted as she rushed over to me, frantically shaking my shoulders.

"Lily, why won't you go? You don't want a good life, are you crazy?!"

Her nails dug deep into my shoulder, and I gasped from the pain.

Mr. Sterling spoke up, displeased, his voice carrying a hint of authority.

"Serena, that's enough!"

His words acted like a tranquilizer. She froze. A fine tremor ran through her body.

She released me, her grip going slack. Her eyes were red-rimmed, still burning with defiance.

"Why? Are you insane? You're throwing away a fortune, a future."

To an outsider, it might have looked like genuine concern.

My parents stepped forward, patting Serena's shoulder soothingly, forcing a smile.

"Serena, if Lily doesn't want to go, fine. Just remember to take care of yourself when we're not around."

Serena shoved them away, her voice rising to a shout.

"Don't tell me what to do! I offered you a way out and you threw it in my face! You've brought this on yourselves!"

My parents opened their mouths, then closed them, the words dying into a helpless sigh.

Serena stood abruptly, shot me a venomous glare, and let her new father lead her away.

A wave of relief finally broke across my face.

But my parents couldn't smile. They looked at me with disappointment, before turning back to their work.

The day's turmoil left me drained.

I collapsed into bed, fell into a deep sleep, only to wake up staring at the roof of a car.

My eyes snapped open. My parents' voices cut through clearly.

"Thank goodness Serena had the foresight to drug her. Once Once Lily wakes up in that mansion, she'll never want to leave. Just stubborn, that girl!"