His Uncle's Wife

My name is Helen Sullivan. The first time I met Eddie Shane, I had just turned ten. That day, the orphanage director brought me before him, smiling and saying, "This child is the most obedient." He wore a sharply tailored black suit, a cold ring glinting on his fingertip. He crouched down and ran a hand through my hair, the scent of disinfectant lingering on his skin. His voice was calm, like the surface of a winter lake. He asked, "Do you want to come with me?" I looked at the gleaming car behind him and nodded. From that day on, I became something new — Eddie Shane's younger adopted sister. On my first day in the Shane Family Villa, he toured me through every room before stopping at a south-facing bedroom. "This will be your room from now on," he said. Everything in the room was new, carrying a faint scent of jasmine. He told me, "The city's best private school has already enrolled you." I thought I had finally escaped the hardships of the orphanage and could live a normal life. But I was wrong. On a rainy night when I was fifteen, everything changed. I lay feverish in bed, vaguely sensing someone sitting at my bedside. It was Eddie Shane. The usual scent of disinfectant was gone from him, replaced by a faint trace of alcohol. He reached out to touch my forehead; the tips of his fingers felt almost burning. I wanted to call him "brother," but he covered my mouth. His eyes were dark, like ink that wouldn't dissolve, swirling with emotions I couldn't understand. What happened that night became a secret buried deep in my heart forever. Since then, Eddie Shane's attitude toward me had grown complicated. In front of others, he remained the noble eldest son of the Shane Family, caring and attentive to me. But when it was just the two of us, he shed all his masks, revealing a side both obsessive and fiercely possessive. He would tell me again and again, "Helen, you can only be mine." He has an extreme obsession with cleanliness; everything in the house must be placed exactly where it belongs. Whenever someone visits, he has the servants disinfect everything thoroughly beforehand. Even I have to wash my hands with the disinfectant he specifies before I can get near him. He said, "Only then can I bear to have others close to me." I thought this life would last forever. I was like a treasure he carefully guarded, locked away in this gilded cage, never seeing the light of day. Until Yvette White showed up. That day, Eddie Shane brought her home and said, "This is my friend." Yvette White wore a red dress, her smile as radiant as a summer sun. She casually walked over to Eddie Shane and hooked her arm through his. I clearly saw that Eddie Shane didn't pull away from her. What shocked me even more was that he didn't have Yvette sanitize her hands. Yvette picked up the glass on the table and took a sip; Eddie Shane then grabbed the same glass and drank from it too. My heart felt as if an invisible hand was squeezing it tightly, pain so sharp I could barely breathe. Not long after, news spread that Eddie Shane was going to be engaged to Yvette White. That night, Eddie came to my room. As usual, he asked me to help him tie his tie. My fingertips trembled as I asked, "Are you really going to marry Yvette White?" He didn't look at me and said coolly, "Yes." I asked again, "What about me?" He finally looked up at me, impatience flickering in his eyes, and said, "You're still my younger adopted sister." At that moment, I realized I had never held any real place in his heart.