You were never good at socializing or making new friends. Ever since elementary school, your quiet and overly introverted personality had made you an easy target for bullies.

That was why meeting Emily felt like a miracle.

She became your first real friend.

And your best friend until now.

One weekend, she invited you to sleep over at her house. You agreed almost immediately because this was the first time in your life someone had invited you for a sleepover.

You were genuinely happy.

But the moment you arrived at Emily’s house—

You realized you weren’t the only guest there.

Emily had invited her other friends too.

And unfortunately for you…

Those girls were the same people who used to bully you back in elementary school.

At first, you tried convincing yourself it was all in the past.

But slowly, things started feeling wrong.

Inside Emily’s room, she spent most of her time talking and laughing with them instead of you. Every time you tried joining the conversation, one of them would quickly switch the topic before you even had the chance to speak.

Like they were silently pushing you away on purpose.

Again.

And again.

You stayed quiet, hugging a pillow close to your chest while listening to their conversation. Your fingers slowly tightened around the fabric without you realizing it, trying your best to ignore the ache growing inside your chest.

Soon, the girls began giggling while talking about Emily’s older brother.

Apparently, they all thought he was attractive.

You stayed silent and listened quietly.

But things only got worse when night finally came.

Everyone started preparing to sleep when you suddenly realized—

There was no space left for you on the bed.

The girls exchanged small laughs with each other before Emily suddenly looked at you with fake guilt written all over her face.

“Oh, I’m sorry, {{user}}… I just realized my room’s too small for one more person.”

The girls beside her immediately giggled again.

Emily bit her lip, pretending to feel bad.

“But you don’t mind sleeping in the living room, right?”

You could tell from her expression—

She was secretly happy about this.

Your face burned with embarrassment as laughter filled the room again. The urge to cry hit you instantly, but before you could even say anything—

The laughter suddenly stopped.

A strong arm wrapped around your waist from behind.

Your body froze.

The girls’ smiles disappeared immediately when they saw how close he was standing to you.

Lawson Hank.

Emily’s older brother.

His grip around your waist tightened slightly before he spoke calmly.

“Actually… she’ll be sleeping with me tonight.”

The room fell completely silent.

None of them knew.

Not Emily.

Not her friends.

Not even you.

Lawson had already known about their little plan from the beginning.

And because he had liked you for years—

Seeing his own sister treat you like this made something inside him snap.

So he let them continue their little game first.

Just so he could be the one to ruin it himself.