Back home.

Lauren Shaw fetched a fresh set of pajamas for her sister to change into.

Ever since Nina Shaw got married, it had been ages since the two sisters sat down and had a real heart-to-heart.

With remarkable tact, Yancy Shaw slipped quietly into the bedroom and didn’t come back out.

Lauren Shaw sat beside her, hesitation swirling inside. But she still asked, "Sis, did you have a fight with your husband?"

Nina Shaw lowered her gaze and turned her head, looking out at the pitch-black night sky.

"Shengsheng, do you think the one who isn't loved is always the third wheel?"

Lauren Shaw froze for a second, but answered firmly, "Love doesn’t care about who came first, but it does care about integrity and self-respect."

She spoke from experience, though she couldn’t quite figure out why her sister was suddenly asking this.

A bitter smile flitted across Nina Shaw’s lips. She glanced at the jacket draped over Lauren Shaw’s shoulders—Yancy Shaw had just brought it out, worried she’d catch cold.

"Dr. Shen treats you well."

Lauren Shaw instinctively looked down at the jacket. She was about to say something when the doorbell rang.

She got up to answer it.

At the door stood a man, his face drawn with anxiety and fatigue.

"Where’s your sister?" The first thing he asked upon seeing Lauren Shaw.

Lauren Shaw looked back at Nina Shaw, still sitting on the sofa.

But she blocked the doorway. She clearly had no intention of letting Xavier Quinn in.

"She’s inside." Her tone turned noticeably cold.

"I’d like to ask you about what happened between you and my sister." Just thinking of her sister’s disheveled state earlier made her heart ache.

Nina Shaw had always been the pride of the family—a talented ophthalmologist. But after marrying Xavier Quinn, she was in an accident, and her hand could never hold a scalpel again.

Knowing Nina Shaw was inside seemed to ease Xavier Quinn’s expression somewhat. There was a complicated look in his eyes as he gazed at Lauren Shaw.

"Things aren’t so easily explained all at once. Thank you for taking care of your sister."

"Of course I take care of my sister—you don’t need to thank me for that."

Xavier Quinn might be a wealthy businessman from Harbor City, but she wasn’t afraid of him. If he treated her sister badly, she wouldn’t pretend otherwise.

Tilting her chin defiantly, she said, "Mr. Qiao, if you ever feel my sister isn’t good enough for you, you can bring her back to us whenever you want. But don’t treat her like this."

Nina Shaw’s earlier question had already made her sense that something was off.

They’d always been close—when they were kids, Nina Shaw always protected her. Now she was grown, it was her turn to protect her big sister.

Xavier Quinn fell silent for a moment. His thin lips parted. "I never thought your sister wasn’t good…"

Before he could finish, a voice from inside cut him off.

"Xavier Quinn, leave. I don’t want to see you right now." Nina Shaw’s tone was icy, with a hint of stubbornness.

"May I come in?" Xavier Quinn looked at Lauren Shaw politely. As Nina Shaw’s little sister, she had his respect.

Lauren Shaw glanced at her sister, then at Xavier Quinn. In the end, she opened the door wider to let him in.

As he entered, the bedroom door opened. Yancy Shaw leaned against the doorframe, his gaze towards Xavier Quinn edged with coldness.

The sight of Yancy Shaw startled Xavier Quinn—there was something oddly familiar about the man, though he couldn’t place it.

"This is my husband, Yancy Shaw," Lauren Shaw introduced.

"Hello, Xavier Quinn."

Yancy Shaw nodded politely, then looked at Lauren Shaw and saw she stood unmoving in the living room.

But now was the time to leave the other two some space.

He took Lauren Shaw’s hand and gave her a look before pulling her into the bedroom.

"What are you doing?" Lauren Shaw stared at him, puzzled. "What if he bullies my sister?"

Yancy Shaw placed a finger gently over her lips, gesturing for silence.

He spoke softly: "Can’t you tell your sister is venting? Only the person who tied the knot can untie it. Let them work this out themselves; otherwise, you’ll just get in the way."

In an instant, Lauren Shaw understood. Maybe her sister and brother-in-law weren’t nearly as estranged as people thought.

Thinking back, when she’d first opened the door, Xavier Quinn had indeed looked nervous and anxious—his concern for her sister was clear, and not something he could fake.

"Does it make sense now?" Yancy Shaw watched her with a twinkle in his eyes.

Lauren Shaw nodded. "You’ve got a point."

"Let them sort out their own issues. It's late, we should be getting to bed," Yancy Shaw said, and before she could protest, he bent down and swept her up into his arms.

"Hey, wait! They’re still out in the living room…" She didn’t get to finish before a knock came at the bedroom door.

"Shengsheng, we’re heading out. You two get some rest."

Lauren Shaw: …

Turns out, only the one who tied the knot can untie it.

None of her words of comfort could compete with a single look between them. She sighed—she really needed to stop worrying so much.

"Wasn’t I right?" Yancy Shaw’s knowing eyes seemed to see straight through everything.

"How do you know all this?" When it came to love, Lauren Shaw never could see things clearly. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have wasted so much time on Yvonne Sung.

"Want to know?"

Lauren Shaw eyed the deeper meaning in his gaze, then wrinkled her nose. "No thanks, actually."

She shut her eyes quickly, but the man beside her wasn’t about to let her off so easily.

His warm palm slid across her back, making her shiver with anticipation…

"Shengsheng…" He leaned in by her ear, gently nipping her earlobe, stirring her desires and drawing her with him into pleasure…

…

Morning.

Lauren Shaw woke up sore all over, the marks of last night’s passion on her neck and back.

Face-down on the bed, she glared at the person responsible for her state.

The culprit, Yancy Shaw, looked utterly content gazing at her. On seeing the marks he’d left behind, a mischievous smile played in his deep eyes.

"You still owe me an answer about last night," Lauren Shaw grumbled, shooting him a withering look.

But her exhaustion and lack of energy only made her appear more alluring.

Yancy Shaw reined himself in with effort and cleared his throat. "Can’t you see? They still care a lot about each other."

He recalled how haggard Xavier Quinn looked when he rushed over last night—he must have heard that Nina Shaw was here, and driven all the way over from Harbor City.

"If he cares so much, why make her suffer?"

That was something she’d learned from her own heartaches: someone who truly loved you would never willingly let you get hurt. Yancy Shaw was proof of that.

"Everyone’s situation is different. We can’t judge others based on our own perspectives, because we each stand in a different place."

Yancy Shaw always saw things so clearly, while Lauren Shaw just couldn’t stand seeing her sister sad—so she’d ended up taking an extreme stance.

After hearing his explanation, she understood, at last.