Part 1Miu Miu And Mistaken Love

My online boyfriend sent me a Miu Miu dress.

By some stroke of bad luck, my mother accidentally put the package into my younger sister’s closet.

The good news was that I had just discovered my online boyfriend was actually Austin, the boy I had secretly loved for three years.

The bad news was that when my sister wore the dress, he mistook her for me and confessed his love to her.

Just as I was about to type out an explanation to him, a cascade of glowing bullet comments drifted across my vision:

This side character is so pathetic it is almost comical. Does she still not get it? He fell for her online persona, but he is a visual creature.

If it were not for the sister’s gorgeous face, the male lead would have kept her as a virtual pen pal forever.

Let her speak! Once she makes a fool of herself trying to explain, the male lead will realize he actually loves the real-life sister, not some text-based avatar!

I deleted my half-written text and closed the chat window.

…

Under the warm glow of the streetlamp, the two of them looked like a picture-perfect couple.

I tossed my phone into my desk drawer and forced my eyes back to the math formulas in front of me. But the numbers blurred together, and my mind kept drifting back to my sister, Violet, and Austin.

They were saying their goodbyes downstairs. Austin stood under the light, his eyes tracking her figure until she safely crossed the threshold of our building.

Outside my door, my mother was already teasing Violet, asking when they had started dating and why she had kept it a secret. She claimed she was not a conservative parent; as long as it did not affect her grades, she would not stand in their way.

Violet covered her burning cheeks, her voice dropping to a soft, hushed tone as she glanced toward my room, worried she might disrupt my studying.

"He really just confessed to me today! I was completely shocked too."

"He said he has been watching me for a long time, and he even praised how beautiful I looked in this dress!"

She wrapped her arms around our mother’s shoulder, leaning in close.

"Thank you for buying me this dress, Mom."

It was only then that my mother realized something was off. She had never bought Violet that dress. She had simply assumed Violet had purchased it with her own allowance.

Violet blinked in confusion, her gaze instinctively turning toward my closed door.

The bullet comments instantly erupted into a wave of adoration:

Violet looks so adorable and guilty. My heart is melting.

To be fair, that dress looks ten times better on Violet anyway!

Do not feel bad, Violet! Once Austin is officially your boyfriend, he will buy you a dozen more, dressing you up like a real-life Barbie to show up that bitter sister.

Violet quickly changed out of the dress. Despite her hair still being damp from the shower, she carefully hand-washed the garment, dried it, and folded it neatly.

She even tried to drag our mother into my room to apologize to me. But my mother did not believe she had done anything wrong.

"I cook and clean for you girls every single day, and now I am the one in the wrong?" my mother grumbled. "It was just a laundry mistake. We can just swap it back! Since when does a mother have to bow down and apologize to her own children?"

But this was not the first time. It was never a simple mistake.

Whenever a piece of clothing was new, expensive, or brightly colored, my mother would subconsciously place it in Violet’s closet. The worn, dark, or oversized hand-me-downs always found their way into mine.

When I first received the package from Austin, I had been so terrified of this exact scenario that I did not even throw it into the shared laundry hamper. I had hand-washed it myself and hung it up on my personal balcony.

Yet, when I woke up the next morning, the dress was gone.

When I asked my mother about it, she scolded me for being disorganized and leaving my things lying around.

I had sat at my desk, intending to message Austin to apologize and admit I had lost his gift, when his chat popped up first. His excitement practically radiated through the screen.

I found you.

I looked out the window. He was standing right in front of Violet, his smile incredibly tender.

A moment later, the door to my room opened. Violet stood there, holding the neatly folded dress out to me.

"I am so sorry, Sylvia. I did not know this was yours..."

I cut her off quietly.

"Just put it at the bottom of the wardrobe."

After all, I would never have the chance to wear it now.