I Was His Decoy, She Was His Obsession

Gunner Carnegie was my favorite form of punishment—choosing my sister over me.

I would've died for him—the man I devoted eight years of my life to. But for my half-sister? He'd kill me without a second thought.

To Brandi, his name was a nightmare, not some romantic fantasy. But to win her over, Gunner humbled himself, investing in my company and playing the role of "Secretary Gunner Sutter."

He stayed by my side—but only to stay close enough to ease her fears… and make her fall for him.

"Sloane," he warned me, "lay a finger on her, and I'll make sure you suffer ten times worse."

And he meant it.

I slapped Brandi once. He hit me back—hard—right in front of everyone.

I gave her role to someone else. He made my life hell.

I called her a bitch. He carved the word into my skin himself.

Brandi never had to lift a finger. Everything I fought for, he handed to her on a silver platter.

Me? No matter how much I suffered, all I ever got was "You deserved that."

So when Dwight Astor proposed, I said yes without hesitation.

Then—crack. The next thing I knew, the floor rushed up to meet me.

My ears rang so loud I could barely hear my assistant screaming, "Miss Sloane! Your face!"

Her hands grabbed me, pulling me up. I couldn't see it, but I felt the heat, the swelling, the sting where something sharp had split my skin.

But nothing hurt more than the way he looked at me.

So cold.

I loved Gunner for eight years.

But the only woman he ever truly cared about was my two-faced little sister.

I've asked myself a thousand times: What does she have that I don't? What made him kneel for her, bleed for her?

The day I found out… I swear, I wanted to kill her.

Five years ago, Gunner came to me. Premier Collective was crumbling.

He offered to save it—on one condition:

"Stop tormenting Brandi. Give her back everything that's hers."

My heart ached.

The real power behind the Carnegie empire wasn't their polished heir.

It was him—the third son, the one who ruled from the shadows.

For my sister, he lowered himself. He stayed close to me, pretending to care, just to help her forget her fear of him.

Because everyone knew Gunner was terrifying. Just his name made people tremble. His hands were stained with blood.

Once, he sent Brandi flowers. The moment she heard they were from him, she spiked a fever that night.

When Gunner found out, he…

But he couldn't just let her go.

So he played the part—working as a secretary, hiding who he really was.

"If that day comes," he promised, "she'll see the real me."

What he never saw was me—still loving him, still waiting.

Emotion overruled reason. I agreed to his terms.

In recent years, I clawed my way up, making my sister one of the industry's top actresses.

Then she broke into my room, rifling through my things.