"Repay what? How would I repay him?" I retorted in annoyance."In this world, besides offering yourself, any other way of repaying seems pale in comparison.""Shut up. He's practically my older brother.""Right. Are you sure he's not your lover? Luna, this type of 'brother-sister' relationship is most likely to develop into something deeper."I seemed to hear a muffled laughter from Colin. Annoyed and embarrassed, I kicked Queenie in the leg. Why was her mind so dirty?"He watched me grow up and changed my diapers. 'Offering myself' is never going to happen between me and Colin. It can be with any guy on this earth but him.""What, he changed your diapers? Doesn't that mean you've been..."Before Queenie could finish her words, I went up and gave her a resentful kick. If I had known about this conversation back then, I would have never let him change my diapers."Queenie, shut your mouth. If you keep blabbering, you won't get to eat later."At last, Queenie reluctantly kept qu
"Hey, can you tell me exactly what happened?" I asked one of the guys, Aaron, while biting into my skewer and shifting closer to him."Come back here. Don't talk while you eat." Colin reached out to pull me back to my seat.Colin didn't eat much, spending most of the time looking after me. He handed me tissues and sliced the pizza for me—taking care of me in every way."No, I want to hear Colin's romantic tales. Come on, tell me, Aaron. I'm all ears." I pouted, getting Aaron to spill the beans. Colin shot me a glance of indulgence but didn't say anything more."All right, let me tell you about Colt's charm. He's a really popular guy. There is hardly anyone in the whole university who doesn't know him. Let's not talk about the past. Just last year, there was a junior girl who was quite decent-looking. She was a bit shorter than you, and not as pretty. But she was okay."One day, when queuing for food in the cafeteria, she accidentally bumped into Colt. Without any hesitation, Colt
Fine. Since I was unable to get the answer from the others, I decided to ask the person involved."Colin, why did you kick that girl? Tell me what you were thinking at that time." I smiled and approached Colin, getting close enough to smell his scent.Aaron, seemingly fearless after a few drinks, took the opportunity when everyone noticed Colin's changing mood. He provocatively teased him, "Maybe he found her smell unpleasant, haha.""What? Does that girl not take showers? How could she smell that bad? But Colin, that's still not right. If she smelled unpleasant, you should keep your distance. Kicking her out is too much. It's not very gentlemanly.""So, are you saying I should hug her and give her a couple of kisses to be a gentleman?" Colin's face turned gloomier, making it unbearable to look at.I felt helpless at how he misunderstood my simple words.Colin's remark caused a few of the guys, who were in the middle of chugging beer, to choke and spit their drinks out.Colin gl
Felix called to inform me that, due to certain circumstances, Lilac's exchange program ended a week earlier. During the phone call, I could tell he was very happy, and honestly, I was happy too.After all, I no longer had to see her or think about her. Lilac's absolute absence allowed me to finally be at peace. She was like a ticking time bomb placed beside me, bound to cause trouble sooner or later.Somehow, I found myself comparing Felix and Colin. Whenever I was in trouble, Felix either wasn't aware or left me to my own devices. On the other hand, whether intentionally or coincidentally, Colin always protected me.Looking from this perspective, I had to admit Dad was right about one thing. Colin was truly dependable, and it made me even more reliant on him.While I positioned myself as an independent person who avoided troubling others with things I could handle on my own, deep down, I was still a little princess who yearned to be loved.Colin, apart from my parents, was the pe
With most lecturers and students out of campus, only Colin and I were in the usually quiet studio. Apart from watching me eat, he kept reminding me to focus and put more effort into my work. It was so desolate that I felt like crying.Oh, Christmas. The holiday came just once a year, and yet I was forced to waste it. How heartbreaking! I wanted to cry!On the night of the 3rd, I was enslaved until 9:00 pm. Exhausted and sleepy, I snapped that it was bedtime and that I would finish the rest tomorrow.However, Colin adamantly refused, using both soft and hard tactics to drag me into completing the remaining work.At 10:45 pm, he escorted me back to the dormitory. After three consecutive days of working day and night, I was physically and mentally worn out. I was sound asleep as soon as I got into the bed.In my dream, Julia and Queenie were sitting in a restaurant, proudly showing off the photos they took in Verdantmont. The scenery was beautiful, making me want to cross through
"Are you satisfied with what you see?" Colin noticed my stare and glanced at me with a teasing smile.He loved to smile. Sometimes, it was as refreshing as a spring breeze, and at other times, it was warm and gentle. It always made me feel comfortable and relaxed. I would eagerly admire his smile, reluctant to part with it. On the other hand, Felix was always indifferent. Even when he smiled at me, it felt distant and seemingly impossible to gauge his true feelings. The point was that he rarely smiled at me.How should I put it? Felix was like a fragile piece of art that was more suitable to be displayed somewhere to be admired. Colin, however, was like the pillow by your bedside, making you want his company all the time.I remembered the day we first met; Colin teased me the same way he did now. What did I say back then? Oh, I remembered. I was deceived by his looks and foolishly said he was handsome.However, Colin was genuinely good-looking. It was the kind of clean, pure, and
Colin took two quick steps past me and then turned around, walking backward. He pulled out a phone from his pocket and pointed the camera at me. "Yes, and no. Lulu, look at me, smile.""I don't want to smile. Don't take pictures of me. I look ugly."Colin, abandoning his mature and steady demeanor, became lively and playful, with laughter filling the air.He continuously pressed the phone's camera button, paying no attention to whether I was ready or not, snapping candid photos however he liked.Imagining my unattractive appearance in the photos, I became infuriated, chasing after him and demanding that he delete them.Colin, always a step or two ahead, leisurely maintained a lead that I couldn't catch up to. At the same time, he made sure I wasn't left too far behind.This won't do! What if my ugly photos get leaked? That would be the end of me. They had to be deleted.Frowning, I came up with a plan."Ouch!" I pretended to be hurt, stopping and refusing to move forward while
Colin walked with me hand in hand, strolling along the mountain paths just like when we were kids. He shared stories about skilled folk artists I had never heard of, talked about his different interpretations of watercolor paintings, and reminisced about the paths we walked together in our childhood.Under the blue sky and bright sun, surrounded by picturesque scenery, we were like characters from a painting.In the park, there were tandem bicycles. Upon noticing my longing gaze, Colin rented one and took me on a ride, freely traversing the enchanting nature.We collaborated wholeheartedly, struggling to pedal for a long time until my legs were unbearably sore. It was only then we gave up and lay down on the grass to rest.Following that, we stumbled upon a narrow stream. Its water was a clear mirror, reflecting every grain of sand at the bottom. Several rounded stones, some dark red and others pure white, discreetly divided the stream.I naughtily took off my shoes, held them i
Luna furiously scolded me, asserting that I didn't deserve Queenie's love and that Queenie had been blind to my true colors all those years. Driven mad by desperation, I chased after Queenie, determined to tell her I was wrong and plead for another chance to prove myself. However, the young man intervened, delivering a swift and punishing combination of punches and kicks that knocked me to the ground. Humiliated, I struggled to get up and fight back, unwilling to lose to another man.Despite his youthful appearance, the look in his eyes as he glanced at Queenie was undeniable. It was a blend of love, desire, and possessiveness only a man could understand.I was consumed by the thought that he wasn't worthy of my precious Queenie's love.Nevertheless, my body felt heavy and powerless. It was as if the strength had been drained from me. The blows rained down on me, bringing with them a strange sense of relief amidst the pain. Part of me yearned for him to kick me harder, inflict
I wanted nothing more than to run to Queenie, to hold her tightly and tell her how much I missed her during those endless days apart. I wanted to kiss her deeply and feel the warmth of her embrace. I called out, "Queenie, I'm here."Seeing me seemed to jolt Queenie from her joyous state, replacing it with a vacant expression. Mere moments before, she had been smiling brightly, her eyes aglow with happiness. Now, she appeared lost, her initial elation dissipating into a blank, unresponsive gaze.I couldn't understand why she had turned so distant upon seeing me. The love and joy that once shone in her eyes were nowhere to be found. As I observed her, I wondered if our time apart had caused her to forget. Or perhaps the events of the past had wounded her so profoundly that she had stopped waiting for me.The thoughts terrified me, and I dared not ask for fear of confirming my suspicions. All I wanted was to hold her, kiss her, and tell her how much I missed her. Yet, it seemed tha
I had no interest in Daniela's pregnancy, so I kicked her out of the house. My friends came to console me, each expressing their sympathies with a drink because they didn't know how else to comfort me.The money I had sent to Queenie's account was quickly returned as the account had been closed. Her phone number became unreachable, and when I sought her at her parents' home, I found the elderly couple waiting anxiously for their daughter's return. I lost not only Queenie but any connection to her. I grew disinterested in everything, neglecting my company and spending my days in a drunken haze.Then, my uncle came. We drank through the night as he shared tales of his hardships, the painful memories of his mother, and the years he spent alone, suffering.He said, "Everyone has their fate, Flynn. And choosing one thing often means losing another. Just as you've chosen to fight for the family business, you've sacrificed a part of yourself. But you must rise and fight me with all you'v
Queenie would then jump off the cliff, leaving me to jolt awake in a cold sweat. I endured each twilight in my hopeless vigil, counting down the days.On the 75th day, the door finally unlocked. I stepped outside and realized that this was the neighborhood where Queenie and I lived. All this time, we had been mere yards apart.My mom truly knew how to break a person's spirit. All I had to do was lift my head to see the pomegranate tree planted in our yard.I stumbled toward our home, my wounds screaming as I desperately called for Queenie. But the immaculate house stood eerily silent, echoing my footsteps like thunder.Except for Queenie, every possession remained meticulously in place—the exquisite clothes, expensive jewelry, and designer cosmetics.Queenie was gone, and the thought of losing her drove me into a frenzy.I collapsed in the middle of the room, sobbing uncontrollably. Regret consumed me. I should have never let my family's threats manipulate me and left Queenie to
I clenched my fists, barely resisting the urge to rush over to Queenie's side. All I wanted was to embrace her and whisper assurances that I would protect her, always. But I knew I had no right to do so.My dad's threat hung heavy in my mind, and the stares of Daniela and her mother bore into Queenie like daggers. One wrong move or word and those blades would descend upon Queenie, cutting her to shreds.The pain was unbearable. I felt sorry for Queenie. I was powerless and couldn't help her. With all my heart, I wished for her to stay strong and survive. She deserved better than me. Daniela's mother slapped Queenie, calling her a whore and a homewrecker, accusing her of seducing other people's boyfriends.Queenie stood rigidly, her gaze filled with humiliation. Her lips trembled, and the light in her eyes gradually faded.I winced in agony but held myself together, picking up Daniela and walking away.Countless times afterward, I berated myself for choosing to take Daniela away
We both knew the truth—neither of us could cross the chasm that had formed between our hearts.After that, I went home almost every day. We managed to maintain a semblance of normalcy in our day-to-day lives. We prepared sumptuous dinners and tended to our garden. I even considered adopting a pet to keep Queenie company while I was away.However, no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't rekindle the warmth we had once shared. Queenie hardly smiled anymore. No matter what I did to cheer her up, she would only give a half-hearted smile, her eyes remaining cold and distant.I knew something had transpired during our separation, but she refused to discuss it. My attempts to uncover the truth through private investigators were in vain. Any evidence had been meticulously erased.Eventually, I realized Queenie was simply biding her time, waiting for the moment when she would be forced to relinquish all hope and leave.A month later, my mother joyfully told me that Daniela was pregnant an
I grabbed a brush from the bathroom and scrubbed myself furiously, desperate to wash away the overwhelming sense of filth. Even as the rough bristles tore into my skin, drawing blood and causing searing pain, I felt no closer to feeling clean.My mind was consumed with thoughts of Queenie and the nearly five years we had spent together—the happy moments, the arguments, every single memory.At that moment, I realized I was terrified. Never before had I experienced such abject fear. Knowing Queenie's uncompromising stance on love and fidelity, I knew she would never forgive me once she discovered my transgression.She would undoubtedly turn and leave, heedless of any pleas I might make. I probably wouldn't even have the courage to ask for her forgiveness in the face of her justified anger.I regretted everything. If I had listened to my friends and taken Queenie away from all this, none of this would have happened. But I had hesitated. Even now, I couldn't be certain if my hesitati
Yesterday afternoon, my dad called and demanded that I make a decision within two days, or they would take action.I felt cornered because I genuinely didn't know how to talk to Queenie about this. The mere idea of her packing her belongings and leaving, accompanied by the unspeakable anguish it would inflict upon me, was a burden too heavy to bear.I wasn't sure if I could ever have a semblance of normality in my life again after that.So, I gathered some friends to drink with me. I drank heavily because I had made a decision—a disgraceful, heartless decision. The thought of what I would have to face the next day made life seem hopeless, so I drank even more.Before losing consciousness, I handed my car keys to my assistant, using my last bit of clarity to tell him to take me home no matter what state I was in.Even if it meant returning to the Hayes family's residence, he should not leave me out on the streets. Despite the imminent breakup, I wanted to part ways with Queenie in
My mom proved to be even more ruthless than my dad. She found me, dropped to her knees without a word, and begged me. She reminded me of the years they had spent raising me, pleading that I ensure they wouldn't be left without a sense of security in their old age.In essence, they were pressuring me to abandon everything. I was to pursue money and power for their sake, secure the Hayes family's head position, and ensure our grip on wealth and influence. Their priority was maintaining their luxurious, elevated lifestyle. My happiness, my desires—whether I even wanted those things—meant nothing to them. Sometimes, it felt like I was nothing more than a tool for achieving their ambitions.My dad told me bluntly that he would go after Queenie if I didn't comply. He said, "You're right. I'm incapable of outmaneuvering your uncle. But no matter how incompetent I am, I can easily make Queenie's life in Harveyton unbearable."To be honest, that day was the coldest my heart had ever felt