Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Way We Once Were: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 9

"Sydney, I promise that once I'm done with this competition, the first thing I'm going to do is fly home and marry you."I hung up the call at the exact moment my adopted brother, Zach Lawson, entered the room. When he saw me hastily putting my phone away, he furrowed his brows in annoyance. "Who were you talking to?"I replied curtly, "Why does it concern you who I'm talking to?"Zach, knowing that I was still mad at him, tried to change the topic. He set down the bag he had brought on the table and said, "Sydney, I know you're mad at me, but I've already apologized. I know I shouldn't have played that prank on you. It was all my fault that you fell and caused your old injury to flare up, but I swear I didn't mean to hurt you on purpose."Thalia thought it would be a fun little prank, and I was just trying to make her happy. I didn't think you'd be so scared of those snakes that I snuck into the bouquet. I didn't think you'd stumble and fall as a result. They weren't even poisonou

This seemed to snap some sense into Zach. He glared at me and snapped, "Screw that! You're to sleep in the broom closet, Sydney! This is your fault! If you hadn't developed these sick feelings toward me, I wouldn't have to resort to this!"Your belongings are already in the broom closet, anyway. Go buy yourself a mattress. That'll be your bedroom from now on!"The broom closet was just big enough to fit a single-sized mattress, but it was too late to go out and buy one at this hour. This meant I would have to spend the night on the floor. Not only that, but the broom closet was musty and barely even habitable. Years ago, to save Zach, I got into a terrible accident that resulted in a serious leg injury. My leg would hurt for months after that, and I could not sleep a wink from the pain. Zach felt sorry for me and spent countless days researching ways to help me sleep better. He spent a fortune on a new bed for me and picked out the most expensive mattress, duvet, and pillow just fo

Zach's angry voice rang out from the other end of the line."Sydney, how dare you block both my and Thalia's numbers? Are you seriously still mad at me?"I bought some designer bags for you while we were away, but Thalia doesn't know it. Please don't stay mad at me. I'm about to reach home soon. Will you please open the door?"I did not reply, which seemingly irritated Zach. "Sydney, I know I was over the line. I shouldn't have locked you in the closet, but I've made up for it by buying you plenty of gifts! Will you please forgive me? Come on, you can't possibly still be mad, can you? Open the door, Sydney."I could hear Zach knocking on the other end of the line. The next moment, he shrieked in horror. "Who the hell are you? Sydney, how can you bring a man home while I'm away? How needy are you?"There was a brief silence as Zach muted himself, but a few minutes later, he returned, sounding even more furious. He roared, "Sydney, what gives you the right?! How can you sell the hou

With that, I turned and kissed my husband.Blushing, Connor picked up the bouquet he had brought with him and handed it to me. "Sydney, these are for you. I have a surprise gift for you as well. Don't be scared, I promise it's something good. Open it."I was shocked to discover that he had hidden a stunning necklace among the petals.Zach was so enraged by this that he lunged toward me, but Connor kicked him before he could get near me. With his arms wrapped around me, Connor turned to glare at Zach. "Can't you tell my wife wants nothing to do with you?"Zach gritted his teeth. He turned to me and shouted, "Sydney, you can't let him treat me like this! Why are you on his side? I'm your brother, for God's sake! Why are you defending an outsider instead of your own brother?"I sneered. "Well, it's simple. Connor would never hide snakes in a bouquet to scare me. You, on the other hand, used me, then cast me aside when you had gotten enough of me! I was an idiot to trust you all these

The smile froze on Zach's face, but he quickly regained his composure. "Sydney, I know it'll take you much more than this to forgive me, but I don't mind. It's alright for me."He gestured for me to sit on the sofa, then grabbed the old photo album and flipped through the pages, pausing now and then to point out a photo. He muttered to himself, "Sydney, do you remember this? This was our first time visiting an amusement park together. I was only fifteen at that time…"He could recall every memory contained within every photograph, but if he thought this would change my mind, he was terribly wrong. I did not love him anymore, and no amount of sweet words could change that.He turned to me earnestly. "Sydney, will you please come back?"The next moment, he whipped out a beautiful bouquet of flowers and got on one knee. "Sydney, I love you. My heart has always belonged to you, even if I did not know it at the time. I'm not content being siblings with you. I want us to be something mor