Chapter 2

Watching Brendan still on the phone with Chloie Ellis, his voice soft and loving, Jayde Rosario swallowed the words she had come to say. She turned and quietly left the study.

To him, she was just a stepsister living in his house. He wouldn't care where she went to college. If that was the case, she didn't need to tell him.

In fifteen days, she would leave the Maynard home. She would leave Brendan.

Back in her room, Jayde looked at the warm glow of the Totoro nightlight on her bedside table. A flicker of sadness crossed her face. The chubby Totoro holding a green leaf umbrella over a little girl looked just like how Brendan used to shield her. But the past was the past.

She sighed softly and switched off the nightlight. The room went dark.

"Since I've decided to go, it's time to pack," she murmured to herself.

She pulled an old duffel bag from the top of her closet and opened the large, wall-to-wall display cabinet. Inside the glass-fronted shelves were all the memories. The good luck charms Brendan had brought her from the temple. The Coral Sea perfume he had specially blended for her on a trip to France.

One by one, she took them all out and placed them in the duffel bag. The bag slowly filled up, but her heart felt like it was emptying, a hollow space where a cold wind was blowing.

She pushed down the sadness and opened the bottom drawer of the cabinet. A yellowed diary lay inside. The pages were filled with childish pencil scribbles from her turbulent childhood.

[The new teacher is nice, but the kids say I' m a jinx. They say I have one dad and one mom, and nobody wants me.]

She remembered how Brendan had found her diary back then. He had read that page and gently stroked her head. "Silly girl, you're not a jinx," he'd said. "You're a star in my eyes. You sparkle brighter than anyone."

After that day, no one at school ever called her names again. She later found out that Brendan had gone to the school and quietly warned those children. He had protected her childhood in his own quiet way.

As she flipped through the diary, the pencil handwriting became neater. Every single page was about Brendan.

She turned page after page, her eyes blurring with tears. The last page held a note from him from when she was choosing her subjects in high school.

[Kid, whether you choose arts or sciences, remember to go to college here in the city. After you graduate, you can work at Maynard Group. I protected you when you were little. I'll keep looking out for you when you grow up.]

A tear fell silently onto the diary, blurring the ink.

Jayde pulled herself together, pushing down the complicated knot of feelings in her chest. Then, she started tearing the pages out of the diary. She tore up the letters, too. With each rip of the paper, a memory of her and Brendan seemed to fade.

She threw all the shredded pieces into the duffel bag and zipped it shut.

A while later, she heard a commotion downstairs. She walked out of her room and saw Chloie Ellis in the living room, hugging Brendan. A suitcase stood beside her.

Jayde's heart stuttered, and she froze on the landing.

Seeing her, Chloie smiled and waved. "Jayde! I'm moving in for a few days. I brought you a gift!"

Chloie opened an ornate box she was holding. "See if you like it."

Inside was a pink wristwatch with a metal strap. It was cute, with a bit of a British style.

Jayde frowned. She didn't reach for it. She had been allergic to metal since she was a child. When she was nine, a nanny had given her a metal spoon to eat with. She'd only gotten a small rash, but Brendan had fired the nanny on the spot. He had every metal item that might touch her skin replaced. He didn't allow any of her allergens near her.

As she was lost in thought, Brendan' s voice cut through the air. "Hurry up and take it. Don't disappoint your sister-in-law."

His words hit her hard. She stared at his matter-of-fact expression, a wave of sadness washing over her. He hadn't just taken back all his favoritism. He had forgotten her completely.

Jayde took a deep breath. She took the box and put the watch on her wrist.

"Thank you, sister-in-law. And... thank you, Brendan."

Thank you for making my decision to leave even easier.