1 The day my sister returned to her wealthy biological family, she knelt before our parents with tears in her eyes. She begged them to let me come with her because I was the only family she had left. The Harringtons eventually agreed to take me in as well. When we arrived at the estate, we met Matt. He was the foster son who had been raised as their own for nearly twenty years and was thoroughly spoiled. He immediately singled us out as his favorite targets. At first, Krys was exhausted by his antics. Whenever our new parents told her to go easy on Matt, she would snap back that I was her only brother. But as time passed, she stopped saying those words. Sometimes, when she looked at me, it was clear she was seeing him instead. She would say she wished I were as outgoing as Matt instead of sitting there like a quiet stone. On my birthday, she forgot again. I did not throw a tantrum and simply baked a small cake for myself. The moment I finished icing it, she took it over to Matt. She told him to take this one since the ordered cake had been ruined and he had been crying about it. I was so hurt that I remained silent for the rest of the night. Seeing my silence, her eyes flared with irritation. She asked if I was seriously giving her attitude over a stupid cake and why I did not just say I did not want to share. Matt sneered and said he had told her I was cheap and petty. He honestly did not know why she had brought this stray back with her. This time, Krys did not defend me. It hit me then that even she had started to see me as a burden. I had spent four hours baking that cake. Now, it was a mangled mess of frosting, shredded by a fork. The name “Cole,” which I had carefully spelled out with dried blueberries, was completely gouged out. It was smashed against the creamy, ruined “Happy Birthday” topper. Matt grabbed the whole mess with a paper towel and tossed it into the bin like actual garbage. His mocking voice echoed in my ears: “What is this trash? It tastes disgusting. It doesn’t even come close to what our chef, Mrs. Gable, makes!” “You’re too picky,” Krys teased him, but her eyes were brimming with affection. “If you don’t like it, throw it away. I’ll ask Mrs. Gable to make you another one.” “Deal! But the new one has to say ‘Krys will be Matt’s loyal pup forever’ in icing! Who told you to come back and steal our parents’ love, and always pick fights with me over this stray?” Krys used to despise Matt, and she used to hate nothing more than hearing someone call me a “stray.” But now, she didn’t even flinch. She just smiled, ruffled his hair, and sighed: “Fine, fine. I surrender. It’s all my fault, okay?” They wrapped themselves in a warmth that completely shut me out. It made me look like the ultimate outsider. But then again, I was. Krys was the Harringtons’ long-lost biological daughter. Even though Matt was the child swapped at birth, they had raised him in luxury, and the bond between them was deep and unbreakable. When Krys returned, they couldn’t bear to let Matt go, so they formally adopted him. From start to finish, they were a real family. I was the only spare part. When I woke up this morning and saw her social media posts of her taking Matt to the amusement park, I knew she had forgotten my birthday again. I had already stopped begging her to spend the day with me. So why couldn’t I at least keep my own cake? Tears finally spilled over, heavy drops splashing onto the floorboards. Krys frowned. Out of habit, she reached out to wipe them away, just like she used to: “What are you crying for?” But Matt laughed mockingly: “It’s just a slice of cake. Are you really that dramatic? You’ve been sulking all night! Honestly, I bet your ‘good boy’ act is just for show.” He turned to her: “Krys, you spoil him too much. That’s why he’s so high-maintenance.” Krys’s hand froze in midair, then slowly retreated. The warmth vanished from her face: “This isn’t your old apartment, Cole. You eat their food and live under their roof. It’s just a cake. Don’t make yourself look so cheap.” Seeing the sheer annoyance in her eyes, my heart went cold, piece by piece. The night Krys was recognized by the Harringtons, I hadn’t slept at all. I was thrilled for her, but terrified of being left behind. Sensing my fear, she had held me tight and whispered over and over: “I will never leave you, Cole. Wherever I go, that’s your home too.” But now, she was telling me this wasn’t my old apartment. I didn’t know when it had happened, but in her heart, I had already become nothing but baggage. “I understand,” I mumbled, nodding blindly as my voice trembled. “Krys, I think I’ll move into the school dorms.” 2 Matt rolled his eyes: “Oh, please. As if living in this mansion is some kind of torture. You don’t have the pedigree of a prince, yet you’ve got all the attitude. Stop playing the victim just to get attention.” Krys’s face darkened: “Why are you throwing a fit?” “I’m not throwing a fit,” I said quietly. “I just think staying on campus will make it easier to study.” But her furrowed brow didn’t soften: “Do you think I don’t know you? You didn’t care about boarding before, but now you suddenly want to pack up. You’re still throwing a tantrum over that cake, aren’t you?” “Fine. If you want a cake that badly, I’ll have Mrs. Gable bake you one later.” She brushed me off, turning back to Matt with a smile, gently dabbing a speck of frosting from his lip with a napkin: “Look at you. Still eating like a toddler.” “I’ll always be Mom and Dad’s baby. You got a problem with that?” “Sure, sure. You’re the baby.” I couldn’t bear to stand there a second longer. I turned and walked up the stairs in silence. After filling out the housing request form, I stared at my beautifully decorated bedroom, completely lost in thought. The expensive Marvel pillows on the bed, the rare orchids sitting on the windowsill, the mahogany bookcase loaded with brand-new novels, the soothing nightlight on the nightstand… Every single item had been handpicked by Krys when we first moved in. She had even remodeled the room to match the exact layout of our cramped old bedroom, worried I wouldn’t sleep well in a strange place. She had held my hands back then and said: “This is our home now. We used to be so poor, Cole. I couldn’t even buy you a proper bookshelf. Now that we can afford it, I want to give you the absolute best. You’ll never have to struggle again.” Oh, how happy I had been. We had moved into a magnificent house we could only dream of before. We no longer had to worry about utility bills, or the roof leaking when it rained, or waking up to a flooded floor. Krys didn’t have to work three part-time jobs anymore just to scrape together my tuition. I thought our lives were finally getting better. I never imagined that the price of all this comfort would be losing her entirely. A sudden knock broke the silence. When I opened the door, a beautifully wrapped bakery box was held up right in front of my face. Krys peeked out from behind it, her eyes soft: “Cole, happy birthday!” Seeing my red, puffy eyes, a wave of guilt washed over her expression: “I’m so sorry. I only just realized what day it was.” For a fleeting second, it felt as though the sister who used to cherish me above all else had come back. I clutched the box to my chest like a freezing traveler stumbling upon a sudden, glowing fire. I followed her into the room, my defenses crumbling. But that tiny spark of hope shattered into dust the moment I lifted the lid and saw the cake smothered in sliced mangoes. My lips trembled, and the words barely made it out: “Krys… did you forget? I’m severely allergic to mangoes.” Krys’s forehead creased instantly. For a very long time after that night, I couldn’t erase the look she gave me. It was the look of someone staring at an inconvenient nuisance. 3 Krys clicked her tongue, her tone turning sharp: “Honestly, Cole, if there’s something you can’t eat, you should tell me beforehand. This is just a waste of money.” She grabbed a fork and began picking the mango chunks off one by one, tossing them aside before sliding the mangled cake back toward me: “Matt actually asked Mrs. Gable to make this for you to apologize. He noticed how much you like orchids, so he made sure she designed it with an orchid theme. He thought you’d love it.” “His words can be harsh, but he has a good heart underneath. Just eat a little bit, or you’ll hurt his feelings.” My throat felt tight, suffocating. I didn’t even notice my fingernails digging into my palms until they drew blood: “But I’m allergic to mangoes,” I whispered again. Krys sighed impatiently: “Which is why I just picked them off. Having a tiny bite won’t kill you.” Just then, the door creaked wider, and Matt sauntered in: “Don’t tell me Cole doesn’t like the cake I had Mrs. Gable make. It takes forever just to get him to smile. Talk about high-maintenance.” Before I could speak, Krys interceded: “It’s a gift from your heart, Matt. He has to eat it, whether he likes it or not.” “Great! Now that you’ve patted him on the head, get downstairs. I hated the frosting designs Mrs. Gable made on the other cakes. You have to help me finish them!” Krys laughed, feigning annoyance: “What, am I your personal disposal bin now?” “No way! I just love my favorite sister. Is that so bad?” Krys’s shoulders stiffened for a fraction of a second, but then her face lit up: “You only call me that when you want something. I must have owed you in a past life.” She complained, but the sheer joy in her eyes was unmistakable. I realized then: she hadn’t run out of patience. She had just run out of patience for me. If it were Matt, nothing was a waste. Just a simple, sweet nickname from Matt was enough to make her day. Meanwhile, everything I did only seemed to drain her. The next morning, I packed my few belongings in silence and moved into the campus dorms. I practically lived in the library and at my jobs. I slept barely four hours a night, filling every waking second with mock exams and part-time shifts. The exhausting, frantic pace kept my mind perfectly blank. I had no time to feel the ache in my chest. Until the day Krys finally called me. The second I swiped answer, her voice exploded through the speaker: “Cole, why haven’t you come home yet?” “You used to be so responsible. Now you’re staying out all night without even checking in!” “I told you before,” I said quietly. “I moved into the dorms.” “Who gave you permission? Do you think you’re grown up now? Is this some delayed teenage rebellion? Pack your bags and get back here right now!” I stayed silent. When the silence stretched on, she let out a cold, bitter laugh: “Fine. Don’t ever come back then. Let’s see how long you can survive on your own!” For the next few weeks, my life settled into a dull, safe routine. Classes, studying, shifts. As the final college prep exams drew closer, I felt a sense of quiet closure beginning to settle over me. Then, just three days before the exams, Krys called. Her voice was raw, carrying an exhaustion I had never heard from her before: “Cole… I’m at the hospital.” “It’s been so long since you’ve been home. I just… I really need to see you.” My fingers tightened around the plastic shell of my phone. Ever since she had turned her back on me for Matt, this was the very first time she had lowered her guard and reached out to me. I thought about the early admission acceptance letter resting in my desk drawer, and the savings I had scraped together, which were enough to let me start a completely new life far away from here. I hesitated for a long time before finally whispering: “Okay.” This would likely be our very last meeting. I didn’t want to leave with unresolved regrets. I wanted to tell her that I had been accepted into a university up north. That I would never be a burden to her again, and that I was finally stepping out of her life for good. But I was naive. The moment I pushed open the hospital door, a stinging slap caught me squarely across the face. 4 A strange woman flew at me like a wild animal, her nails clawing at my face as she screamed, ripping at my hair: “You sick bastard! You hid sewing needles in my son’s pencil case! He cut his hands wide open because of you!” “The final exams are in two days! If we hadn’t caught it in time, you would have ruined his entire life!” “You’re only eighteen! How can someone your age be so utterly malicious?” “It wasn’t me!” I gasped, struggling to pry her hands off my clothes. “I don’t even know who your son is!” “Stop lying, Cole! I saw you slip those needles into his desk with my own eyes!” Matt stepped out from behind the weeping woman, pointing a finger directly at me, his face a mask of righteous anger. My expression went entirely numb: “Why would I put needles in his desk? You have no proof. How dare you accuse me of this?” “Who says there’s no proof?” The moment Krys’s voice cut through the room, the blood in my veins turned to ice. She stepped forward, holding out her phone to display a video clip. Because of the awkward angle, the footage showed me quietly approaching a student’s desk when the classroom was empty, sliding something into his organizer. It hit me then: I had been helping a teacher deliver a prize, a special fountain pen, to the top-performing student in the neighboring class. It was a pen, not needles. But my explanation was instantly drowned out by the raging parent: “Matt saw you! We have video evidence and an eyewitness, and you’re still denying it!” I turned my gaze slowly to Krys, my jaw clenched so hard it ached: “Did you see me do it too?” Krys looked away, refusing to meet my eyes. After a long, agonizing silence, she spoke, her voice barely a whisper: “Cole… you’ve always been jealous of Matt. You’ve targeted him since day one. But I never thought you’d resort to hurting an innocent classmate. I’m so disappointed in you.” I stared at her, utterly paralyzed. Those words from her mouth sealed my fate. It was a formal condemnation. “The school is going to hear about this! I will make sure everyone knows what a monster you are!” the mother shrieked, slamming the door behind her as she rushed out to find the administration. I looked at Krys, my body shaking uncontrollably: “Why?” She clenched her fists, her eyes swimming with a complicated mix of guilt and resolve: “Cole… Matt didn’t mean for this to happen. He didn’t think a stupid prank would get this out of hand.” “If Mom and Dad find out what he did, they’ll disown him. He’s always been so proud… I’ve never seen him cry like that, he was terrified.” By the end of her sentence, her voice was thick with sympathy for him. I stared at her, each word tasting like ash in my mouth: “So that phone call… the crying, the hospital… it was all a trap to get me here to take the fall for him?” Her breath caught: “I’ve already arranged a way out for you,” she whispered hoarsely. “You won’t go to jail.” The very last thread of hope inside me snapped. I didn’t even remember how I made it back to campus. I only remembered the cold, disgusted stares of my classmates, and the toxic whispers following me down the hallway: “That’s the guy who put needles in the desk. Having someone like that in our dorms is terrifying.” “He should be locked up. What a psycho.” Before I could even reach my locker, I was summoned to the principal’s office. The principal sat behind his desk, sliding a heavy folder toward me: “The victim’s family is threatening a massive lawsuit unless we take immediate action. Your early admission scholarship nomination has been revoked.” “Furthermore, the board has decided to expel you immediately.” I stood frozen, a deep, icy numbness spreading from my chest to my fingertips. I couldn’t comprehend it. I had worked so hard, bled for every grade, just to protect the tiny future I had built for myself. But ever since I had followed Krys into the Harrington mansion, my life had been nothing but a series of losses. I lost Krys. I lost my home. I lost my college spot. And now, I didn’t even have a high school diploma. I had only wanted to leave quietly. Why was even that too much to ask? A notification lit up my screen. It was an email from Krys, containing transfer documents and two airline tickets to London: “The family has deep connections with a boarding school in London. I’ve already cleared your files with their admissions team.” “It’s too late for the exams here, but with your grades, you can repeat your senior year there and easily get into a top university.” “Once the exams here are over, I’ll fly out with you.” She had known. She had anticipated every single consequence, knew exactly how ruined I would be, and still chose to destroy my life just to shield Matt. I clutched the useless papers to my chest, standing outside the school gates in the pouring rain until the security guard told me to move along. When the exams finally ended for the rest of my class, I dragged my single suitcase toward the train station, ready to board a train to a distant, unfamiliar city. Krys’s message flashed on my screen: “I’m waiting at the terminal. Where are you?” I typed out my very last reply: “I’m not going to London. We’re done.” The moment the message sent, her name began flashing frantically on my screen. I didn’t answer. I systematically blocked her number, her social media, and her email. Then I stepped onto the train, leaving everything behind. Krys, goodbye forever.
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