Chapter 2

At the traffic lights, Bennett finally broke the silence. He said, "Abigail, what's going on? You've seemed preoccupied ever since we left the restaurant."

I forced a smile, dodging his question. I said, "Bennett, I want to go home."

Bennett hit the brakes, grinning ear to ear. He said, "You finally want to come home? That's awesome. I'll tell Mom and Dad right now. I'll have the housekeeper fix up your room and make it cozy again.

"If you want anything special in your room, just let me know, and I'll pass it on to her."

Bennett kept chatting away as he drove, barely pausing for breath. "Oh, right, so when do you want to move back in?"

"Today? Is that too sudden? Am I causing any trouble for you?" I looked at him, feeling a bit anxious.

Bennett reached over and ruffled my hair with a fond grin. "Silly girl, don't say stuff like that. It's never a hassle when family comes home. Quit worrying and just relax, alright?"

He added, "Oh, by the way, should we let Atticus know?"

I shook my head gently. "No, that's okay. It's just a little thing, no need to bother Atticus. Besides, I don't want Sophia to misunderstand."

Bennett nodded, then started excitedly talking about all the cozy touches he wanted to add to my room.

I turned my head away and quickly wiped a tear from the corner of my eye.

The trees outside the window sped by in a blur, and I remembered that it was on a day just like this that I first went to live with the Sterling family.

When I was three, an old beggar turned up at our doorstep.

After my mom gave him a meal, he gave her a cryptic look and said, "If you want your daughter to make it to adulthood, you have to send her somewhere far from her family. Otherwise, she won't live past ten."

My parents didn't buy it at first, but after I turned three, I was constantly sick. Once, it got so bad that the hospital declared me in critical condition.

Bennett had a sudden flash of inspiration and reminded our parents about what the old man had said.

After mulling it over for ages, my parents figured it was better to play it safe than risk anything. So they sent me off to stay with friends in the neighboring city, also the Sterling family.

And that was how I ended up living with the Sterling family for fifteen years.

When the car finally stopped in front of the Sterling family's hillside villa, the tear tracks on my face were already dry, and Bennett hadn't noticed at all.

I hopped out of the car, putting on a casual front. "Bennett, just wait here for me. I'll just go grab my stuff. It'll only take a minute."

The garden in front of the villa looked like a storm had just swept through. Workers were bustling around, working up a storm.

When I suddenly showed up, the Sterling family's butler looked a bit awkward. "Ms. Harrington, why are you back so early?"

I was a bit confused at first, until I saw all my luggage just tossed in a heap right outside the storage room door.

The butler hurried over. "Mr. Sterling said he wanted you moved to the east room. That room isn't ready yet, so we had to leave your things here for now.

"Please, just relax for a bit. I'll get the staff to hurry up and finish it right away."

Just when I thought nothing could hurt me anymore, something cut deep all over again.

I managed a bitter smile. "It's fine."

There was no point in making things difficult for them. I bent down and picked up my stuff, one by one. I tossed all my important papers into the suitcase.

The noisy sounds from the garden below kept drifting up every now and then.

I couldn't help myself anymore. I finally spoke up. "Why did you suddenly start construction?"

The butler replied respectfully, "Mr. Sterling said there's going to be a big celebration in the family soon. His girlfriend loves lilies of the valley.

"So we're rushing to clear out anything that's not important to make room for them. We ordered the lilies of the valley from overseas early yesterday, and they'll arrive this afternoon. They're quite precious."

I just stood there, feeling completely at a loss. Tulips were the only flowers I had ever cared about. I brought it up to Atticus a few times, hoping to plant some tulips in the garden.

He'd either frown and complain it was too much hassle, or just shrug it off and tell me to ask the butler instead.

Being someone who never really belonged, I could never bring myself to ask for something so small and unimportant, especially when it had nothing to do with the basics.

But lilies of the valley were a hundred times more precious and high-maintenance than tulips.

It turned out that it wasn't about the hassle at all. It all came down to whether he cared enough.

By the time I finished packing, all that was left were things tied to Atticus, like the 9,999 paper roses he once folded for me.

There was also our first photo together. We kept our distance, worried his parents might catch on.

And the coral Atticus brought back from his first-ever deep dive at eighteen was also here.

He said he wanted us to have all our first times together. He only wanted to experience all the amazing things in the world with me.

In the bedroom, the memory of him persuading me to go for one more round last night kept replaying in my head, no matter how hard I tried to forget. It made me feel more disgusted than any melodrama ever did.

I lay in his arms and asked when he'd tell our parents the truth. He said, "Soon."

And so, what I got was today, having dinner with him and his girlfriend. My tears slipped down before I could even stop them.

The butler, standing nearby, asked softly, his voice full of concern, "Ms. Harrington, are you alright?

"The east room is laid out just like this one, and it gets plenty of sunlight too. It's just been empty for a while, so it's gotten a bit dusty. If there's anything you're not happy with, feel free to tell me.

"Otherwise, when Mr. Sterling gets back, he'll give us an earful if things aren't perfect."

I shook my head and said, "No need, thank you. I'll be staying at home for a few days."

The butler let out a sigh of relief.

I picked up my suitcase and pointed at the pile of stuff by the door. I said, "Can you just get rid of all that for me?"

The butler looked stunned, maybe a bit confused. But in the end, he just nodded and said, "Alright."

Fifteen years with the Sterling family, and today, I finally said my goodbyes.

Bennett was chilling in the driver's seat, scrolling through his phone, but as soon as he saw me coming out of the Sterling family's house, he jumped out and rushed over to grab my suitcase.

He asked, "Are you sure you don't want to stay a few more days?"

I glanced back at the Sterling family's villa, just a few steps away, gave a wry smile, and replied, "No."