Chapter 2

Selina must have been starving, because she actually finished off a whole big plate of spaghetti.

Mom absolutely loved it when people finished all the food she made. She beamed and asked Selina, "Hey, sweetie, did you enjoy my spaghetti?"

Selina nodded earnestly and replied sweetly, "Mrs. Shaw, your spaghetti is amazing."

Mom's smile grew even brighter. "Then you should come by every day. I won't charge you a thing."

Selina looked a little awkward, like she felt uncomfortable about it.

Mom jumped in, "Tell you what, if you come help out at the restaurant every night, I'll make you spaghetti. How does that sound?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Shaw," Selina replied.

After Selina finished her spaghetti, Mom and Dad started closing up the restaurant, and Selina was quick to jump in and help out.

Once everything was wrapped up, Mom said Dad should drive Selina home.

Selina didn't want to at first, but Mom wouldn't take no for an answer, so she finally agreed.

But about an hour later, Dad showed up at home with Selina, and he was lugging this huge woven plastic bag.

Mom and I just stared at each other, totally baffled.

Mom didn't really get what was going on, but she still told Selina to have a seat.

Dad took a sip of water, fuming with righteous anger.

He said, "Her mom is just inhuman! She kicked Selina out of the house just to force her to quit school and start working, and she hasn't bothered to check on her since.

"The poor girl has been living all alone next to a public restroom for months, getting by picking through garbage."

Mom and I were completely stunned.

Mom finally recovered from the shock, took Selina's hand, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Selina, if you don't mind, you can stay with us. We've got an extra bedroom just for you," Mom said gently.

Dad added, trying to reassure her, "Don't worry about it. Once you've made it in life, there'll be plenty of chances to return the favor."

Selina lowered her head, her voice thick with emotion. "Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Shaw."

"Don't mention it. It's no big deal," Mom replied, and then shot me a look. "And you'd better not bully her, you hear me?"

I thought Mom was worrying way too much.

Seriously, who'd mess with a poor kid like her for no reason?

Mom quickly got the room ready for Selina.

When she saw that Selina only had two sets of school uniforms and almost nothing else to wear, her eyes welled up with tears again, heartbroken.

Selina fumbled, not knowing how to comfort her.

"Mrs. Shaw, I really have enough clothes," Selina said softly.

But instead of making things better, that just made Mom cry even harder, cursing Selina's mom, Megan, for being such a terrible mom.

Dad ended up dragging Mom back to their room.

I stood at the doorway and explained, "My mom's super emotional. You'll get used to it. Just wash up and get some rest. I leave home around 6:40 in the morning."

"Okay," she said.

I took a few steps, and then turned back with a smug grin. "From now on, call me James."

Selina nodded shyly. "Okay."

I teased her, "Let's hear you say it."

Selina bit her lip, and then shyly called out, "James."

I grinned from ear to ear. "Good girl. Goodnight."

Selina smiled, too. "Goodnight, James."

The comments: [Hope karma works out for the good guys. James and his family deserve nothing but peace and happiness. Can't wait for Selina to make it big and pay them back someday.]

[Please don't let anything bad happen to James's family just to make Selina grow up faster, or I swear I'm quitting this TV show.]

No way it was gonna get that crazy dramatic, right?

The next morning, when I woke up, Selina was already in the kitchen helping Mom whip up breakfast.

Feeling a little sheepish, I wandered into the kitchen, hoping to help out.

But I was so hopeless with my hands that I ended up causing more trouble than help, and Mom gave me the boot with an eye roll.

"Quit messing around and get out of here," Mom barked.

I grumbled, "Mom, can't you cut me some slack for once?"

Mom shot me a sarcastic smile. "Cut you some slack? How about I give you some smacks?"

"Mom, am I really your kid?" I asked.

"Nope, I picked you up out of the trash," she replied.

Mom and I kept bantering nonstop.

Dad just chuckled and said to Selina, "Seriously, this is their daily routine. Don't mind them."

Selina gave a shy little smile.

The comments: [James's family has such a warm, welcoming vibe. I can't help but feel a little envious.]

[His parents treat him like a friend, not just a kid. Honestly, that's the kind of home anyone would wish for.]

[I really hope this loving atmosphere can slowly help Selina heal the wounds from her past.]

[It takes a lifetime to recover from a painful childhood, but having a family like this is a blessing. Like I said, I just hope good people get the happiness they deserve.]

After breakfast, I grabbed my e-scooter and took Selina to school.

At lunchtime, I loaded 100 dollars onto Selina's lunch card, just like Mom told me to.

Then I took her to the cafeteria to grab some lunch.

Mom had made it clear that Selina had to eat her fill, so I gave her as much food as I'd get for myself.

Her tray was stacked up like a little mountain.

The comments: [Not judging, but Selina's so petite. I never would've guessed she could put away that much food.]

[Teenagers are basically bottomless pits, but with Selina, it's like she's making up for every meal she missed growing up. Guess she's finally getting the nutrition she's always lacked.]

[I'm starting to ship Selina and James.]

[I'm on Team Male Lead, honestly. James is awesome, but I'm still rooting for Selina to end up with the male lead.]

I swore to the heavens that I had absolutely zero interest in being a homewrecker.

But hey, as her "brother", it was totally fair to tag along and snag some perks.

Now that I was officially part of the main cast, my future was looking pretty bright.

I smirked.