Chapter 3

My stomach churned, a wave of nausea rushing to my throat.

I hunched over the bed, dry heaving, but nothing came up.

Our parents died in a car crash when I was eight and Stella was thirteen.

Stella went to all my parent-teacher conferences. She braided my hair every morning.

Stella taught me how to use a pad when I first got my period.

When I brought Ethan to meet her.

I desperately wanted her approval.

Because in my heart, she had already surpassed even my mom.

But now.

The person I loved most, the person I cherished most.

Both of them had been hiding so much from me.

My heart felt like it was being ripped open, and I curled up on the bed, only able to whimper.

The confession thread's popularity soared.

The hateful comments grew more and more intense.

[Gross. Flirting with your sister's boyfriend, and acting all innocent here? How disgusting is that?]

[My heart goes out to the sister. The two people she loves most, getting together behind her back. It's suffocating just thinking about it.]

["Can't control yourself"? Why don't you just die? And this guy, what a total piece of trash!]

Underneath every hateful comment, there was a reply from Ethan.

[She's in more pain than anyone. She hates herself more than anyone. You have no right to judge her.]

[Yes, I'm trash, but even as trash, I want to protect her.]

[If I had met her first, I would have chosen her.]

The latest update on the confession thread was from a minute ago.

[You're right to curse me. I'm disgusting, I'm vile. I'll stay away from him from now on. I can't lose my sister.]

My phone slipped from my grasp and clattered to the floor.

I had been so excited, thinking I'd be home tomorrow.

Now, I didn't know how I could face them.

The city lights glowed outside, and I spent a sleepless night.

After a painful internal struggle, I still dragged my luggage to the airport.

Stella's message arrived promptly.

[Luna, I'll be waiting for you at the exit.]

Ethan's message came a minute before I boarded.

[Luna, be careful on your way. I'll be waiting for you.]

This was the only message since our hasty call last night.

Normally, he'd call me half an hour beforehand to wake me up.

He'd fuss over me, reminding me not to forget my ID, not to forget my things, not to forget to eat breakfast.

Then he'd text me constantly throughout the journey, telling me to be safe.

But now, it was just a brief sentence.

I didn't reply.

I turned off my phone and closed my eyes.

When the plane landed, I saw Stella and Ethan at the exit.

Standing two meters apart, one on my left, one on my right.

Like strangers.

Stella's eye makeup was heavy; it was almost impossible to tell she'd been crying last night.

She was always like that, never showing her vulnerable side.

Not even to me.

Ethan didn't rush over excitedly like he used to.

He adjusted to what looked like a natural smile and pulled a bouquet of flowers from the trunk.

"Luna, welcome back."

When he handed me the flowers.

Both Stella and I froze.

Because he was holding white roses.

Those were Stella's favorite flowers.