: I'll Back You Up

2

Zane Donovan took me to his place.

We've known each other since we were kids, so it wasn't a big deal for me to stay the night.

It was just that Zane Donovan said he didn't have a housekeeper and usually lived alone.

With someone else suddenly in the house, he bustled about, cleaning up and making the bed.

The puppy circled his feet. After a moment of thought, Zane Donovan rustled up a beanbag chair from somewhere and fashioned a makeshift dog bed out of it.

"There, this'll have to do for now. We'll go buy you a new one first thing tomorrow."

Zane Donovan looked at me, his expression serious.

"From now on, this is your home. I've got your back."

"I don't think that's appropriate."

Even though we were childhood friends, we actually hadn't seen each other in years. Zane Donovan had only returned from abroad last year.

I casually picked up a glass of water from the table and took a sip, only to notice that Zane Donovan's ears had turned a little red.

'Seriously? Is doing a few chores that tiring?'

"If you think it's inappropriate, then you can be my wife to pay me back."

PFFT.

The next second, the water I'd just sipped went flying right into Zane Donovan's face.

He froze on the spot, his handsome face now splattered with water.

"Sorry."

I rushed to grab a tissue, but Zane Donovan was still standing frozen in place.

"I'm serious, Aria Sterling. Even if your parents kick you out, I'm willing to split my home with you."

As he said this, he pulled a key from his pocket.

Zane Donovan forcefully pressed the key into my hand. Its lingering warmth thawed my frozen fingers a little.

"From now on, if anyone bullies you, just tell me. Just like old times."

His expression was more serious than I'd ever seen it, his usual carefree smile completely gone.

After saying goodnight, Zane Donovan left. I glanced around the empty room.

Amid the cool, monochrome palette of black, white, and gray, a small pink blanket stood out.

If I hadn't seen it again, I never would have remembered that I'd once bought a blanket and left it at Zane Donovan's house.

Back then, my parents were always busy, and our nanny always wore a cold expression.

It wasn't like Zane Donovan's mom, who always loved to bake batches of cookies for us to try.

That's why as a child, I'd often hang around Zane Donovan's house, refusing to leave. After snacks, we would lie down on the sofa and nap together.

Kids catch colds when you least expect it. That very afternoon, I started running a fever.

The doctor said I probably caught a chill during my afternoon nap.

Because I was sick, Mrs. Sterling told me not to go out for the time being.

I was bored out of my mind at home for three days, until Zane Donovan knocked on my door.

"Come with me."

A driver took us to a department store, where Zane Donovan pulled me by the hand straight into a home textiles shop.

"Pick one out yourself."

I looked at him in confusion, then glanced at the dazzling array of blankets before casually picking a pink one.

When it was time to pay, Zane Donovan finally revealed what he'd been clutching to his chest the whole time.

It was a piggy bank. He smashed it right there on the spot and emptied out all the money from inside. It was a pile of crumpled, wrinkled bills and coins that the cashier spent ages counting.

"Where are your parents, little one?"

"They're busy."

"So you came to buy something for your little sister all by yourself? It's so nice to have a big brother."

Zane Donovan, holding my hand, blushed and shook his head. It took him a long moment before he finally spoke.

"She's not my sister."

But when we got back, Zane Donovan confiscated the little blanket.

"Didn't you get it for me?"

"It is for you, but you have to keep it at my place. That way, when you come over next time, you can take a nap here. And you can have some of my mom's cookies, too."

Zane Donovan looked at me and suddenly started to stammer.

"You haven't come over in so many days."

Even now, I can't help but smile when I think back on it. I regret not telling him then.

'You silly boy. It had only been three days.'

: An Awkward Drive

3

The number one rule of childhood sweethearts is living close by.

But today, I was reminded of the downsides.

Like how I can run right into my parents the moment I step outside.

"Aria, heading to work? Hop in, we'll give you a ride."

I glanced at my parents, dressed in their business attire, and suddenly remembered they had an important meeting today.

"That's alright, I can go on my own."

Zane Donovan had offered to let me take his car, but I'd turned him down.

My parents didn't say much when they found out I was staying at Zane Donovan's place. They just said they'd have me move back home after Charlotte Sterling had settled in.

"Alright, I'll give you a ride."

Just then, my brother, Ronan Sterling, sauntered out of the house. He was dangling his car keys in one hand, his tie not even done up.

"Let's go. It's not every day I get the honor of chauffeuring The Young Miss to work."

Ronan Sterling was bantering with me like he always did. I was just about to get into the car when I suddenly saw Charlotte Sterling standing by the front door.

"Brother, are you heading to work? Could you drop me off at the City Center? I need to buy a few things."

"Sure, hop in."

My brother got in the car right away. I instinctively moved toward the front passenger seat, but after a moment's hesitation, I opened the back door and got in.

"Why don't you take the front seat, Sister? That way you can talk to Brother."

With one hand on the passenger door, Charlotte Sterling looked at me cautiously.

"Alright, why don't you two just sit in the back and chat? I'll just play chauffeur for you both."

I have to admit, after years of being a playboy, Ronan Sterling might not have many other skills, but he was a master at keeping the peace.

The car was completely silent. On any other day, Ronan Sterling and I would have been talking the whole way.

Ronan Sterling must have felt the awkwardness too, because he quietly turned on the car's Bluetooth.

A song began to play.

"What more do you want from me, what more..."

The atmosphere grew even more awkward.

Ronan Sterling muttered a curse under his breath and shut off the Bluetooth.

Our eyes met in the rearview mirror.

"Haha, I actually really like this singer."

It did nothing to warm up the atmosphere.

Amid the bizarre silence, Charlotte Sterling spoke up.

"Sister, do you want to go and see Mom and Dad?"

I knew she was talking about my biological parents.

"Are they... doing well now?"

"They died a long time ago, back when I was eighteen. I grew up on my own after that, with no other relatives around. I was just asking if you wanted to go pay your respects."

A wave of complex emotions washed over me at the news.

It meant that the only people in the world I was related to by blood were gone.

At the same time, I felt a pang of guilt toward Charlotte Sterling.

While I had entered adulthood at eighteen surrounded by my family's blessings, Charlotte Sterling had shouldered the burden of her parents' funerals all alone.

'I'm so sorry.'

'You were supposed to have a wonderful, brilliant life.'

"You should definitely go. It's a chance to see the environment you grew up in, right, Charlotte? And Aria can pay her respects, too. When the time comes, I'll drive you both. It's not safe for two girls to go back on your own."

Ronan Sterling had it all planned out in an instant. But Charlotte Sterling, who had been staring at the floor, suddenly snapped her head up.

"I have to go back, too?"

: The Seafood Feast

4

Ronan Sterling dropped me off at the company entrance. As I was getting out of the car, he gave me a meaningful look and mouthed a single phrase.

Save me...

It was because earlier, when Charlotte Sterling had asked if she needed to go back too, Ronan Sterling had blurted out a reply.

"After all, they raised her for over a decade, so of course there are feelings there. We've always treated Aria like one of the family."

The atmosphere in the car instantly grew awkward. I saw tears already welling up in Charlotte Sterling's eyes.

During my lunch break, I saw Ronan Sterling had posted on his social media.

"Help me. I'm just now realizing how hard it is to keep everyone happy."

A bunch of people in the comments were teasing Ronan Sterling, asking if the "player" had finally crashed and burned.

Just then, my dad sent a message in the group chat, telling me to come home for dinner tonight.

Originally, the chat only had the four of us in the family. Last night, Charlotte Sterling was added.

Right after the message was sent, Charlotte Sterling immediately replied in the group.

"Let me go help Auntie tonight. It'll be a good chance for Mom and Dad to try my cooking."

The family chatted happily, discussing tonight's dinner.

But when I got home that evening, I was dumbfounded.

The table was laden with a massive seafood feast—it could have been the cast of Finding Nemo.

The problem was... I'm allergic to seafood.

"Aria, why aren't you eating?"

Faced with Charlotte Sterling's question, I looked uneasily at the dishes in front of me before finally picking up a piece of a vegetable dish with my chopsticks.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Mr. and Mrs. Sterling, my mom asked me to drop some things off for you."

Zane Donovan walked in, carrying several bags, and was greeted warmly by my mom.

"You haven't eaten, have you? Hurry up and sit down. Eat with us."

Zane Donovan nodded immediately and, without a moment's hesitation, pulled up a chair and sat down next to me.

"Mom, who is he?"

"I'm Aria Sterling's best friend. We grew up together."

The words had barely left his mouth when Ronan Sterling shot him a glare.

"So I guess you didn't grow up with *me*? In a friendship of three, I don't even deserve to be named?"

Zane Donovan met his gaze, and the two exchanged a smile.

But when he saw the food on the table, Zane Donovan's expression suddenly changed.

"Auntie Webb didn't cook today?"

"Auntie Webb and Charlotte cooked together today. Charlotte said she wanted us to try her cooking."

Zane Donovan smiled and nodded at my mom, then casually picked up a shrimp and placed it in his bowl as he spoke nonchalantly.

"Did Auntie Webb forget, then? Isn't Aria not supposed to eat seafood? Why does this look like a party for the Dragon King?"

By this time, Auntie Webb had already gone to her room to rest. As the main chef for the evening, Charlotte Sterling's eyes turned red.

"Mom, Dad, did Charlotte do something wrong again? I just wanted to make you happy. I really didn't know she doesn't eat these things."

"It's not that she *doesn't* eat it, it's that she *can't*. Besides, you had good intentions, why would Uncle and Auntie blame you? I was just saying Auntie Webb's memory must be getting bad. How could she forget to remind you about this? After all, it's not like Auntie Webb told you and you deliberately ignored her, right?"

At his words, everyone's expression changed.

'How could Auntie Webb possibly forget? When I was little, Auntie Webb gave me a piece of dried squid, and less than half an hour after eating it, I was short of breath and covered in a rash. If Zane Donovan hadn't been a glutton and snatched half of it from me, I probably would've been a goner. Ever since then, Auntie Webb has remembered it perfectly. She'd even wash a pot three times after making fish soup before using it to cook another soup for me.'

My dad looked around the table, then finally put down his chopsticks.

"Charlotte, did you know that your sister is allergic to seafood?"

Charlotte Sterling clutched her sleeves, tears rolling down her cheeks one by one. After a long moment, she slowly shook her head.

"I didn't know!"