Facing the two worried guys, she spoke with a calm she did not quite feel. "They're just photos. We can take more, can't we?"

"The fire did a thorough job, so we'll have to make new memories. It's about time we went on a trip again, anyway."

Andrew, trying to make the best of the situation, was met with Stephen's eager agreement.

"Yeah, and we can bring Helen along this time. She's always wanted to travel."

Chloe could not help but laugh a little at Stephen's words.

Andrew and Stephen took her chuckle as a sign of agreement and let out a collective sigh of relief.

Just as they were about to head back inside, they stopped short at the sight of several boxes in the living room—boxes that were not there when they left that morning.

"What's all this?" they asked together.

Chloe gave the boxes a quick look. "Oh, I quit my job. I'm thinking of trying something new."

She had liked her job before, had she not?

The same doubt crept into both of their minds.

Chloe was acting off, and it left Andrew and Stephen feeling a bit rattled.

Stephen parted his lips, about to dive into a sea of questions, but the sudden jingle of a ringtone cut through the quiet.

Andrew picked up the phone, and Helen's voice came through, panicked and lost.

"Andrew, the power's out at my place, and I'm freaking out! What should I do?"

Stephen, who was right there, heard her and his face changed. He jumped in before Andrew could respond.

"Helen, don't worry, I'm on my way."

Andrew's forehead creased with worry, a rare sight on his usually calm and collected face.

Worried sick about Helen, Andrew and Stephen grabbed their keys and bolted out the door together.

Chloe, on the other hand, was the picture of calm throughout. Once they were gone, she dialed up Natalie.

She had grown up in Natalie's care, and Natalie had been nothing but kind, treating her like her own daughter.

Since she was leaving, it was only right to say a heartfelt goodbye.

When Natalie heard Chloe was heading back to tie the knot, her voice was tinged with sadness and shock. "Chloe, do Andrew and Stephen know you're going back to get married?"

Chloe hesitated before replying, "They're in the dark, Aunt Natalie. Please keep it under wraps for me too. I just can't deal with any more drama."

The line went quiet for a beat.

Natalie let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah, I get it. You've been their gem since day one. It's clear as day those two fell hard for you, always stuck like glue. I really thought you'd end up with one of them. What a shame..."

Chloe chuckled softly. "There's nothing to be sorry about. We just weren't meant to be."

Natalie listened, and without pushing the issue, she said softly, "Chloe, I always knew you'd head back home eventually. I just didn't think it'd happen this fast. I've been by your side since you were a tiny tot. Before you take off, swing by and see me, okay? Once you're back in Kingston City, who knows when we'll get another chance to catch up..."

With a playful grin, Chloe replied, "Of course, I'll come by. I've got some presents for you, and I'm not ready to say goodbye just yet."

Natalie chatted a bit more before ending the call.

The moment the line went dead, Chloe's phone buzzed again.

It was her company's director.

"Hey Chloe, your design snagged an award for us! The trophy just came in, and since you've moved on, I've sent your intern, Helen, to drop it off at your place."

Before Chloe could even respond, the doorbell chimed.

She hung up, swung the door open, and there was Helen, trophy in hand, smiling on her doorstep.

Helen clutched the trophy, but her face was missing the spark of victory. She did not look like she wanted to celebrate, and she definitely was not about to hand it over to Chloe.

Instead, she bit her lip, her eyes wide and pleading as she spoke. "Chloe, the director told me to give you the trophy. It's such a big deal, and you're so awesome. I'm going to be super bold and ask you something. I've never won this award. Can I borrow the trophy for just a few days?"

Borrow?

Chloe had never heard anything so ridiculous. She raised an eyebrow and said with a fake smile, "If you know it's bold, then don't ask. If you want one so badly, go win one yourself."

With that, she reached out to take the trophy from Helen's embrace.

Chloe's frosty response left Helen flustered, looking like she was the victim of some great injustice. "Chloe, why are you being like this? I'm not taking it forever. I just want it at home to inspire me, is that so wrong?"

As Chloe went to grab it, Helen hugged the trophy even tighter, refusing to let go.

Their tug-of-war ended with a crash as the crystal trophy hit the floor and shattered into a million pieces.

Andrew and Stephen, who had just walked up, saw the disaster unfold. They dashed over and wrapped Helen in a protective hug.

"Helen!"

They circled her, faces etched with concern, checking her over for injuries.

Andrew lifted the hem of Helen's dress and saw a cut on her calf, bleeding from the glass.

His face turned to worry as he declared, "I'm taking you to the hospital now!"

He did not wait for her to agree, just scooped her up and carried her away.

Stephen's gaze was fixed on the glass shards scattered across the floor, his expression stormy. "Chloe, you've got it all, so why are you scraping with Helen over this?"

Scrap?

That word nearly made Chloe laugh, but not out of humor.

"That trophy is mine, my hard-earned prize after three grueling months. It's my glory. There she is, holding onto it with those puppy-dog eyes, and you accuse me of scrapping?"

Chloe's anger made her shake, her finger jabbing toward the broken glass, her voice sharp enough to cut through the chill air. "Now that she's gone and broken it, I expect an apology from Helen."

Chloe thought her explanation was crystal clear about who was in the right, but Stephen only got hotter under the collar, his voice booming.

"I thought this was about something that mattered. It's just a trophy. You can get a million of them. How does that stack up against Helen? You've hurt her, and I don't think she owes you an apology—you owe her one!"

With that, Stephen did not even wait for Chloe's response. He was off in a flash to tend to Helen.

Chloe stood there, the broken pieces a mirror of her own state, Stephen's words replaying in her head.

He actually expected her to say sorry to Helen. The idea of the injured party apologizing to the one who caused the harm was absurd.

'Stephen, you're quite the piece of work,' Chloe seethed inwardly.

A sharp pain suddenly gripped her heart, and then she felt it in her leg too. Looking down, she saw a long, jagged gash. With the flesh laid open, it looked more gruesome than Helen's injury.

Biting back the pain, Chloe cleaned up the mess before finally turning to deal with her own wound.

That night, Chloe's phone buzzed with a message from Felicia, who had sent over a slew of wedding dress designs.

[Pick your favorite], the message read.

Chloe skimmed the message once more before dialing Felicia's number.

They had barely started chatting when Felicia picked up on the weariness in Chloe's voice and could not resist asking what was wrong.

The day's unfairness flashed through Chloe's mind, her eyes brimming with unshed tears, but she dodged the question. "Mom, I should have everything wrapped up here in a week. How's the wedding planning coming along?"

Just then, Andrew and Stephen walked in.

Catching the tail end of Chloe's sentence, they both blurted out in sync.

"Wedding? What wedding?"

Chloe had not noticed when the call ended.

She took a moment to steady her emotions before saying, "My bestie's tying the knot. Why? Are you guys thinking of crashing it?"

Andrew and Stephen had been giving her the silent treatment lately. Once she was back in Kingston City, they would probably never cross paths again—not even as acquaintances.

There was no point in spilling the beans about her own wedding plans.

At her comment, Andrew and Stephen shot each other a puzzled look but did not dwell on it.

"Nah, you can go. I've got a mountain of work at the office," they dismissed.

Andrew, still seemingly miffed about Helen's accident earlier that day, grabbed some papers and headed to the study with a frosty air.

Stephen's face was set in a hard line as he added, "Helen got scraped up because of you. You should go say sorry to her. Otherwise, count me out for wedding festivities."

With that, he marched off to his room.

Chloe let out a bitter chuckle, keeping her thoughts to herself.

The next morning, Chloe rose early to start on breakfast.

Chloe had barely stepped out when she was hit by the sight of the living room, now a makeshift garden with vases of flowers everywhere, their scent hanging in the air like a silent alarm.

The pollen was a yellow haze, swirling in with the breeze, everywhere at once.

Her face drained of color as her breath hitched, faster and faster.

She was asthmatic, and pollen was her kryptonite!

Panic clawed at her chest as she struggled to breathe, her world tilting into shadows. Air seemed to vanish from her lungs, each breath a battle.

"Medicine..."

She stumbled toward the medicine box, her mind clinging to the memory of where her inhaler was. Her hands, weak and shaking, groped in vain, and in a clumsy moment, she sent several vases crashing from the cabinet.

Crash!

The sound of shattering glass echoed as flowers and water spilled into chaos.

At the noise, Andrew and Stephen came running, only to explode in anger at the sight of the mess, oblivious to Chloe's distress.

"What are you doing?!"

Chloe, medicine finally in hand, could barely process their words.

Stephen, face tight with worry, shoved her aside in his rush to save the fallen flowers.

"Ah!"

The push sent her reeling, her knee slamming into the cabinet's edge, skin tearing, pain flaring red and raw.

She clutched her inhaler, hands shaking violently, as she fought for air.

At last, the cap was off, the nozzle was found.

She clung to it like a lifeline, medicating herself as she hobbled to the safety of a corner. The medicine soothed her raw throat, a small mercy in the storm.

She had just dodged a bullet, fighting for her life, and there were Andrew and Stephen, oblivious, picking up the scattered flowers and broken vase pieces off the floor.