3: 3

That night I didn't go home. I checked into a hotel instead.

I lay awake until it was very late, my mind running through all the little things from before.

At first Sophia hadn't liked Drew, but later, every time they met, he went out of his way to win her over.

When he brought me flowers, he'd buy her a bouquet too. He'd pick me up after work, then drive Sophia home as well.

Once, when we made hot pot at home, Drew handled the ingredients. Only when the pot was going did I notice he'd set up a light broth base.

Sophia couldn't take anything spicy. I couldn't eat without it.

After Sophia had my niece, she looked for a new job. She sent out applications all day and didn't land a single interview, so Drew stayed up late fixing her résumé for her, draft after draft, and dealt with the HR people on her behalf.

The whole time, he never gave Sophia a pleasant face about it.

"So annoying. Could you cause a little less trouble? My Lucy never makes anyone worry about this stuff."

Sophia couldn't be bothered to argue. "You're free labor. Would be a waste not to use you."

"You think I want to help you? I'm only doing it so Lucy won't worry. You're honestly such a pain."

He called it a pain with his mouth, but the things he did, again and again, had long gone past anything a sister's boyfriend should do.

I always thought they loved to bicker, that they couldn't stand each other, and I kept stepping in to smooth things over. I never once saw that the two of them had already grown this close.

The day Sophia gave birth, Drew deliberately pushed back an important meeting at his company to come to the hospital.

He said childbirth was a big deal, that he was afraid I couldn't handle it all alone. But waiting outside the delivery room, the worry in his eyes was even greater than mine.

Thinking about it now, it was all so obvious.

The next morning I woke up and saw Sophia's post. It was a photo of her getting an IV at the hospital.

The caption read: Sick, but at least I've got free labor on hand to order around.

A couple of mutual friends who didn't know the truth commented, "Your boyfriend?" Sophia didn't reply to any of it.

By the time I refreshed, the post was already gone from my feed.

I got up and went to the office, and without a second thought I submitted my transfer request.

My boss had wanted to promote me to a position out of state, but I'd been hesitating because of Drew. I wanted to marry him soon and build a home, so I'd kept turning it down.

Now what reason was there to refuse?

When I got home from work, the living room was empty and the bedroom door stood ajar.

As I reached the doorway, I heard Drew and Sophia talking inside.

"Drew, thank goodness I have you looking after me. I don't know what I'd do otherwise."

"Oh, right, Lucy's been gone all day. Should we check on her?"

Drew's voice came through the door, impatient.

"She can go wherever she wants. Better if she doesn't come back. Just looking at her irritates me."

Then he noticed me, and the anger in his eyes was impossible to hide.

"Where did you go? Do you have any idea your sister ran a fever of a hundred and two yesterday? Throwing a tantrum over something this small. Lucy, you've really outdone yourself. You are apologizing to her today."

Sophia tugged at his sleeve from the side. "All right, all right, don't be angry. I'm fine."

"Lucy's still young, she doesn't know better. Don't be so hard on her."

I'd been gone a full day and night, and the first thing out of him wasn't worry. It was that I should apologize to my sister.

I stood in the doorway without moving. Drew grabbed my wrist and yanked me over, and my knee slammed into the corner of the bed.

It bruised, but I didn't feel the pain.

"Apologize? What exactly did I do wrong?" I forced down the anger and asked.

Hearing that, the fury in his voice only grew.

"It's just a birthday, isn't it? You went out on your own on purpose, just to make me and your sister feel guilty, didn't you?"

Sophia jumped in to smooth it over. "Stop fighting, Drew. Lucy didn't mean it."

I couldn't hold back anymore. "Just a birthday? You make it sound so easy, Drew. You have no idea how long I planned for it. You just call it off like it's nothing, like it's some kind of joke. Oh, I forgot. You were busy with your wife and kid. How would you have time for me."

"From now on you don't need to be part of my birthday ever again. We're breaking up. You three can go be a happy little family."

Drew froze at first, then flushed with humiliation and rage.

"Lucy, are you sick in the head? What are you even saying? You're jealous of your own sister and a child now?"

"Fine, breakup it is. You'd better never show your face in front of me again."

4: 4

The words were barely out before Drew wrenched the door open and stormed off, as if he were the one who'd been grievously wronged.

Sophia called after him a few times, then turned back to lay into me. "How could you think that about me and him? Don't you know how much I used to hate him? If it weren't for you I wouldn't want to see him for even a day. He helped out with Yoyo a few times and this is the fit you throw?"

"Wouldn't want to see him? Were you smiling when you said that? If you like him, fine, he's all yours. Better hurry and chase after him, earn some points, keep the safety net going for you and your daughter." I couldn't be bothered to explain anything more.

"You—" She was so furious she couldn't get a word out for a long moment, then spun around and went out too.

I packed up everything of mine in the apartment, threw out every single thing connected to Drew, and dragged my suitcase to the door.

On my way down, I saw Drew and Sophia standing a little way off.

Sophia sounded worried. "She really does seem angry. Maybe you should go back and smooth things over?"

Drew said, unbothered, "No need. I did all that on purpose for her benefit. Acting worn me out. Every time I get angry, she's back apologizing within three days, guaranteed."

"But she seemed to catch on to something. She won't find out about us, will she?"

"No chance. She didn't even know that time in the bathroom."

"And every time you came over right when Yoyo was about to cry from needing a diaper change, I'd change her and she'd stop crying right away. Lucy never noticed. She always thought Yoyo just took to me."

"When she's not around, I teach Yoyo to call me Daddy every single day. Yoyo does it right in front of her and she doesn't suspect a thing. She's easy to fool. It'd take a miracle for her to figure it out."

Sophia flushed at that and laughed, swatting him.

"I just want to be with you more."

A wave of nausea rose up in me, and all those little details came into sharper and sharper focus.

Last week Sophia said there was no hot water at her place and came over to shower.

Drew had been in the living room watching TV. I ran to the supermarket, and when I got back he was gone, then reappeared saying only that he'd stepped out for a cigarette.

And my niece only liked him, partly because they shared blood, and partly because it was an illusion the two of them had deliberately built.

After a moment Sophia went on. "But whenever I think about how you two are going to get married eventually, it makes me so sad."

Drew smiled and pinched her nose. "Silly. Aren't I marrying her for your sake anyway?"

"Once I marry Lucy, we won't have kids. Yoyo is the only child I need. She'll probably even think I'm being considerate of her."

"By then she'll have no choice but to treat Yoyo as her own. Lucy earns a lot. Everything she makes will go toward Yoyo, and this apartment we're living in is hers too. So you won't have to work hard at all."

Hearing that, Sophia threw her arms around Drew, happy, and he bent down and kissed her.

But what he didn't know was that I would never turn back, and I would never again be their cash cow to bleed dry.