"The number is still the same as before. It hasn't changed. I'm just afraid that when you want to contact me, you can't find it."

I couldn't help but twitch the corners of my lips.

Unexpectedly, I cut off all ties with my own hands and wished I could never see the person again.

Now he was showing such a deep and unrepentant attitude.

"No, I'm not interested in getting entangled with a married man."

I pedaled hard and the bicycle carried me along the long road covered with golden ginkgo leaves.

The wheels rustled over the fallen leaves.

I was once very familiar with this road.

When I was young, that was my favorite place to go for morning jogs and rides with my brother.

At that time, he always said that I was his follower, but he always slowed down and waited for me.

He liked to ruffle my hair and watch me dance.

He said that even when we were old—seventy or eighty—we would still walk this road together and enjoy the sun.

But now I was two years older than him.

I cycled all the way back to the old neighborhood where my brother was still alive.

Ever since my brother's accident, that place had been vacant.

Opening the rusty security door, a stale smell hit my face.

A group photo of four people hung in the living room, covered with dust.

Growing up, my brother and I depended on each other.

When I was sixteen, Oliver appeared in our lives.

He said my brother had saved him from drowning and given him a second chance at life. So he promised, “From now on, I’ll be your best brother.”

But he and I never got along. We clashed over the smallest things.

It wasn't until my senior year of high school trip that a mudslide occurred in the resort area.

The classmates were picked up by their parents one after another, but my brother was on a business trip out of reach.

The pouring silt instantly flooded the hotel.

I was pressed under the collapsed beams, silently waiting for death to come.

Oliver, however, ignored the current and dug upstream from dawn to dusk with his bare hands.

"Stacy, don't be afraid, I'm here!"

He carried me on his back all night.

It wasn't until I was taken to the hospital that I realized he had lost two shoes.

The feet were covered with crisscross wounds that turned white.

The nails on the ten fingers were broken and bloody.

“Hey, don’t cry. As long as you’re safe, it’s worth it even if I end up disabled!”

At that moment, he was my ultimate hero.

On New Year’s Eve, the three of us were setting off fireworks when a disheveled Kathryn Guzman showed up at our door.

She was the daughter of my brother’s teacher. Her family had gone bankrupt and she was hiding from the creditors chasing her.

My kind-hearted brother took everything on himself.

He quit the job he loved, went into business, drank until his stomach bled and brushed against death more than once.

In two years, he lost thirty pounds, paid off Kathryn’s debts and won her heart.

We toasted their future and swore we would always love each other and never be apart.

Just as I was lost in thought, I heard a key turning in the door.

The door opened and Kathryn and Oliver stood there suddenly. 

I forgot that we each had a key to this place.

"I heard from Oliver that you are back, so we guessed that you must be here."

"Why didn't you tell us that you were coming back so we could pick you up, Stacy?"

She stepped forward to hold my hand, but I avoided her.

"How can anyone live here? Come back with us. The nanny is on leave and has a room available."

I lowered my eyes and saw that the person in my family’s home was in this city.

I just came back to see my brother and later I was going to meet my in-laws, whom I had never met before.

I held out my hand to them, "Keys!"

This house was bought by my brother and it had my name on it.

It had nothing to do with either of them.

Oliver glanced at the photo in my hand with complicated eyes.

"Stacy, if Marion is here, he must also want to see the three of us doing well."

Kathryn turned away, not daring to look directly at the photo.

Oliver walked straight in, took off his suit jacket, rolled up his sleeves and picked up the broom behind the door.

"Kathryn, go open the window and get some air."

It took me back to many years ago.

The four of us often gathered there at that time.

My brother cooked, Kathryn helped and Oliver did housework. I was too busy pointing fingers.

The small house was filled with laughter and happiness, but now there was only silence.

I wiped the table clean and placed my brother's portrait upright on it.

In the photo, my brother smiles so gently.

Unexpectedly, the reunion of the four people would take place in this way.

Kathryn rushed over and slammed the portrait onto the table. "Okay, what are you doing with this?"

Seeing her panic, I couldn't help but sneer in my heart, ‘It turns out that she will also feel guilty and be embarrassed to face my brother's clear eyes.’

"Stacy, Kathryn is also worried about you. After all, people have died here."

"Don't you know best how my brother died?"

The broom in Oliver's hand fell to the ground with a clang.

The room was deathly silent except for the sound of the wind blowing outside the window.

In the second year after my brother got married, we all changed.

My brother’s company kept growing and he was often away from home for days at a time.

Then one day, he received an angel investment and was so excited he invited us out to celebrate.

Halfway through the meal, he received a call from Oliver who was absent, "Marion, I got into trouble, they cornered me in the bar."

Without a word, my brother dropped his fork and rushed out. 

He left—and never came back the same.

While protecting Oliver, he was struck on the back of the head with a wine bottle.

When Kathryn and I arrived at the hospital, we found him with his mind reduced to that of a five-year-old child.

He forgot everything except me as his sister.

My world was falling apart.

While I endured my grief and took care of my brother, I cruelly rejected Kathryn, “When my brother was healthy, he loved you the most. He wouldn’t want you to waste your life on him.”

“I’m making the decision for him—you two should get a divorce.”

Kathryn held my brother's hands tightly and cried until her heart broke. "I will not leave Marion, not even if I die."

She chose to stay without hesitation.

I gave up the inheritance rights of my brother's company and gave them all to Kathryn.

Oliver blamed himself so much that he couldn't help himself and he was locked in the room drunk and dreaming.

Until Kathryn kicked open the door and slapped him hard.

"If you want to be worthy of Marion, you must protect the company and this family for him."

From that day on, Oliver seemed to be a changed person.

He joined my brother's company and shouldered the burden of taking care of us.

At that time, I was immersed in great sadness and confusion about the future.

Oliver's company and support became my only driftwood.

He and I obtained a marriage certificate and swore before my brother's bedside that he would take care of me for the rest of his life.

Oliver's phone rang, interrupting my memories.

As if eager to get rid of the shackles of the old past, Kathryn became extremely talkative. "Don't blame Oliver. He is now the boss of a listed company and is very busy."

She flipped up her hair, deliberately revealing the huge diamond necklace around her neck. "This was my birthday gift last month. He went to a French auction to buy it and give it to me."

Oliver hung up the phone, "What were you talking about?"

Kathryn held his hand shyly. “I noticed Stacy’s neck. I’ll find some necklaces I haven’t worn and give them to her.

My tone stayed calm. “No. I think they’re dirty.”

Kathryn’s face darkened. “What do you mean by that?”

I lifted my eyes and looked at her blankly. “You know exactly what I mean.”

If that accident hadn’t happened, my brother would be the one standing proud today.

Instead, he became like a child—and that pain had never left me.

But life went on and in the quiet of night, people let themselves feel a hidden relief.

I was grateful that my brother left me two people who felt more like real family than blood relatives.

The night before I left for college, Oliver kept promising he would take good care of my brother.

In my desperation, I clung to his words like a lifeline.

At first, he was perfect. It was as if he wanted to give me all the love my brother could no longer give.

He flew to my city every two weeks, afraid I might suffer even a little.

Knowing I feared thunderstorms, he would drive hundreds of kilometers in the rain just to stay in my dormitory.

"Stacy, when it snows for the first time, we will have a wedding. I will make you the most beautiful bride in the world."

Our home was warm as spring all year round, but the winter was extremely cold.

The weather forecast said there would be a once-in-50-year snowfall on Christmas Day.

I secretly bought a ticket home to give them a surprise.

But when I opened the door, I was shocked to see my skinny brother was chained.

And in front of him, there were two naked bodies intertwined.

I felt like I was falling into an ice cave, trembling all over and couldn't help but feel like vomiting.

I didn’t know whether I was angrier about how they treated my brother—or about how they betrayed me.

Two of the most important family members in my life betrayed me.

My mind went blank, but my brother saw me first.

The 1.8 meter tall man curled up and handed a dirty piece of bread in front of me. "Stacy, eat..."

Tears burst instantly and I rushed over like crazy.

I roared and pulled Kathryn's hair with all my strength.

Kathryn suddenly screamed and dropped to her knees. “Stacy, I know you’re angry. I’m sorry—for you and for Marion.”

“But I’m not even thirty. I don’t want to spend my whole life taking care of someone with a child’s mind.”

I had been ready to let her go, yet she kept insisting she would never leave us.  So what did she really want?

"Oliver and I truly love each other and I will not compete with you for Mrs. Hurley's position."

"I will take good care of your brother, but please let me stay with Oliver."

"The four of us will always be together, okay?"

Once, my brother shielded me from every storm. But this was the first time I faced the cruelty of people on my own.

I raised my hand to strike, but Oliver shoved me away.

My brother, terrified, burst into tears—and still, driven by instinct, he slammed his small body against the iron chain again and again.

He broke his ankle but managed to free himself. Dragging his injured leg, he spread his arms and protected me with everything he had.

Then the wooden bench Oliver swung came crashing down on his head. Warm blood covered my hands.

Panicked, I reached for my phone to call for help. Oliver calmly put on his clothes, then crushed my phone under his foot.

I had seen him playful, guilty, even troubled before— but never with eyes this cold and cruel.

"If you want this fool to live, just be obedient and shut your mouth!"