“If my sister hates me that much, I don’t want
to be a bother.”
The hint of panic in Jake’s eyes vanished,
replaced by a steely glare directed at me. He
gritted his teeth and said, “Sarah, you better
apologize to Cindy. Or else, we’re through!”
With that, he swept Cindy away, holding her like
she was made of glass.
Mikey stared at me, his face a mask of
disappointment. “If you apologize, you can still
be my sister.”
Watching them walk away, I felt a pain so deep
it felt like I was bleeding inside.
My phone buzzed. It was a message from
Immigration.
My application was approved.
Finally, I could get away from these people, cut
them out of my life for good.
I went home, packed my bags, and left the fake marriage certificate and abortion papers on the kitchen table. Then, I headed to the airport.
As I was about to board, Jake texted me:
“Sarah, Cindy just got out. I need to calm her
down. Stop being such a drama queen and
apologize. Consider it as being the bigger
<
8:14
884
“I’ll get you a gift, baby. I’ll make it up to you.”
I snorted.
Cindy’s back, so he’s gotta put on his
“sensitive” act again?
I texted back: “Jake, I’m done playing your little
five–year love game. We’re over.”
After sending the text, I deleted all their contact information and turned off my phone.
As the plane took off, I looked back at the lights
of the city fading below.
Goodbye, Jake. Goodbye, Mikey.
On the way to the hospital with Cindy, Jake
realized his behavior at the party had been off.
<
After all, he couldn’t let Sarah know the truth.
So he had his assistant buy a gift and take it to
Sarah.
But not that long after, his assistant called him.
“Jake, no one’s home. Sarah… I don’t know
where she went.”
Jake’s heart jumped.
But with Cindy around, he had to just text
Sarah.
“Sarah, Cindy just got out. I need to calm her
down. Stop being such a drama queen and
apologize. Consider it as being the bigger
person.”
“I’ll get you a gift, baby. I’ll make it up to you.”
The next moment Jake saw Sarah’s response
<
The next moment, Jake saw Sarah’s response.
He paused.
And stood there in silence for a long moment
before snapping back to reality.
“A love game? When did she find out?”
Mikey, who was standing nearby, saw Jake
acting strangely. “What’s up?”
He looked at the screen and he grew pale.
Mikey broke out in sweat, his voice starting to
tremble.
He looked at Cindy in bed and said quietly,
“What’s going on? When did she find out?
“Did she find out about what happened five
years ago? What about your marriage
certificate with Cindy?”
“What are we going to do? She didn’t get
pregnant, and Cindy can’t have children! And
what if she exposes our scheme? The
reputation of the Holbrook and Silverman
Companies will be shot!”
Jake frowned.
“No way, I’ve been really careful. There’s no way
Sarah would know.”
In the hospital bed, Cindy’s eyes flashed with
malice and smugness.
Seeing them looking troubled, she said
worriedly,
“What’s wrong? Is something happening with
my sister? Go take a look, I’ll be fine here.”
She looked sympathetic, and they couldn’t help
but feel touched.
>
After hesitating, Jake said, “Cindy, I can’t stay.
Sarah might have found out something. I need
to go.”
Cindy clenched her fist.
But she smiled and said, “Jake, she’s always
been that way.”
“She says things like that when she’s mad.
She’s probably just mad from what happened at the party.”
“Go check on her, but don’t take time away
from work. I think Sarah will understand.”
Jake was relieved when he heard that.
He was about to leave, but then Cindy coughed
forcefully until she looked pale.
Mikey patted her back. “Jake, Cindy’s not
feeling good. We should stay with her.”
<
“Sarah’s not going anywhere. What can a
woman with no money or status do without you?”
Jake pursed his lips and stayed.
Soon, Cindy was back to normal.
She laid in Jake’s arms and started talking about things that happened in the past.
884
She said that I hated her as my adopted sister
and had always been cruel.
All these stories went into Jake’s ears.
He started frowning.
