Chapter 1

My smile froze. "What did you say?"

Ten years from now, weren't Aiden and I supposed to be happy together? Why would I need to leave him now?

And what about my application? I had already submitted it. I was going north with Aiden. He would study medicine, while I would study literature at the university next door.

He had said he couldn't stop worrying about me and had begged me to apply to the school closest to his. So why would I give that up?

I wanted to ask more, but in the blink of an eye, the woman in front of me vanished into thin air.

I stepped forward in disbelief and searched for her, but then Aiden called out to me, "Why are you out here on the deck by yourself? Come eat with me."

I looked around, but the woman was nowhere in sight. I pushed the thought aside for now and followed Aiden.

"By the way, you haven't changed your application again these past few days, have you?"

My steps faltered.

"No," I signed as I looked at him. "Why do you ask?"

He smiled and ruffled my hair as if he had only brought it up in passing. "No reason. The system closes today, so I just wanted to check with you again."

But after the conversation I'd had moments ago, unease crept into my heart. Aiden never asked twice about something that had already been settled.

Still troubled by my doubts, I finished dinner. On my way back, I unexpectedly ran into "myself" again.

"Do you want to know the answer?" My future self pointed toward Aiden's retreating back. "Follow him. You'll understand."

I froze for a moment. Then I looked in the direction Aiden had gone and followed him.

At the end of the corridor, I saw something I could hardly believe. A pair of woman's hands suddenly reached out and yanked him into a room.

That mole on her hand… It belonged to my stepsister, Dawn Summers.

Ever since my father cheated on my mother with Dawn's mother, I had never known what it was like to have a whole family again. That mother and daughter were the two people I hated most in the world.

So why was Aiden in a room with Dawn right now?

"Well?" Dawn's soft, delicate voice came through the door.

"She hasn't changed it," Aiden said in a low voice. "Don't worry. She can't bear to leave me."

"Then I'm sorry to put you through this, but you'll have to come south with me."

"There's nothing to be sorry about. You have depression. Of course you need someone to look after you," Aiden comforted her.

Dawn laughed softly and feigned a pout. "But Vesper is mute. She needs you even more."

For a moment, time seemed to stop.

After a brief silence, Aiden finally answered, "She's independent. She stopped needing to rely on anyone a long time ago. On the other hand, you..."

He paused. "I'll definitely help you get better."

A roar filled my head, and my mind went completely blank. It felt as though I had fallen from a cliff and shattered against the rocks below.

So that was the truth. He wanted to become a psychiatrist not because of me, but because of Dawn's depression. He had pressed me about my application not because he was afraid I might leave, but because he wanted to make sure he had gotten rid of me.

I stumbled back to my room in a daze and sank to the floor, yet I couldn't shed a single tear.

After a long while, I picked up my phone and sent him a message.

[Aiden, do you really want me to go to that university?]

His reply came almost instantly.

Aiden: [Of course. Have you forgotten? When your mom passed away, she made me promise to take good care of you. Besides, Ves, if you don't follow me, who else would you follow?]

I could almost picture the confident certainty on his face as he typed those words.

The next second, right on cue, Dawn's social media feed updated.

Dawn: [Thank you to the person who read me fairy tales all day. Because of him, I get to stay a little kid forever.]

The attached photo showed a familiar figure from behind, though the image was blurred.

I stood frozen as a numb laugh escaped me.

So that was why Aiden had stayed in his room all day instead of going out to enjoy the scenery with me. It had never been because he felt unwell. So his "little one" had been someone else all along.

My fingers moved across the screen. This time, I didn't hesitate. I opened another chat window.

[Uncle Hubert, I'm in for the study abroad program you mentioned last time. I'd like to leave the country as soon as possible.]