I came back from a business trip and had a wild night with my boyfriend. But when it was over, I suddenly realized: he was in his usual spot in the bed. I grabbed him and scrutinized the details to see if he was cheating. The next second, he covered my eyes, trembling: "M-Maya... I can't go another round today..." 1 I froze. He looked up at me, pitiful. "I have a basketball game tonight. If we go again, my legs are really going to turn to jelly..." I sat up like a corpse springing back to life. I suddenly realized the man next to me might actually be my boyfriend's younger brother! He was still a college student who hadn't even graduated yet! I knew something was off when I came back! My boyfriend's build looked slightly different! A fine layer of cold sweat broke out all over my body. I yanked the covers over myself and screamed: "Why is it you?! Why are you in my apartment?!" The air... went completely silent. The young man's eyelashes fluttered nervously. He stared at me, his voice hoarse and full of disbelief. "What... what do you mean? So just now, when you were so happy... you didn't know who you were with?" He looked so wronged and hurt. It made the excuse of "face blindness" get stuck right in my throat. I took a deep breath. Trying hard to stabilize my emotions, I asked another question: "Where is your brother? Why isn't he home?" Noah looked down. "My college game was nearby, and the schedule was tight. All the hotels were booked, so I could only crash at his place... He was afraid of waking me up, so he stayed overnight at his office. We didn't know... you were coming back so suddenly..." His voice trailed off. Coupled with his expression, he looked even more innocent. Unacceptable! So he's innocent, and this is entirely my fault?! I gritted my teeth and kept interrogating him: "Then why didn't you explain who you were before you took your clothes off?!" Noah looked even more dejected. "You kissed me the second you walked in. When did I have a chance to explain..." "I know you're afraid my brother will find out about us. I won't tell him..." "Everything that happened today... I'll just treat it like a dream..." As he spoke. He put his clothes back on, diligently stripped the bed, and smoothed out every single wrinkle, erasing all the evidence. Everything was playing out exactly according to the best-case scenario I had envisioned. It was so perfect I actually felt like I was the villain... Finally, when he was hand-washing my thong in the sink, I couldn't hold back anymore: "Just give that to me..." As I walked over, he flinched like he'd been burned. He looked at me with red-rimmed eyes. "I got it dirty..." Damn it! I really am a monster! 2 My phone buzzed. It was a voice message from my boyfriend, Liam. I wanted to play it, but seeing Noah's wet, puppy-dog eyes, I suddenly felt guilty. I hit the speech-to-text button. [Baby, when are you coming back? I learned a new recipe recently!] [Miss you, miss you /emoji] One of the main reasons I got together with Liam in the first place was that he knew how to cook. He was the only one who could satisfy my stomach, which was completely sick of takeout. I couldn't help but smile. Noah floated over beside me like a ghost. "That new recipe my brother learned? I taught it to him." Huh? I looked up, but Noah had already pulled open the fridge, desperate to prove himself. "I didn't use up all the ingredients I bought yesterday. If you don't believe me, I'll make it for you right now." As he spoke. He stripped off his shirt in three swift motions and threw on his brother's apron. Why are you taking your shirt off to cook?! I followed him into the kitchen. Noah was already swiftly slicing, washing, and stir-frying like a pro. The apron straps perfectly covered his nipples. I could only catch a glimpse of them when he made large movements... I couldn't help but panic. "It's covered, it's covered. Hey! Stop it! Why are you cooking right now?!" While I was talking. He had already plated the dish. He looked at me, full of expectation: "Maya... do you want to try a bite?" Try... what exactly? A buff, buzz-cut stud, and he's in his prime college years. At a time like this, what kind of modern-day saint could resist?! There were two little people fighting in my head. One said, "Hurry up and taste it!" The other was violently choking me, "It's not like you haven't tasted it already! Doesn't knowing who it really is make it even more thrilling?! Hurry the hell up and taste it!" Noah put the plate down. He stepped closer to me, step by step, looking down at me. "Maya, why aren't you saying anything?" An inexplicable tension bounced around the room. I stammered, "You can... you can just call me Maya..." His footsteps stopped. His expression darkened: "You mean, when?" Well, that time, obviously— Before I could get the words out. The sound of the front door unlocking clicked loudly. My scalp went numb. The next second, a surprised voice came from the doorway, "A suitcase? Hmm? Baby, are you back?" 3 Six eyes met. The air was dead silent. Cold sweat poured down the back of my neck. I wanted to say something to explain this mess. But my quick wit suddenly completely failed me! Until Noah casually spoke up, "Oh, Liam, you're back too." "Maya just got in. Just in time for me to finish cooking." Phew. I let out a massive sigh of relief. Liam took off his shoes and picked me up in a pleasantly surprised hug. "Baby, why didn't you tell me you were coming back early? You didn't even reply to my messages!" He spun me around twice. My energy was completely drained; I felt dizzy and lightheaded. Thankfully, Noah called a stop to it. "Liam, let's eat." His voice was cool and clear. He turned around, revealing his bare back. Liam frowned. "Noah? Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" Noah stopped in his tracks. I started anxiously twisting my fingers together... "I washed it." He dropped that single sentence and went back to busying himself in the kitchen. Thank God! There actually were clothes Noah had just washed out on the balcony! Wait. Crap! My toes curled up in sheer panic. My freshly washed thong was also out on the balcony. If Liam saw it...! I grabbed Liam and kissed him hard. He was stunned by my sudden aggressiveness. But he quickly reacted, responding passionately. In the blink of an eye, his voice went husky. "Baby, hold on. Noah is still here..." 4 Crash— In the kitchen doorway, porcelain shattered. Noah stood there, his eyes instantly turning red. Liam and I immediately separated. Liam coughed awkwardly. "Your sister-in-law and I haven't seen each other in a long time. We couldn't help ourselves. Just pretend you didn't see anything." The young man's lips trembled slightly. "Couldn't help yourselves, huh..." Liam didn't catch it. "What?" Noah stopped talking. He silently cleaned up the mess on the floor. From my angle, I could only see his lonely, dejected back... The food looked and smelled amazing. But I couldn't taste a thing. My entire focus was concentrated on my right leg, which was constantly rubbing against the leg next to me. I knew that wasn't Liam, because Liam was sitting on my left... The dinner table was completely silent. Until Noah picked up a piece of green pepper and dropped it into Liam's bowl. "Liam, eat your vegetables." Then, he picked up a glistening piece of sweet and sour ribs and dropped it into my bowl. Liam's expression froze... I burst into a violent coughing fit. Liam looked at me. "Baby, I'll go get you some water." Yes! Anything to end this suffocating atmosphere! I nodded frantically. As Liam walked away, I finally let out a long breath. I glared at Noah. "What are you doing?!" He acted like he didn't hear me. He elegantly chewed a grain of rice, glanced at me, and said slowly: "Maya, Liam's fridge is out on the balcony." The thong! In a flash of lightning! I felt like I had been struck by a thunderbolt! I jumped up and sprinted toward the balcony. Liam already had the water. His expression was normal. "What's wrong, baby?" I gulped hard. But then I noticed his lips were slightly pale. "Were you that impatient to drink water..." 5 Sitting on pins and needles. That was the truest description of my current emotional state! Liam didn't ask anything, but a guilty conscience makes it hard to sit still. I was terrified he was saving up his questions. Just waiting for Noah to leave so he could draw his sword on me when we were alone! The feeling of impending doom was agonizing! While I was squirming in my seat, Liam looked up. His voice was cold: "You need to leave today." He was talking to his brother! The two men locked eyes. For a moment, even the dog barking next door went silent... My soul left my body. When I snapped back to reality, Noah was already rolling his suitcase to the door. He stopped at the doorway and looked at me: "Maya, see you next time..." The door clicked shut. Only Liam and I were left in the apartment. It was the most normal scenario, yet I instinctively looked away. He grabbed my wrist. I looked up. I saw that Liam's eyes were already red. "Maya, you have no idea... how much I missed you these past few days..." The guilt almost drowned me. I took a deep breath. I was going to confess everything to him! But Liam sealed my lips before I could. He kissed me with a desperate devotion. Something wet dripped onto my face... This time. He was incredibly passionate. The world, rising and falling, brings people joy, but also confusion. In my hazy, dizzy state. I heard Liam murmur: "Baby... does he make you feel better than I do?" Instantly, my eyes shot wide open! "What did you say?!" Another storm of passion hit. Liam focused entirely on the physical, not saying another word, as if what I just heard was a hallucination. He knew my body too well. A few movements later. My thoughts drifted away with him again. When it was over, I was completely drained, just overwhelmingly exhausted. In my half-asleep state, it sounded like someone was telling a bedtime story. A husky voice, thick with a nasal tone: "The year Noah was born, I was four... "He seemed to be born with a better knack for making the adults happy. I couldn't help but be jealous of him... So I stole everything he had since we were kids. Until his 18th birthday. My parents and I went on a trip, and he called to complain... "I thought he was just fighting for attention again, so I secretly turned off my parents' phones. We only found out when we got back from the trip that Noah had acute pancreatitis. No one was there to take care of him, and he almost died at home... "I swore to him then that as long as it was something he liked, whatever he wanted, I would never fight him for it again. But Maya... why did it have to be you..." 6 When I woke up again, the apartment was spotless. Yesterday's leftovers, even my luggage, everything was neatly organized. Liam was always like this. Silently doing things in the background. I picked up my phone. Someone had added me on Snapchat at some point. [Maya, my game tonight. Are you coming?] [If you come, I'll be really happy.] It was obvious who it was. Noah and I had already made a mistake once... Looking around the clean, tidy apartment, I decided to cut things off with Noah completely! After that... I'd beg Liam for forgiveness. Mind made up, I called him on the app. He picked up instantly. "Maya?" His voice pitched up at the end; he sounded really happy. I stayed silent for a moment, then spoke: "After this, let's delete each other. Let's not contact each other privately anymore." The call went dead silent. A moment later, a loud crashing sound erupted. Someone on the other end yelled in panic: "Noah! Noah! Quick, call an ambulance!" My heart violently clenched. "Noah, what happened to you?!" 7 The other end of the line was in total chaos. Not long after, someone hung up the phone. Something happened to Noah. That realization threw me into a panic again. I tried to call back, but no one answered. It couldn't be because of my phone call, right? I was a nervous wreck the entire day. Until Liam came to pick me up after work. "I have to go to the hospital. I'll drop you off at home and then head over." The hospital?! My heart hammered against my ribs. "Who got hurt?!" Liam glanced at me: "How did you know it was an injury and not an illness?" My breathing hitched. I wanted to explain but didn't know where to start. The light turned green. Liam started the car again. After a long, long time, he asked in a muffled voice: "It's my brother who got hurt. Do you... want to go?" It really was Noah who got hurt! Because of my phone call! I gripped my seatbelt tightly. I didn't even notice my voice cracking. "I have to go. Liam, take me with you!" 8 Noah really did get hurt because of me! They said Noah was on the phone, and they didn't know why, but his expression suddenly looked awful. When the basketball came flying down, he didn't dodge it. He fell right on the bleachers and hit his head, bleeding immediately. He still hadn't woken up! The other guys on the basketball team were also anxious. "Noah never even has girls around him normally. But this afternoon, for some reason, he suddenly got a call from a girl!" "Otherwise, with his reflexes, he definitely would have dodged it!" In the hospital corridor. No one said another word. Liam's expression was heavy. It was completely impossible to guess what he was thinking. I stood rooted to the spot. I couldn't even describe what I was feeling. All I knew was that Noah was lying there entirely because of me... One mistake after another. I shuffled over to Liam. All sorts of thoughts were warring in my head. Right now, it seemed the only option was to confess. Whether it was the older brother or the younger brother, this tragedy was entirely my fault... I wrung my hands. "Liam..." He looked up. There was a raw emotion in his eyes, and he was trembling slightly. "Don't say it." His voice was hoarse. His fists, resting on his legs, were clenched so tight the veins bulged. "I don't want to hear it right now..." A dull ache throbbed in my chest. I had no idea how to clean up this mess. The door to the hospital room was suddenly pushed open. The nurse said the patient was awake. Noah's head was wrapped in bandages. From far across the room, the first person he looked at was me. "Maya, I'm dizzy." 9 Noah suffered a concussion from the fall. Besides dizziness, he also had bouts of nausea. When Liam was ordering food, Noah dry-heaved until physiological tears ran down his face. "Liam, I want home-cooked food." Liam put his phone away. He gave me a fleeting glance. "Then your sister-in-law and I will go back, make some food, and run it over to you." "Liam!" Noah raised his voice and sat up abruptly. The next second, he started gagging and feeling nauseous again. I couldn't help but pat his back. I looked at Liam. "Why don't you stay here with him? I'll go back, make some food, and bring it over..." After all. Noah's injury had everything to do with me. Liam pressed his lips tightly together. He didn't say anything, but the patient started groaning. Noah held his forehead, saying the room was spinning. Finally, he looked at me pitifully and asked: "Maya, can my current physical condition handle your 'creative' cooking?" "Your sister-in-law can't stay here with you!" Before I could even react, Liam suddenly stood up. Noah blinked. His voice was soft: "Then I guess... I'll just be hospitalized alone..." Liam's body went rigid. He looked at me. The rims of his eyes were flushed pink. "Maya, you stay at the hospital with Noah for now... I'll be back as soon as I can..." He walked away unsteadily, his footsteps rushed. "Maya~" Noah called me, his voice full of grievance. "Look at me." I slowly turned my head, looking at the pitiful man on the hospital bed. "You did that on purpose." My voice was certain. "You got hurt on purpose. You acted pitiful on purpose. You drove your brother away on purpose." "Noah, your brother is already miserable enough!" "Why did you have to do this?!"
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