When my family went bankrupt, my mother’s best friend took me in. That’s how I ended up entangled with the two sons of the illustrious Hayes family for twenty years. Their devotion and fierce protectiveness were the envy of everyone we knew. But when I finally decided I was ready to settle down and start a family, they both turned me down. The older brother, David, said, “My career comes first. I’m not interested in marriage right now.” The younger one, Ethan, said, “I’m still young. I want to have fun for a few more years. Besides, what we have is just a casual fling. It was never serious.” The very next day, at my birthday party, they both proposed to the housekeeper’s daughter. To entertain her, they forced me—a person with a chronic stomach condition—to drink a glass of high-proof liquor. As I was rushed to the hospital with internal bleeding, they both covered her eyes and laughed, mocking me for being dramatic. That was the day my heart finally died. The day I was discharged, I called my mother. “I’m ready,” I told her. “I’ll marry the heir to the Russell fortune.” 1 The autumn wind cut through my thin hospital gown as I stepped outside. My phone rang. It was David Hayes, the older brother. His tone was sharp, laced with blame. “Audrey, where have you been hiding? Did you think running away would solve anything? Get back here right now and apologize to Mina.” I could hear Ethan, the younger brother, in the background. “It’s your fault Mina is upset! You and your fake illness. She’s so fragile, she’s barely eaten in days because of you!” I glanced at my reflection in the glass door. I was a wraith, so thin and frail it looked like a strong gust of wind could carry me away. My stomach has been weak since I was a child, my health always delicate. For years, those two brothers had fussed over me endlessly. I remember one night, I had a severe attack, and David carried me on his back down twenty flights of stairs because the elevator was out. Ethan once scoured the entire city to find a specific rice cake I loved, just to see me smile. They controlled every meal I ate, every sip I took, personally overseeing my diet. But that was all before Mina, the housekeeper’s daughter, arrived. After she appeared, they tossed twenty years of memories aside like trash. I hung up without a word and dialed my mother’s number. “Mom, I’ve made up my mind. I’ll marry the Russell heir.” There was a long pause on the other end. “Audrey, darling, this is your life. Are you absolutely sure?” When my father passed away and our family business collapsed, my mother sent me to the capital to live with her best friend, while she stayed behind to salvage what was left of our family’s legacy. For twenty years, she worked tirelessly to build a connection with the powerful Russell family, securing a chance for us to rebuild. But more than any business alliance, she cared about my happiness. Even after the Russell matriarch had taken a liking to me, my mother had left the final choice in my hands. I used to believe that true love was worth waiting for, that I would eventually choose between the two Hayes brothers. Now I saw the truth. I was nothing but a diversion for them, a toy to pass the time. I should have left long ago. I opened my phone to book a flight and saw a new post from Mina. It was a picture of her, lounging in my bedroom, flaunting two different diamond rings on her hand. The caption read: True love needs no words. Only desperate old women have to scheme their way to the top. She was wearing the designer suit and crystal heels the Hayes brothers had custom-made for me six months ago as a birthday present. I silently blocked her number. “Mom, I’m serious,” I said, my voice firm. “I want to have a child of my own, soon.” The doctor at the hospital had told me the internal bleeding had taken a serious toll on my body. If I didn’t get pregnant while I was still young, I might never be able to have children. I didn’t have any more time to wait. “Alright,” my mother said, her voice soft with understanding. “I respect your decision. Mrs. Russell has already had your charts read. Next Sunday is an auspicious day for the marriage registration. As soon as you’re back, I’ll arrange everything.” She must have guessed what had happened. Just before hanging up, she added, “Remember to say a proper goodbye to Aunt Caroline.” I looked up at the grey, overcast sky. The doctor said I needed a week to recover. One week. Just enough time to say goodbye to everything. 2 I took a cab back to the villa. The moment I stepped through the door, a jet of cold water hit me full in the face, soaking me to the bone. “Oh, Audrey, I’m so sorry!” Mina cried, holding a garden hose. She didn’t turn off the water until I was completely drenched. “I was watering the flowers. I didn’t see you.” I blinked, trying to clear my vision. My eyes fell on the garden bed. The Mina of the valley flowers I had painstakingly cultivated for years were gone, ripped out. In their place were rows and rows of garish, bright red roses. A gust of cold wind swept through the yard, and a wave of nausea and dizziness washed over my post-surgery body. I swayed, nearly collapsing. David and Ethan exchanged a look of pure contempt, as if mocking me for putting on a show the moment I returned. “Audrey,” David drawled, “I thought you had more backbone than that. I didn’t think you’d ever come back.” “Her own mother doesn’t even want her,” Ethan sneered. “Where else would she go?” A sharp pain lanced through my chest. I remembered the day I first arrived at the Hayes mansion. Ethan had held my hand, trying everything to make me smile. “Don’t be scared, Audrey,” he’d said. “This is your home now.” David had given me the largest and best room in the house. When the three of us moved into this villa for work, he had remembered all my preferences, decorating the master suite just for me. He had declared to everyone that I was, and always would be, the irreplaceable lady of the house. Everything changed the day Mina arrived, under the guise of helping her mother, the housekeeper. She spent her days either clinging to the brothers or “accidentally” breaking my things. At first, I was patient, understanding that she was unaccustomed to our world. But she grew bolder, eventually shattering a jade pendant my father had left me, right in front of my eyes. When I finally confronted her, David pushed me away. “Mina’s had a hard life,” he’d said, his brow furrowed. “You’re a princess who’s had everything handed to you. Why do you have to pick on a simple girl who doesn’t know any better?” “She’s younger than me,” Ethan had added. “You’re the older one. Can’t you just let things go?” Clutching the broken pieces of my father’s pendant, I felt a profound sense of confusion and helplessness for the first time. After that, I was no longer the center of their universe. The housekeeper’s daughter had slowly, methodically, replaced me. She was the new mistress of the villa, and I was being pushed out. Fine. There was nothing left for me here. I went inside, intending to pack, only to find all my belongings thrown in a heap in the hallway. David stood there with his arm around Mina, looking down at me. “Audrey, you need to understand your place,” he said coldly. “You’re nothing but a parasite, living off our family. You have no right to look down on Mina, and you certainly have no right to throw your princess tantrums at her.” “From now on, you’ll live in the maid’s room. Mina will be taking over your responsibilities at the company. I’m transferring you to logistics. You can stay there until you learn some humility.” Ethan then ripped the head off the teddy bear my mother had given me, tossing it to Mina to make her laugh. “Big sister Audrey,” he cooed, his voice laced with menace, “if you make Mina unhappy again, I won’t be so gentle next time.” Big sister Audrey. The way he said it now was a world away from the adoration it once held. The old me would have been heartbroken, unable to sleep for nights. But I was leaving. I had no time or energy to argue. “You’re right,” I said quietly. “I’ll move out as soon as possible. And don’t worry about transferring me. I quit.” David scoffed. “So, you’re determined to be a useless freeloader, living off our family forever.” He sighed. “Fine. For my mother’s sake, I won’t argue with you this time. Just remember your place from now on.” I walked past him, my voice barely a whisper. “There is no ‘from now on.’” This place held so many beautiful memories. But it was never my home. 3 I thought it would take me a long time to pack, but when I looked at my things, there was almost nothing left. Most of my clothes had been chosen by David. “Our Audrey is the most beautiful princess,” he used to say. “She deserves to be dressed beautifully every day.” Now, those clothes were soaked in dirty water, reeking of some foul odor. And I had gone from his princess to a parasite with a princess complex. I pushed the clothes aside and saw photos scattered on the floor. Ethan used to love taking pictures of me, wanting to capture every moment. In every group photo, the two of them would fight to stand closer to me. Now, in those same photos, my face was crossed out with a red marker. I couldn’t bear to look anymore. I swept everything into a trash bag. David and Mina were coming downstairs as I did. A flicker of shock crossed his face. He knew how much I used to treasure those things. But it was quickly replaced by a cold sneer. “You’re quick to waste the Hayes family’s money, aren’t you?” The David I knew would have spent a fortune to make me happy. Now, with Mina by his side, everything I did was wrong. I had lost the right to be willful, and I no longer had the desire to argue. “I’ll pay you back,” I said simply. “The Hayes family doesn’t need your money. Just remember, you are never to bother Mina again.” Mina tugged on David’s sleeve. “David, honey, don’t waste your time on irrelevant people. I still want to go to our secret place and see the stars. Can we go now?” I froze. The “secret place” she mentioned was a rooftop observatory David had built for me when I first came to live with them. His mother, Caroline, was always busy with work, so the task of looking after me had fallen to David, who was six years older. He gave me the best of everything. He called me his moonlight. And so, he designed an eternal starry sky just for me. I remember him looking at me that night, his eyes full of emotion. “Audrey,” he’d said, “remember this. This is your sky. And this is my love, just for you.” We spent twenty years perfecting that starry sky, creating a dreamlike sanctuary. From that day on, the scales of my heart had tipped towards David. But every time I was close to making a choice, Ethan would throw a tantrum, and the moment would pass. Now… they had a new, vibrant red rose. They had long forgotten their pale, faded moonlight. It didn't matter. I took a deep breath and started to leave. I didn't want either of them anymore.
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