During the holidays, my brother added his brand-new girlfriend to our family group chat. My mom instantly redirected her matchmaking artillery at me: [Look at your brother. Look at the amazing girl he found.] My brother, who had betrayed the "Single Forever" alliance by getting a girlfriend first, fanned the flames in the chat: [Zoey, you have no idea how perfect she is.] If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I replied: [Yeah, yeah, yeah. If she's so great, I'll just date my sister-in-law.] The group chat fell dead silent for a full minute. Then, my mom and my brother sent back-to-back 60-second voice memos screaming at me. Meanwhile, my "sister-in-law" simply replied with a blushing emoji. They all thought I was joking. But I'm actually gay. 1 In previous years, because my older brother Connor was a confirmed bachelor, he took all the heat when it came to our mom's relentless pressure to get married. I could always hide safely behind him and enjoy a peaceful holiday. This year, before flying home for Christmas, I specifically texted him to double-check: [Do you have a partner yet? Tell me you didn't betray the alliance.] Connor was reliable as always: [Nope. Come home in peace. I'll take the heat again this year.] I replied with a thumbs-up emoji: [You're a real one!] It wasn't that I didn't want to find someone. It was just that if I actually brought a woman home, Mrs. Hayes—my mother—would probably disown me on the spot. To preserve our mother-daughter relationship, I kept the closet door welded shut. Whenever she nagged me, I just deflected it onto my brother: "Connor isn't even married yet! It's not right for the younger sister to date before the older brother." Mrs. Hayes would immediately shift targets, scolding Connor for not setting a good example. This year, she dropped an ultimatum in the group chat, using both the carrot and the stick: [This Christmas, whoever brings a partner home gets a $10,000 holiday bonus. Whoever comes back single can forget about calling me Mom!] When Mrs. Hayes got angry, the whole family trembled. I texted Connor: [Bro, do not turn on me. Stay strong.] He took half the day to reply: [Don't worry. I've got this.] Despite his reassurance, my right eyelid kept twitching. Sure enough, the day before my flight, Connor suddenly added a new person to the "Hayes Family Hub" group chat. [Everyone, let me introduce Audrey Mitchell. She's my girlfriend, and I'm bringing her home for the holidays.] Audrey immediately followed up: [Hello, Mrs. Hayes. Hi, Zoey.] I opened a private chat with Connor and fired off three question marks. What happened to not betraying the alliance?! Connor didn't reply. Meanwhile, Mrs. Hayes sent several voice memos to the group. I clicked on them, and they were filled with her joyous laughter and overwhelming words of welcome. I played dead. Was it too late to cancel my flight? After practically showering Audrey with affection in the chat, Mrs. Hayes finally remembered the one fish that slipped through the net: me. [Have you found anyone yet?] [I'm not asking you to get married tomorrow, but at least start dating!] [Look at your brother. Look at the amazing girl he found.] Not only did Connor ignore my private texts, but he also joined in on the bullying: [Zoey, you have no idea how perfect she is.] I could practically see the gloating smirk on his face. He had zero remorse for his betrayal. My anger flared. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em: [Yeah, yeah, yeah. If she's so great, I'll just date my sister-in-law.] 2 The group chat fell dead silent. A minute later, Mrs. Hayes and Connor sent back-to-back 60-second voice memos. Audrey simply replied with a blushing emoji. They didn't take me seriously. But I was genuinely gay. Ignoring the bombardment of messages in the group, I sent Connor one last private text: [The alliance officially strips you of your brotherly privileges. You're dead to me!] After hitting send, I closed my eyes to sleep. I needed to rest up so I could handle Mrs. Hayes's artillery. Sure enough, the moment I stepped through the front door, Mrs. Hayes started with her sarcasm. "Oh, whose stray kitten is this? Did you wander into the wrong house?" My skin is thick. I hugged her and acted cute. "My wonderful, beautiful mother, your sweet daughter is home!" Her eyes held a smile, but she kept her face stern. "If you were really sweet, you'd get married. Your dad visited me in a dream the other day. He said seeing you and your brother still single makes him toss and turn in his grave." My dad passed away when we were young. My mom raised us single-handedly. Later, when Connor and I moved away for work—him to Miami and me to New York—we tried to get her to move in with us, but she refused to leave her hometown. I lit a candle by my dad's portrait on the mantle and joked, "Dad, Connor brought someone home this year. You can finally rest easy and close at least one eye." Mrs. Hayes was so annoyed she raised her fists to lightly pummel me. I spun around and ran toward the kitchen. "I'm starving! I want your crispy fried chicken wings!" Mrs. Hayes yelled from behind me, "I didn't make any!" But sitting right there on the kitchen counter was a fresh, steaming plate of crispy wings—timed perfectly for my arrival. Classic Mrs. Hayes: sharp tongue, soft heart. I pouted and said sweetly, "Thank you, Mom!" Mrs. Hayes busied herself pulling various snacks out of the cabinets. "Alright, alright, enough sweet-talking. Text your brother and ask how far away they are." Just the mention of Connor made me irritated. That traitor still hadn't replied to my private message. I slumped onto the sofa and sent a voice memo: "Mom wants to know how long until you get here." This time, he replied quickly with a voice memo of his own. I tapped it, but a woman's voice came through: "Your brother is driving. We'll be there in about ten minutes." My scalp tingled. That deep, slightly husky, elegant voice absolutely destroyed me. Where the hell did Connor find a girl with a voice like that? Before she even walked through the door, I was already intensely curious about Audrey Mitchell. Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. I sprang up from the sofa. Mrs. Hayes rushed to the door with a massive smile. Connor's booming voice came first: "Mom, your favorite son is home!" Then came Audrey's voice: "Happy holidays, Mrs. Hayes." As the three of them exchanged pleasantries in the doorway, Mrs. Hayes turned around, smiling so hard her eyes crinkled shut. Both her hands were full of gifts Audrey had brought. When Connor, who was blocking my view, finally stepped aside, Audrey's tall, slender figure came into view. She stood there and slowly raised her eyes to look at me. Oh, my god. This woman was my absolute dream girl! Seeing me frozen in place, my mom urged, "What's wrong with you? Don't just stand there like an idiot. Say hello." I looked at Connor. He was reasonably handsome, sure. But then I looked at Audrey. She was a drop-dead gorgeous, top-tier beauty. What did Connor do to deserve this?! The confusion slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it: "Sister, does my brother have some kind of blackmail material on you?" 3 Audrey froze for a second. When she processed what I said, she broke into a radiant smile. Her eyes seemed to hold sparkling galaxies. I was completely mesmerized. Connor's expression turned incredibly weird, and uncharacteristically, he didn't say a word. Mrs. Hayes glared at me. "What is wrong with you? How could you say that?" She turned to Audrey, looking embarrassed. "Zoey is spoiled rotten. Please don't mind her." Audrey replied gracefully, "Not at all. Zoey is very cute." The pretty lady called me cute. While Audrey was pulled away by my mom for a chat, I sidled up to Connor and kicked his shin, lowering my voice. "Spill it. What is going on?" Connor rubbed his nose, his eyes darting away. "What do you mean, what's going on?" He quickly ducked into the kitchen. "Hey Mom, what do you want for dinner? Let me show off my cooking skills." Something wasn't right. He was intentionally avoiding me! In the living room, my mom and Audrey were chatting animatedly. I couldn't get a word in edge-wise. Connor was busy cooking dinner, and since I had zero culinary skills, I couldn't help in the kitchen either. Bored out of my mind, I retreated to my bedroom to play video games. I got on voice chat with my gaming buddy, Jess. As we played, the conversation inevitably drifted to Audrey. I described her with wild enthusiasm, totally losing myself in the excitement. Finally, with the dramatic agony of someone whose wife had been stolen, I punched my mattress and sighed: "She is literally my exact type." My headphone cable accidentally yanked out of the jack, and Jess's hyena-like laughter blasted loudly through my bedroom speakers. Always eager for chaos, Jess yelled, "Then steal her from your brother!" At that exact moment, there was a knock on my bedroom door. I was lying on my stomach on the bed. I twisted my head around and saw Audrey standing at the half-open door. "Dinner's ready. Your mom asked me to come get you." The air went dead silent for three seconds. Then, Jess's voice echoed loudly from the speakers: "Holy sh*t!" I frantically jammed the headphone cable back into the jack and scrambled to sit up. Through my headset, Jess was screaming about how Audrey's voice was "literally lethal." In front of me, Audrey's lips were curved into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. That sentence about "stealing her from my brother"... how much of it did she hear?! 4 Throughout dinner, that single thought consumed my mind. I was so panicked I didn't even dare to look up at Audrey sitting across from me. Yet, she was incredibly attentive to me. One minute she was putting food on my plate, the next she was serving me soup. If someone didn't know better, they'd think I was the guest. The conversation at the table had originally been about her and Connor. But one sentence from Audrey suddenly turned the spotlight on me. "Zoey, do you have anyone you like?" I choked on a bite of rice, looking up to glare at her. Why are you bringing this up?! But she ignored my glare and pushed further. "What are your standards? I... have some friends with great backgrounds." Mrs. Hayes, feeling like she had found an ally, immediately answered for me. "That would be wonderful! Zoey, say thank you." But the way I saw it, this was Audrey's polite way of rejecting my "stealing her" comment. I felt a pang of annoyance in my chest, though I knew I had no right to feel that way. A mischievous, slightly petty urge took over. It was my small revenge for her turning the conversation to me: "Then I'll leave it in your capable hands, Audrey. As for standards... I think someone exactly like you would be perfect." Mrs. Hayes flicked my forehead. "Stop talking nonsense. Audrey is a woman." I rubbed my forehead, keeping my fragile closet door tightly shut. "I know that. I mean finding a guy with the same qualities as her. That works, right?" Mrs. Hayes laughed. But the instigator of the conversation, Audrey, saw her eyes darken. She didn't put any more food on my plate for the rest of the night. She was a strange one. I played along with her, and she still got mad. And despite being mad, she still had to sleep in the same room as me tonight. I only had one bed in my room. Since she was the guest, I volunteered to sleep on the floor. But Mrs. Hayes waved it off. "You're both girls, sleeping in the same bed is fine, right, Audrey?" My mom was a completely clueless, straight-as-an-arrow woman. Audrey lowered her eyes and agreed immediately. This made me doubt whether she actually heard my "stealing" comment or not. But right now, that wasn't the most pressing issue. The most pressing issue was that Audrey, fresh out of the shower, was wearing a very thin, breezy silk slip dress. Even though the heating in the house was blasting, the moment she stepped out of the steamy bathroom, she still shivered slightly. I glanced at her, but quickly lowered my head, staring intensely at my phone to cover up my panic. I looked calm on the surface, but my mind was screaming. The only thing I could see was the brief, accidental glimpse of her full figure and those two very prominent, undeniable points. She wasn't wearing a bra. 5 I had laid out a soft, clean rug on the floor next to the bed. I sat on the floor, leaning against the bed frame. I felt like I was floating, absolutely terrified to let my eyes wander. Audrey stood by the window, blow-drying her hair. The loud whirring of the hairdryer masked the sound of my heart, which felt like it was about to pound right out of my chest. Even though I had already showered, the back of my neck grew hot again, breaking out in a light sweat. I was seriously debating whether I should go squeeze into my mom's bed for the night. My brain was completely short-circuiting. I didn't even realize when the hairdryer finally stopped. When I snapped back to reality, a pair of pale, bare feet appeared in my line of sight. I looked up and crashed straight into Audrey's scrutinizing gaze. I stammered, "W-what's wrong?" Audrey leaned down. From this angle, a garden of spring colors filled my vision. "I called your name several times and you didn't react. What are you spacing out for?" She was such a strange person. In front of Mrs. Hayes, she was gentle, graceful, and elegant. But when we were alone, her aura felt so overpowering I almost wanted to drop to my knees and call her "Ma'am." My legs felt weak, my eyes darted everywhere, and I just kept blinking, absolutely refusing to look straight ahead. After her shower, she smelled exactly like my body wash. The faint, sweet scent was intoxicating. I leaned as far back as I could, but my back was against the bed. I had nowhere to retreat. She noticed me hiding. She pulled back, stood up straight, and looked down at me, her brow furrowing slightly as she spoke in a cold voice: "If you really don't want to share a room with me, I can book a hotel and stay there." If she did that, Mrs. Hayes would literally murder me. Besides, it wasn't that I didn't want to stay with her; I just didn't dare to. Before I could even reply, she grabbed her coat and started walking toward the door. In a panic, I scrambled forward on my knees across the rug and lunged to grab her wrist. How was this any different from kneeling and begging? "Look at you, getting all impatient! I never said I didn't want to. I'm just a little slow to react. What are you doing?!" Audrey stopped, looking down at my hand wrapped around her wrist. She said meaningfully, "Your reaction time really is very slow." It felt like she was talking about what just happened, but also like she was talking about something else entirely. I awkwardly let go of her wrist, stood up, and sat back on the edge of the bed. Trying to steady my breathing, I patted the mattress. "Do you prefer sleeping on the inside or the outside?" She flipped off the light switch. In the darkness, her voice drifted over. "Either is fine." As her silhouette moved closer, I panicked, scrambled onto the bed, and plastered myself against the wall on the inside. Audrey paused by the bed for a few seconds before finally lifting the blanket. That's when I realized Mrs. Hayes had only left us one large comforter. Which meant Audrey and I were truly sharing the same bed, under the same covers. If my gaming buddy Jess found out, she would probably be jumping up and down screaming. I pressed my back against the cold wall, putting as much distance between us as possible. From the moment she lay down, she didn't move an inch. Her breathing was steady, her sleeping posture perfectly composed. Just as I thought she had fallen asleep, a warm body shifted closer. Then, a soft arm brushed against mine, and a voice completely devoid of emotion whispered: "Cold." Because I had intentionally pulled away earlier, there was a gap between us letting cold air into the blanket. Wearing only a thin slip dress, of course she was cold. My entire body went rigid. I said dryly, "Then... tomorrow I'll ask Mom to get another blanket." "No need. Just sleep." She was too close. I was terrified she could hear my heartbeat. I stared wide-eyed at the dark ceiling, completely unaware of when I finally drifted off. That night, I had a dream. I dreamt there were dozens of huge, soft, fluffy, sweet-smelling marshmallows. I had one in my left hand, one in my right, and I was eating them happily. But when I woke up, I was horrified to discover... The soft, fluffy marshmallows from my dream might have actually originated from the woman in front of me... whose chest was incredibly soft and full. 6 Before we fell asleep, we were both perfectly well-behaved. But waking up to find myself buried in her chest, tightly wrapped in her arms... what the hell was going on?! Oh God, I'm a sinner. I didn't dare to move a muscle. Listening to the sounds outside the door, my mom and Connor were already up. It wouldn't be long before Audrey woke up too. My brain worked at lightning speed, trying to figure out a way to break this awkward embrace without waking her up. But before I could come up with a plan, her eyelids fluttered. She was about to wake up. I immediately squeezed my eyes shut, played dead, and threw the impossible problem into her lap. A few seconds later, Audrey stirred with a soft groan. When she realized what was happening, her entire body stiffened. But unlike me, she quickly relaxed. However, she didn't make any move to let me go. I could feel a heavy gaze locked onto my face, and her warm breath brushed against my skin. My muscles were slowly cramping up from the tension. Just as I was about to crack and open my eyes, she gently released me. The sound of the mattress shifting as she got up, the rustle of clothes as she stood by the bed, and the soft click of the door opening and closing. Listening closely, I finally concluded she had left the room. I let out a massive sigh of relief and slowly opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was the white ceiling. White. The marshmallows in my dream were also so white. Realizing what I was thinking about, I quickly sat up. But when I saw the person leaning against the bedroom door, I almost screamed. Audrey hadn't left the room at all. She was looking at me with a half-smile, tilting her head as she asked: "Did you sleep well last night? I didn't disturb you, did I?" 7 Actually, I slept great last night. But she definitely disturbed me. Otherwise, why would I have dreamed of grabbing giant, fluffy marshmallows with my bare hands? I lowered my head and mumbled, "It was fine." Audrey seemed to be in a great mood. Only then did she open the door and leave. I flopped back onto the bed, kicking the blankets, gripping my hair, screaming silently in frustration. "Oh, right." The person who just left suddenly popped back in. I immediately sat bolt upright. Audrey's eyes were dancing with amusement, but her face was completely serious. "I slept wonderfully last night." She glanced at my head. "Your bedhead is very unique." With that, she turned and left. I swear I heard her laugh! It's all my fault for being blind. I thought she was a cool, mature goddess, but she was actually completely devious. And the freshly baked biscuits on the breakfast table only made my vision go dark. After last night's dream, anything "fluffy" and "round" was a banned word for me. But the clueless Mrs. Hayes found it strange. "Didn't you always love these biscuits for breakfast? Why haven't you taken a single one?" Everyone at the table stared at me, including Audrey. I picked up my bowl, chugged my oatmeal in one breath, set it down, and fled. "I'm full, you guys take your time." My mom called out from behind me, "Don't run off just yet. In a bit, you and your brother are going to the supermarket to buy groceries for the holidays. I'm going to the farmer's market." I absolutely refused to be a third wheel. I frantically winked at Connor. But he completely missed the signal. Instead, he said, "Zoey, you take Audrey. I'll go with Mom to the market. I'm cooking New Year's Eve dinner tonight, so I know exactly what ingredients I need." Mrs. Hayes thought this was incredibly reasonable. She beamed at Audrey affectionately. "Audrey, pick out whatever you want to eat, and let Zoey pay for it." Unable to disobey my mother, it ended up being just me and Audrey going to the supermarket. The store was packed with people doing their holiday shopping. I pushed the cart, and Audrey initially followed a step behind me. But as the crowd grew denser, carts bumping into each other, Audrey eventually slipped one arm around my waist, resting her hand on the cart's handle. She was practically half-embracing me. With her free hand, she grabbed things off the shelves, occasionally leaning down to softly ask if I wanted something. This silent, seamless care radiated ultimate "big sister" energy. My face inexplicably burned, and I didn't dare to meet her eyes. When she leaned down to ask me a question for the nth time, she finally noticed something was wrong. "Why is your face so red? Are you feeling sick?" I desperately fanned myself with my hand, trying to cover it up. "It's probably just because there are so many people. It feels stuffy." This time, she firmly wrapped her arm around my shoulders, navigating us out of the crowd until we reached a relatively empty aisle. She pulled out her phone and brought up her QR code. "Add me on WhatsApp. Send me the shopping list, and I'll go get the rest." "No, it's fine. I'm okay," I said embarrassedly. After all, "stuffy" was just a convenient excuse. But she stubbornly held her phone out, her expression leaving no room for argument. And just like that, I added her. "Sorry for the trouble." I stood in place, staring blankly at the bustling, noisy crowd, feeling a sudden, strange sense of loneliness wash over me. I suddenly wished that, in this massive world, there was one person who existed entirely for me. Audrey was incredibly efficient. Not long after, she returned with the rest of the groceries. She was tall and strikingly beautiful. Everywhere she walked, people turned to look at her. She navigated through the crowd, walking straight toward me, and finally stopped right in front of me. My wandering gaze found its focus, locking onto the face of the woman in front of me. Audrey dropped the items into the cart. One hand gripped the handle, while her other hand gently wrapped around my wrist. Her voice was soft. "Let's go home." My ears rang for a second. I want to steal her from my brother. 8 That thought flashed through my mind for a split second. It was so strong that when we got home and I saw Connor, I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt and subconsciously avoided him. Connor noticed. A few times he looked like he wanted to say something, but I always found an excuse to do something else and dodged him. Somehow, I made it to the evening. The whole family sat in the living room watching the New Year's Eve broadcast. Mrs. Hayes got tired early, handed out our red envelopes, and went to bed. In previous years, it was always just me and Connor staying up till midnight. This year, there was an Audrey between us. They occasionally exchanged a few words, mostly Connor talking to Audrey. I was curled up on the sofa, texting Jess. She was mercilessly roasting the TV performances in the chat, and I couldn't stop laughing. The other two in the living room looked over at the sound. Connor, always the gossip, asked, "Who are you chatting with? You've been grinning at your phone all night." Audrey didn't say anything, but her eyes were also fixed on my phone. I put my phone away, sat up straight, and stared at the TV. "Nobody. Just a friend." "A boyfriend?" Connor teased. I instinctively glanced at Audrey. She had lowered her eyes; I couldn't read her expression. "A girl." Even Connor didn't know about my sexual orientation, so he didn't think much of it. Instead, he started lecturing me: "Why do you always hang out with girls? You need to expand your social circle, meet some guys. You can't stay single your whole life..." He found a girlfriend and immediately started lecturing me. I was already annoyed because of the intrusive thought I had earlier that afternoon. I grabbed a throw pillow and whipped it at him. "You're so annoying! Mind your own business." Connor threw his arm up to block it. "I'm your brother. If I don't look out for you, who will?" The pillow deflected off his arm and bounced straight into Audrey. Both of us instantly went dead silent. Connor scrambled like a loyal lapdog, snatching the pillow away and smiling apologetically at Audrey. "Sorry, sorry! Did that hurt?" Seeing them made me incredibly irritated. I snapped, "Just focus on your own relationship. I'm going to bed." Connor's face darkened. "Stop right there. Did you eat gunpowder today? Who made you mad? Staying up for the countdown was Dad's tradition. Now that he's gone, you won't even listen to your older brother, is that it?" I looked up at Dad's portrait. The man in the picture was smiling warmly, but I felt a sudden urge to cry. I sniffled and sat back down without saying a word. Seeing this, Connor's aggressive posture deflated. He explained awkwardly, "Hey, you're not actually crying, are you? I wasn't trying to yell at you." I hugged the throw pillow, my voice thick with emotion. "I'm not crying." My phone chimed. It was a Venmo transfer from Connor. The amount was generous. He kept his eyes glued to the TV. "New Year's gift from your brother. We good?" I didn't hesitate. I tapped accept. "We weren't even fighting." He reached over Audrey and ruffled my hair. "Little gold digger." This time I didn't complain. I quietly let him mess up my hair. Audrey, who had been silent this whole time, suddenly spoke up softly. "You two are very close." Connor looked quite proud. "Of course we are." The TV was playing a cheerful comedy sketch, and the live audience laughed constantly. But as I watched, I grew increasingly silent. Connor was right. We had a deep bond as siblings. Despite our bickering, ever since Dad passed away, he automatically stepped up as the person who protected me. I couldn't steal his girlfriend. Just past midnight, Connor took us downstairs to light firecrackers and fireworks. He even specifically gave me and Audrey a few sparklers to play with. Audrey and I stood in a safe spot, watching Connor light the firecrackers in the distance. As the fireworks shot into the sky and the firecrackers popped, I lit the sparkler in my hand. Without looking at Audrey beside me, I stared at Connor's back in the distance. "Audrey, happy New Year. I hope you and my brother have a sweet relationship and stay together forever."
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