My younger brother got a new girlfriend. The very next day, she deleted every single female contact on his phone. His girlfriend: "If you need something from him, tell me and I'll pass it on." Me: "Oh, then pass this on: our family doesn't accept you!" 1 On Saturday, I was stuck at the office working overtime like a good corporate drone when I suddenly received a relentless bombardment of texts from my mom: Mom: Stella, your brother deleted me from his contacts. Mom: Can you get ahold of him? I laughed out loud. Wow, is this kid's delayed rebellious phase finally kicking in? I switched over to my chat with Leo: Stella (18-Year-Old Beauty): Did you seriously delete Mom’s contact? The message spun for a long time. Just as I was about to curse my cousin Owen for being a cheapskate and refusing to upgrade our company's terrible Wi-Fi, the message finally processed. A bright red exclamation mark popped up, mocking me: Message Not Delivered. You have been blocked. I stared at the screen for a solid minute, a vein throbbing in my temple. I switched back to my chat with Mom: Stella (18-Year-Old Beauty): Mrs. Thorne, please forgive your daughter’s incompetence. Stella (18-Year-Old Beauty): Your precious son blocked me too!!! Mom’s status showed: Typing... For ten whole minutes, nothing came through. Finally, a barrage of texts arrived: Mom: Forget about that ungrateful brat!!! Mom: Let’s see who he begs for his allowance this month! Mom: Blocking his own mother and sister? He’s out of his damn mind! Watching those three messages pop up like machine-gun fire, I could only sigh in admiration. Mrs. Thorne, beautifully done. Though I wholeheartedly agreed with Mom’s proposal to leave Leo out in the cold, I still switched over to the chat with my childhood best friend, Ethan Brooks. Stella (18-Year-Old Beauty): My brother blocked me and my mom. Can you reach him? Stella (18-Year-Old Beauty): If you can, ask him if he's still breathing. It didn’t take long for a reply. It was a screenshot of a text conversation: Ethan: Leo, did you block your mom and sister? Leo: I’m Leo’s girlfriend. I deleted them. Is there a problem? Ethan: His mom and sister are worried about him. Can you have him text them back? Leo: If they need something from him, tell me and I’ll pass it on. Just skimming that screenshot made my blood boil. Stella (18-Year-Old Beauty): Ethan, text that girl back right now. Stella (18-Year-Old Beauty): Say: 'Oh.' Stella (18-Year-Old Beauty): 'Then pass this on: our family doesn't accept you!' Stella (18-Year-Old Beauty): And tell Leo he can go collect cans to pay for his own tuition and living expenses because his mom cut him off! 2 Even though I was fuming over Leo’s new girlfriend, as his older sister, I still had an obligation to figure out what the hell this kid was doing. I grabbed my purse and marched out of the office, suddenly struck by a terrifying thought: Did Leo join a cult or a pyramid scheme?! Before my panic could fully set in, I spotted Ethan. Dressed in a black trench coat over a crisp dress shirt and slacks, he was leaning against his car. Seeing me walk out, he looked up from his phone. "Did you just get back from Southern University?" I asked. Ethan nodded. "I figured you’d be heading to Hudson University to track Leo down. I had to swing by to pick up some documents from my old professor anyway." "Good guess," I marveled. "Get in." Ethan opened the passenger door, holding it steady for me. I pulled my seatbelt across my chest. "Didn't you finish covering those substitute lectures at Hudson? Why do you still have documents left with your professor?" Ethan cleared his throat softly. "I forgot them. My professor asked me to come grab them." "What’s the situation with Leo?" "Oh, that idiot is either in a cult or severely brain-damaged by love." Thinking of that bright red exclamation mark, I rolled my eyes. "He really pissed my mom off this time." The car drove through the gates of Hudson University. As we passed a small grove of trees, I caught a glimpse of my love-struck, brain-damaged brother. "Ethan, I see him. Can you park around here?" "Yeah, there’s a spot up ahead," Ethan replied, turning the steering wheel. The moment my feet hit the pavement, I dragged Ethan toward Leo. Halfway there, the girl leaning affectionately against Leo’s chest started to look incredibly familiar. "Ethan." I nudged him with my elbow. "Isn't that the girl who aggressively chased you for three months while you were lecturing here?" Ethan glanced over. "Yeah. It's her." Wow! Good for her! She got rejected by Ethan and decided to settle for my brother instead?! I marched over in three strides and grabbed Leo by the ear. "Excuse me, little girl, borrowing your boyfriend for a second." "Stella?!" Standing over six feet tall, Leo was forced to bend sideways as I yanked his ear. "What are you doing here?" "What am I doing here?!" I let out a dry, angry laugh. "Why don't you ask your precious girlfriend what she did?!" I dragged him by the ear a few yards away. The moment Leo spotted Ethan, he broke free from my grip and hid behind him like a lifeline. "When did you get a girlfriend?" I demanded. Leo peeked his head out from behind Ethan's shoulder. "Yesterday." "You started dating yesterday, and today she deleted your own mother and sister from your phone?!" I reached out, trying to smack him. "Did you know about this?!" "Y-Yeah," Leo stammered, looking slightly guilty. "Vanessa... she has trust issues! She lacks a sense of security!" "Lacks a sense of security? So she finds security by deleting every female contact in your phone?!" I was furious. "This precious girlfriend of yours chased Ethan for three months, got rejected, and immediately hooked up with you. What? Do you think you're hotter than Ethan?" "With that empty head of yours, if you fed your brain to a zombie, it would spit it out and yell, 'Gross! Simp brain!'" Leo glanced at Ethan, then puffed out his chest defensively. "Vanessa and I were love at first sight! It's destiny! You wouldn't understand because you've been forever alone since birth!" "You little—!" My head was buzzing with rage. I rolled up my sleeves, fully prepared to beat him to a pulp. Daring to call his sister 'forever alone'? I clearly needed to remind him of his place in the food chain. "Stella, calm down," Ethan intervened, gently holding me back. "Let Leo call your mom to tell her he's safe first." Taking a deep breath, I pointed at Leo. "Call Mrs. Thorne right now and tell her you're breathing." With that, I grabbed Ethan's arm and dragged him away from that infuriating scene. Ugh. Naive little boys in love are a lethal hazard. 3 Back at the office. I sat at my desk, stressing out so much my hair was practically falling out. Because of Vanessa's little stunt, Mrs. Thorne had gone nuclear. Not only did she cut off Leo's allowance, but she decisively kicked him out of the house. Mrs. Thorne's exact words: That ungrateful brat can come back when he’s single! Even so, seeing how utterly brainwashed Leo was, if I didn't intervene, I was genuinely going to become an only child. I opened my text thread with Ethan: Stella: My mom invited you over for dinner tonight. Bring Leo with you. Ethan: Sounds good. I'll pick you up after work. Stella: Perfect. Just as I hit send, I saw General Manager Price walk into my department with someone trailing behind him. I took a closer look. Well, well, well. If it isn't the innocent little green tea girlfriend herself! Mr. Price set Vanessa up at an empty desk and pulled me aside. "Stella, my daughter wants to intern here to gain some experience. Vanessa says she really looks up to you. I'd appreciate it if you could show her the ropes." "An internship? Isn't she only a sophomore?" Mr. Price scratched his head. "She asked for it herself. I figured some real-world experience wouldn't hurt." I looked at Mr. Price, then at Vanessa. "Alright. But let me be clear, Mr. Price—I treat everyone equally. I'm not going to give her special treatment just because she's your daughter." Mr. Price nodded happily. "Of course, of course." After seeing him out, I sat back at my desk. Vanessa walked over, holding a cup of coffee. She placed the coffee on my desk, her large doe eyes blinking sweetly. "Sister." "Stop right there. I'm not your sister. While you're at this company, I highly recommend you call me Director Thorne." Vanessa looked pitifully wronged. "But Leo calls you that, so I thought..." I gave her a half-smile. "Leo who? That ungrateful brat was officially disowned by our family. Don't try to play the family card with me." "But I feel so close to you, Director Thorne. You feel like my own older sister. I thought you felt the same way." Close? You didn't feel 'close' when you used my brother's phone to block me. I continued, "Since you're here to learn, you'll start like every other intern. Go organize the company's entire design pitch portfolio for the past year. I want it by Friday." Vanessa bit her lip. "Understood, Director Thorne." "Wait," I called out as she turned. "Thank you for the gesture, but I don't drink coffee. Please take it with you." Vanessa froze. Her small face instantly flushed crimson. Grabbing the coffee, she practically fled. I ignored the little manipulator and focused on my work. Around 4:30 PM, the office suddenly erupted into a commotion. Someone who only showed his face once every eight hundred years had actually appeared—our company's CEO, my older cousin Owen. Despite his usual goofy demeanor, he was surprisingly dressed in a sharp suit. He clapped his hands as he walked into the department. "Design team! I just landed a massive account! We're partnering with Southern University's research lab to design the branding for their new tech product. Their representative is arriving shortly. Stella, make sure you greet them properly." Before leaving, Cousin Owen threw me a ridiculously exaggerated, sleazy wink. I took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to punch him. "Understood." After Owen left, Vanessa suddenly appeared behind me. She asked in a sickly-sweet voice, "Director Thorne, can I come with you?" Between the mention of Southern University and Cousin Owen's sleazy wink, I knew exactly who the representative was. I eyed Vanessa critically. Did she hear about this partnership from her dad, and specifically begged to intern here just to stalk Ethan?! If that was the case, this girl had some serious nerve! Eating from my brother's bowl while staring at the steak on Ethan's plate! "Vanessa, did you finish summarizing the pitch portfolio?" She nervously twisted the hem of her shirt. "N-No." I patted her shoulder. "Then stay here and keep working on it. Maya, come with me." Ignoring Vanessa's reaction, I called over another intern who had been with us for a while and walked out. 4 Unsurprisingly, the representative was Ethan. "You told me a while ago you were looking for a design partner for the lab's new product. I didn't expect you to actually bring it to us," I said. Ethan gently patted my head. "What, is our great Design Director unhappy about it?" I feigned surrender. "Stop talking nonsense. I'm deeply honored." By the time we finished discussing the partnership, it was almost time to clock out. Ethan checked his watch. "Are you working overtime tonight, Stella?" "Of course not." I handed my final notes to Maya. "Cousin Owen is a massive cheapskate. He refuses to pay overtime, so why would I stay late?" Ethan's eyes crinkled with amusement. He offered me his arm. "Do I have the honor of escorting Miss Stella out?" I hooked my purse over his outstretched arm. "Permission granted!" At my house. I unlocked the front door, fully prepared to yell: Mrs. Thorne, your precious daughter is home! But the words died in my throat. I grabbed Ethan's arm. "Don't you feel like the vibe in here is a little... off?" "Yeah. It's much quieter than usual." "Exactly! Usually, Mom would be yelling at me to wash my hands by now. Why is it dead silent?" Oh no! Did a burglar break in and kidnap Mrs. Thorne?! I pulled out my phone, ready to dial 911, when Mom walked out of her bedroom looking absolutely exasperated. I immediately dropped my phone and ran over to hug her. "Who had the audacity to upset our beautiful Mrs. Thorne?" "Who else? Your brother!" "What did Leo do?" "What did he do? He brought his girlfriend over! They're currently giving her a grand tour of his bedroom!" Mom marched angrily toward the kitchen. "Infuriating! Absolutely infuriating!" Leo brought the green tea girlfriend here? Was he trying to give Mom a stroke?! Ethan leaned down and whispered in my ear, "I take it Leo hasn't unblocked you and your mom yet?" "He wishes he could," I scoffed. "Mrs. Thorne blacklisted his number days ago." When dinner was ready, Leo emerged with his precious girlfriend. Vanessa looked at me timidly. "Hello, Director Thorne." Me: What is with that look? If anyone else saw this, they'd think I was the Wicked Witch of the West about to eat her! Then, Vanessa turned her shimmering gaze toward Ethan. "Hello, Ethan." Before Ethan could say a word, Leo chimed in. "Vanessa, you don't need to be so formal calling her Director Thorne. Just call her 'Sister' like I do." I looked horrified. "Please don't. I absolutely cannot bear the weight of her calling me that." "Stella, you—" "It's not Director Thorne's fault. I'm the one who wanted to call her that," Vanessa interrupted gently. Leo: "But Vanessa..." Vanessa knitted her thin brows together, her doe eyes brimming with grievance. "Leo, it's okay. Director Thorne just doesn't like me." As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes, hanging precariously on her lashes. Seeing this, Leo immediately pulled her into a protective embrace, looking heartbroken. What a master-class performance. I let out a harsh scoff, too exhausted to watch her put on a soap opera. I kicked Leo hard in the shin. "Move! You're in my way!" If I knew Leo was bringing this girl, I wouldn't have arranged this dinner. I would've let him starve on the streets! "Ethan, let's go help Mom." I grabbed Ethan and dragged him away from the toxic fumes.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "447294", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel