I was a ward of the Sunshine State Orphanage. One day, two wealthy families arrived. Both brought their sons, who were three years older than me. They both wanted to adopt me. Mrs. Higgins, the orphanage director, held my hand and asked gently, "Sweetheart, which one would you like to be your big brother?" I looked at the two boys in front of me. Just as I was about to point to the boy who looked like a golden retriever—warm, sunny, and smiling—rows of translucent subtitles suddenly floated before my eyes: [Girl, do not pick Gavin Sterling. He is the Main Character. In the future, he will only love the Heroine, Sarah Locke.] [Choose Liam Vance. He is the Villain. He looks cold and gloomy on the outside, but he secretly wants a little sister. If he has you, maybe he’ll learn to love. Maybe he won’t become a ruthless monster. Maybe he won’t have to die a tragic death.] My gaze shifted to the other boy. He was wearing a miniature black suit, his dark hair messy and rebellious, his expression cold as ice. I walked over, took his hand—which was freezing cold—and asked in my sweetest voice: "Will you be my big brother?" 1 Dust motes danced in the beams of sunlight cutting through the old orphanage windows. I sat on a small wooden stool, counting the cracks in the floor tiles. I had been at Sunshine State for five years. I knew every crack by heart. "Chloe King, come here a moment," Mrs. Higgins called out from the hallway. I looked up and smoothed down my faded blue dress. It was the best one we had, saved specifically for adoption days. "Coming, Mrs. Higgins," I chirped, jogging over. My heart was pounding. Last night, I had that dream again—a boy in black standing in the distance. I couldn't see his face, but I knew he was waiting for me. Mrs. Higgins fixed my collar. "Two very nice families are here today. They both want to adopt you." Her eyes twinkled. "This time might be the one, Chloe." I bit my lip. People always said I was cute, but they always picked someone else. In the main hall, two couples were talking. I hid behind Mrs. Higgins, peeking out. One couple wore bright, casual clothes. The mother was crouching down, talking to a boy who radiated sunshine. He was about twelve, with chestnut hair and a smile that reached his eyes. He was flying a toy plane through the air. The other couple was starkly different. The man wore a sharp black suit. The woman wore a deep blue dress; she looked elegant but pale and sickly. Standing beside them was a boy in a black suit. He matched the figure in my dreams. He was taller than the first boy, hands shoved in his pockets, staring blankly out the window. "This is Mr. and Mrs. Sterling, and their son, Gavin," Mrs. Higgins introduced them. "And this is Mr. and Mrs. Vance, and their son, Liam." Gavin ran over, grinning. "Hi! I'm Gavin. I'm thirteen. Dad said I might get a sister!" He grabbed my hand enthusiastically. "Do you like planes? I can teach you how to make paper jets. I know a ton of designs!" "Gavin, don't scare her," Mrs. Sterling scolded gently, smiling at me. "Chloe, right? You're adorable. If you come home with us, Gavin will be a great brother." I instinctively looked at the other boy. Liam was still by the window, but now he had turned his head. His eyes were pitch black, staring straight at me. Cold, like winter stars. "Sweetheart," Mrs. Higgins asked, "who do you choose?" I looked at Gavin’s warmth, then at Liam’s silence. The Sterlings looked happy. The Vances looked... broken. Just as I raised my finger toward Gavin, the text appeared in the air, glowing like a HUD in a video game: [Girl, do not pick Gavin Sterling. He is the Main Character. He will eventually abandon you for the Heroine, Sarah Locke. You will die alone in a foreign country.] I blinked. The text didn't vanish. More appeared: [Choose Liam Vance. The Villain. He looks cold, but he needs you. Save him, and you save yourself.] My heart hammered against my ribs. Was this a hallucination? But the text was so clear. [Liam looks mean, but he will be the best brother if you give him a chance.] I looked up at Liam. He was frowning slightly, confused as to why I was staring. I took a deep breath and made up my mind. I walked toward Liam. As I got closer, he stiffened. I saw a flash of panic in his dark eyes. I stopped in front of him and grabbed his cold hand. "Will you be my big brother?" I asked, looking up. The room went silent. Liam’s eyes widened. His lips trembled. I saw shock, followed by a flicker of desperate longing. "Are you... sure?" His voice was low, raspy. "I don't know how to... fold paper planes." I nodded. "I'm sure." Liam’s hand slowly tightened around mine. "Okay." In that moment, something in his eyes melted. The subtitles flashed again: [Congratulations. You have chosen the true future.] 2 The Vance family car rolled through towering iron gates, the tires crunching on gravel. "We're here," Mr. Vance—Father, now—said briefly. The house was a gray stone mansion, massive and intimidating. Heavy curtains covered every window. I glanced at Liam sitting next to me. Since I picked him, he hadn't said a word. "Let's go inside," Mrs. Vance said softly. She looked exhausted. I fumbled with the door handle and nearly tripped getting out. A pair of hands steadied my shoulders. Liam. "Careful," he muttered, then immediately let go and shoved his hands back in his pockets. The interior was cold marble and crystal chandeliers. It was so big it echoed. "Martha will show you to your room," Mrs. Vance said, coughing lightly. "I'm tired. I'll be upstairs." She walked up the stairs slowly, looking frail. A round-faced woman appeared. "Miss Chloe? I'm Martha, the housekeeper. Come this way." I looked at Liam. He stood rooted to the spot. "Liam..." I whispered. "I live on the third floor," he said, avoiding my eyes. Then he turned and vanished up the stairs. My room was on the second floor. Pale blue walls, a white bed, and brand-new fairy tale books on the desk. That night, dinner was just Father and me. Martha said Mother was unwell and Liam wasn't hungry. "You start at Saint Mary's Elementary tomorrow," Father said, cutting his steak. The knife screeched against the plate. "Thank you... Dad," I tried. He paused, grunted an acknowledgment, and went back to reading documents. That night, I couldn't sleep. The house was too quiet. Around midnight, my door clicked open. I squeezed my eyes shut, peeking through my lashes. It was Liam. He walked silently to my bed in his pajamas. He stood there for a long time, just watching. Then, he reached out and tucked the blanket around my shoulders. "Goodnight... Chloe," he whispered. I held my breath until he left. The blanket smelled faintly of pine soap—Liam's scent. The next morning, Liam was at the breakfast table. "Good morning," I chirped. "Morning," he mumbled into his toast. "The school bus will be here in twenty minutes," Martha announced. Liam stood up abruptly. "I'll drive her." Martha blinked. "But Liam, your high school is in the opposite direction." "I'm driving her," he repeated, grabbing his keys. Twenty minutes later, I was in the passenger seat of his car. "Thanks for the ride," I said. Liam stared at the road. "New school. If anyone bullies you, tell me." When we arrived, he walked me to the main office. "This is my sister," he told the receptionist, his voice hard. "She's new. Look out for her." As I walked to my class, I looked back. Liam was still standing there, watching. He raised a hand in an awkward wave. My class was full of curious stares. During recess, a group of girls surrounded me. "Are you really Liam Vance's sister?" a girl with a ponytail asked. "You don't look like him." "I'm adopted," I said honestly. "Oh. So they bought you," another girl giggled. "Did you cost a lot?" My face burned. Suddenly, the classroom went dead silent. I looked up. Liam was standing in the doorway, his face like a thundercloud. He strode over, towering over the elementary schoolers. "She's my sister," Liam said, his voice dropping to a terrifying whisper. "Say one more word, and see what happens." The girls scattered like terrified birds. Liam looked at me, his expression softening. "Come find me at lunch. We're eating together." After he left, I looked at my desk. The glowing text appeared: [He is starting to care.] 3 A month passed. I settled into life at the Vance manor. One afternoon, I ran up to Liam after school. "Guess what? A new girl transferred in today! Her name is Sarah, and she sat next to me!" Liam frowned. "Sarah?" "Yeah! She lent me her colored pencils. She's so nice." [Warning: Sarah Locke has appeared. The Heroine.] The text floated in front of my face. I blinked it away. "Don't trust strangers too easily," Liam muttered. "But no one else talks to me," I said quietly. Liam went silent. "I'm free this weekend. I can teach you how to make paper planes." I looked up, eyes wide. "Really? You said you didn't know how." He looked away, ears turning pink. "I... learned." That weekend, I knocked on his door. "Come in." His room was amazing. Posters of galaxies covered the walls. Telescopes and star charts were everywhere. "You like astronomy?" I asked. He quickly closed the book he was reading—Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. "Did you need something?" "I made this for you." I handed him a drawing. It was a girl and a boy holding hands under the stars. Liam took it. His fingers trembled slightly. He opened a drawer to put it away, and I saw he had kept everything—the paper frog I made, the clay bear, even a messy card. He kept it all. "Why are you so good at paper planes?" I asked later, as we flew them in the living room. "I spent a lot of time alone as a kid," he said simply. My heart ached for him. Monday came. Sarah wasn't in school. During a break, I went to the bathroom, but when I tried to leave, the door was locked from the outside. "Hello? Anyone?" I banged on the door. Hours seemed to pass. Finally, a janitor opened it. "Weird, there was an 'Out of Order' sign on the door. A high school boy told me to check." I ran out and saw Liam at the end of the hall, leaning against the wall. He nodded at me once, then walked away. That evening, we walked home under the setting sun. "Why did you choose me that day at the orphanage?" Liam asked suddenly, stopping under an oak tree. "Because you didn't choose Gavin," he whispered before I could answer. "Everyone chooses Gavin. He's the sun. I'm just... the shadow." He looked at me, his eyes vulnerable. "It was the first time anyone chose me." The subtitles floated up: [He has lived in Gavin’s shadow his whole life. You changed that.] I grabbed his hand. "Because you're better than anyone else, Liam." He squeezed my hand back. "Idiot." But he was smiling. 4 May arrived. Liam's birthday was coming up. I used all my allowance to buy a limited edition book: The Hubble Legacy. The day before his birthday, Father came home. He tossed an expensive gaming console on the table without even wrapping it. Liam didn't even look at it. "Liam," Father said at dinner. "I hear you're top of your class again. Good. Keep it up for the business." Mother coughed weakly. The tension was thick. The next morning, I snuck the book into Liam's backpack. After school, I found him on the roof terrace of our house. "Happy Birthday!" I shouted, holding a small, slightly melted cupcake I'd bought from the corner bakery. Liam turned around. "You... got this for me?" "Yup! And check your bag!" He pulled out the book. His eyes softened in a way I'd never seen. "Thank you." We ate the cupcake together. "Make a wish!" I said. "I don't have any," he said. "Can I make one for you?" I closed my eyes. I wish my brother would be happy and never lonely again. "What did you wish for?" "Can't tell. Won't come true." Liam adjusted his telescope. "Want to see Saturn?" We looked at the stars until late. "Do you want to be an astronomer?" I asked. "Father wouldn't allow it," he said bitterly. "But it's your dream." He didn't answer, just patted my head. A week later, Mother's condition crashed. An ambulance came in the night. Liam went with her. He came back at dawn, eyes red and hollow. "She needs surgery," he rasped. Three days later, I visited the hospital. I showed Mother a drawing of our family smiling. Liam watched me, his face tight. The subtitles flashed, bright red: [Warning: In three days, Mrs. Vance will die. Prepare yourself. He will need you.] My heart sank.
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