Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I poked my head out from behind Mason Black and said helplessly: "He's my younger brother."

"The kind that will marry me someday." Mason Black suddenly added coldly.

I was just about to explain when my vision blurred. The next thing I knew, a warm, soft touch pressed against my lips.

"！！！！"

When I realized what Mason Black had done, my mind went completely blank, just like a computer that had crashed. My face was burning hot, and I couldn't even remember how I got back home.

Recently, Mom and Dad had gone on a trip. At night, the maids went home too. Now, in this pitch-black house, only Mason Black and I were left.

So as soon as we opened the door, Mason Black had no scruples about pinning me against the door. Without the slightest hesitation, he kissed me accurately.

It felt like electricity was coursing through my entire body. I pushed him away abruptly and snapped: "Mason Black, are you out of your mind!"

He wasn't prepared for my push and stumbled backward. But immediately after, he reached out suddenly and trapped me between his arms, which he propped up against the door.

Mason Black sneered: "What's the matter? That guy can do it, but I can't? Sister, how can you be so biased?"

"He's my boyfriend, and you're my younger brother. Of course it's not the same!" I said angrily.

"He's your boyfriend, then what am I!" He roared, and even couldn't help but slap his hand hard against the door.

That was the first time Mason Black had ever spoken to me so loudly. My throat tightened, and an overwhelming sense of grievance welled up in my heart.

"You're not! You'll never be!"

I shouted back, pushed him away forcefully, and walked towards the stairs without saying a word.

Competing to see who could yell louder? I had never lost at that since I was a kid!

I hadn't even taken two steps when Mason Black hugged me from behind.

He buried his head in the crook of my neck, as if he had been frightened by my reaction. His whole body was trembling.

"Sister, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was wrong. I shouldn't have yelled at you, but... but—" Mason Black's voice was choked with sobs, and his warm tears soaked the skin of my neck and shoulders, "You can't say I'm not your boyfriend. I am! Sister, I am! Don't drive me away..."

After all, he was the "kid" I had raised with my own hands. In the end, I couldn't bring myself to be cruel to him. I explained 无力 ly: "Mason, I've told you many times. It's all a misunderstanding. You don't have to be with me, and no one will drive you out of this house."

"No... it's not like that." He shook his head, "Mom and Dad found me to be your companion. I belong to you for the rest of my life."

Hearing Mason Black say that, I knew there was no point in talking to him anymore. A deep sense of exhaustion washed over me, and even my temples started to throb with pain.

I broke free from his grip, held onto the handrail of the stairs, and walked up step by step, without looking back at him even once.

5

Since I still hadn't figured out how to face Mason Black, I lost sleep all night. After thinking it over and over again, I simply asked for leave from school, informed my parents, and bought a plane ticket to go traveling.

I didn't tell anyone where my destination was, and I didn't even take much luggage with me. I thought— maybe I just urgently needed a place to be alone and calm down.

When I was lying on the beach soaking up the sun, Olivia Green sent me a message. That was when I found out that my boyfriend had broken up with me, and the story about me having a "fiancé younger brother" had spread like wildfire.

And now that I had suddenly asked for leave...

I couldn't even bring myself to imagine— when I went back to school, would they think I had gone to get married? Or that I had gone to have a baby...

What's more, Olivia Green said that Mason Black was looking for me like a man possessed. He had asked everyone who had even the slightest connection with me— the school staff, teachers, classmates.

I let out a bitter laugh, stared at the seagulls flying across the sky through my sunglasses, and let out a long sigh. I, Chloe White, had lived for more than twenty years, and this was the first time I felt so mentally drained that I just wanted to find a place to hide.

To turn someone as optimistic and funny as me into this state— Mason Black was really something.

The number of missed calls from Mason Black on my phone kept piling up. It wasn't until my dad called and forced me to go back that I had to pack up and board the plane home.

By the time I got home, Mom and Dad already knew everything— including Mason Black's stubborn and absurd belief.

Later, Mason Black had a big fight with my dad. The content of their argument was probably just those same few sentences repeated over and over again.

But when Mason Black said, "Isn't the reason you raised me just for this?" my dad was so angry that he picked up something and hit him hard.

That was the first time my dad had ever hit Mason Black since he adopted him. Mason Black was bedridden for several days. Seeing how seriously he was injured, my mom only scolded him a little, then turned around and went to make chicken soup for him.

But this time, I really felt disheartened by this younger brother of mine. So while Mason Black was recovering from his injuries, I didn't go to visit him in his room even once. Even if we ran into each other at home, I would just mind my own business, treating him as if he didn't exist.

One rainy day, when I came back from school, before I even got out of the car, I saw him standing at the door, waiting for me eagerly. I had no idea how long he had been standing there.

I looked straight ahead, ignoring him. But Mason Black, whose face had turned deathly pale, grabbed the corner of my clothes. His lips were trembling as he spoke.

Tears rolled down from his eyes: "Sister..."

"Do you know you were wrong?" In the end, I couldn't hold back and asked.

Mason Black froze for a moment, then lowered his head and said nothing. He just let big drops of tears fall from his eyes.

Looking at him like this, I knew— he didn't think he had done anything wrong at all. I was so angry that I raised my hand and threw the still wet umbrella onto him.

I turned around to leave, but Mason Black still didn't let go of the corner of my clothes. So I hardened my heart and told him the decision I had been thinking about for a long time: "If that's the case, then you should go abroad."

At first, he was definitely unwilling. But after enduring my cold shoulder for a whole month, this tug-of-war finally came to an end when he agreed to go abroad.

But even now, I still can't forget the deep and complicated look in his eyes when he looked at me at the airport before he left.

6

"Sister?"

Mason Black knocked on the door from outside. I knew his patience had run out— this was him urging me.

I tidied myself up and walked out. I crossed my arms, sat down on the bed, and asked him: "Mason Black, what exactly do you want?"

"I just want to be with you for the rest of my life." He sat down on the edge of the bed, looking up at me, "But sister, you actually got engaged to another man while I was away. I'm so angry, so I have to punish you first."

Mason Black picked up the metal chain tied around my ankle and kissed it: "Do you like it? I had it custom-made specifically for you."

His eyes were as bright as stars twinkling on the surface of a lake, looking so clear and bright. It seemed like he was really looking forward to my answer.

I didn't reply, because at that moment, my mind was filled with another question—

Actually, I had tried to put myself in Mason Black's shoes before. When he was a kid, it was understandable. After all, he didn't have the ability to survive on his own and could only rely on my family. But now that he had grown up so much, how could he not feel humiliated at the thought of being treated like a "toy" for someone else's amusement? Instead, he actually took it so seriously and was determined to follow through with it.

Wasn't this just a total case of Stockholm Syndrome (a psychological condition where hostages develop positive feelings towards their captors)?

Thinking this way, there was a hint of strangeness in the way I looked at Mason Black.

"Why do you insist on being with me so much?" I couldn't help but ask.

I thought I would hear more childish and unnecessarily worried reasons— like being afraid of being driven away, afraid of being abandoned, or thinking that my family had raised him just for this purpose.

"Because I like you. I always have."

I was suddenly stunned. As our eyes met, Mason Black's gaze was filled with deep affection and certainty.

In that instant, I felt a little dazed, and my heart started to beat violently out of control.

I didn't dare to look him in the eyes anymore. I lowered my head, scratched the back of my head, and mumbled: "You... can you even tell the difference between dependence and... and liking?"

Mason Black suddenly burst into laughter. He put his arm around my waist, rested his head on my lap, and his shoulders trembled uncontrollably with laughter. It wasn't until I hit him in annoyance that he stopped.

"Sister," he called me in a sweet, clingy tone, "I'm not that little kid anymore. Of course I know the difference between dependence and liking."

Mason Black sat up straight, held my face in his hands, and tentatively kissed the corner of my mouth: "I can't even imagine what my future would be like without you. Every time I think about you marrying another man, I get so jealous I could go crazy. So I'm sure— I like you. I like you so much. All those things I said before were just excuses I made to be with you."

"So sister, you can only be with me, and you can only like me." There was a terrifying sense of obsession in Mason Black's eyes, "Otherwise, I'll lock you up like this, and for the rest of your life, the only person you'll ever see is me."

"Sister, don't force me." There was a plea in his eyes.