On His IPO Day, He Chose My Sister Chapter 04

On His IPO Day, He Chose My Sister Chapter 04

I showed up at the restaurant the next night, and the private booth was already packed with people.

Ethan’d promised to pick me up, but he’d texted last minute to tell me to make my own way over.

When I stepped inside, Chloe sat right next to Ethan’s mother, chattering away and making the older woman laugh nonstop. The second she spotted me, her smile faded completely.

“You’re late.”

My father leaned back in his seat, slipping into that overbearing fatherly act of his..

He set his wine glass down with a heavy thud, his voice low and stern. “Keeping your elders waiting—what kind of manners are those?”

Before I could open my mouth, Chloe stood up to smooth things over, feigning gentle kindness. “Don’t be hard on Maya. If Ethan hadn’t gone out of his way to swing by my place first, she wouldn’t have been left to come alone.”

Her words sounded thoughtful, but every word screamed exactly who Ethan would choose to prioritize that night.

I gave a slow, calm nod.

“Right. This really is your fault.”

The room went dead silent in an instant.

Ethan shot me a sharp glance before rushing to shield Chloe.

“The company just went public, and I still rely on Chloe’s family to smooth out investor ties. I swung by to pick her up because I needed favors from them.”

The older adults chuckled, brushing the awkward tension aside like it was nothing. They slipped back into warm, familial banter—excluding me entirely.

Halfway through dinner, the talk shifted to Ethan’s startup story.

Ethan’s mother raised her wine glass toward my father. “Mr. Quinn, honestly, Ethan never would’ve gotten this far without your support back when things were hardest.”

“He told me he would’ve tanked as a young founder without your support back then.”

My fork froze mid-air above my plate.

Every late night I pulled, every cent of my savings I’d poured into his business, every recipe I’d perfected—he’d repackaged all of my sacrifices as my father’s generous mentorship.

My father preened at the compliments, waving a hand like it was nothing.

“It was nothing much.”

He patted Chloe’s hand proudly. “Ethan deserves all the credit too. He flew out to Boston every chance he got while Chloe was in business school there.”

“I’m far too busy as a father, so he’s been the one by her side through most of it.”

Ethan’s mother grinned from ear to ear.

“He’s only doing what’s right.”

Ethan and Chloe exchanged a quick, knowing look—a silent connection I’d never once seen cross his face with me.

I stared down at my steak, slicing it listlessly. Every bite tasted bland and empty on my tongue.

I tallied it up quietly in my head.

Seventy-eight business trips over three years, fifty-one of them to Boston.

Once, I’d spiked a 102°F fever the night before I was supposed to host a full product tasting for his brand.

I’d begged him to stay home just that once. He’d apologized briefly, grabbed his suitcase, and headed straight for the airport without a second glance. I’d convinced myself he’d been chasing his career.

Turns out every flight had led straight to Chloe.

I set down my silverware and wiped my mouth, ready to leave. Chloe’s voice cut through the quiet.

“Maya, don’t you ever feel embarrassed about this?”

I halted mid-step. “Embarrassed about what?”

She’d been holding back her resentment for far too long.

“You have a proper education—why haven’t you gone out and gotten a real job?”

“Ethan runs an entire company and juggles investors nonstop, yet he still has to tiptoe around your mood swings when he gets home. He’s human too, he gets worn out.”

Her eyes glistened with obvious fondness and pity as she looked forward at Ethan.

A bitter laugh escaped me. “Are these your words, or Ethan’s?”

Chloe’s eyes welled up with tears. “He never said a word against you, but I can see how drained he is.”

I turned to face Ethan directly.

“Can you not afford to take care of me anymore?”

Ethan fell silent for a long beat before speaking up. “Chloe’s got a point. Maya, you really ought to get a career of your own.”

Don’t I have a career already ?

Before I put everything on hold for Ethan’s startup, I’d been the youngest chef candidate at a three-Michelin-starred restaurant.

I’d earned dozens of culinary accolades, and industry veterans had waited three years for me to return to the kitchen.

I built his first official menu, developed every viral recipe clip, and created the core recipes behind over a million meal kits sold under his brand.

And yet there he sat, painting me as some useless leech surviving off his income.

After a long beat of silence, I spoke a single word. “Fine.”

With that, I turned and walked out the door. No one called after me to stop my departure.

It was as if everyone had been waiting for me to leave all along.