17 Years of Empty Draws: The Neglected Triplet Never Forgives Chapter 06

17 Years of Empty Draws: The Neglected Triplet Never Forgives Chapter 06

I knew nothing about what was happening back home.

The plane landed safely in Seattle after a three-hour flight.

As soon as I stepped out of the airport, I spotted a young man holding a welcome sign for Royal Evergreen Academy.

“Hi, I’m Celestine Veyne, an incoming freshman at Royal Evergreen Academy from Northvale Pack.”

“Hi, I’m Stellan Mercer, a sophomore at Royal Evergreen Academy.”

We exchanged smiles.

With Stellan’s help, I quickly settled into life at Royal Evergreen Academy.

I trained during the day, took part-time work whenever I had spare time, and worked on research experiments at night.

On weekends, I hung out with my roommates if I was free.

Sometimes I joined academic exchange events with Stellan to learn new things.

It was tiring, but it beat the stifling 18 years I spent in Northvale Pack.

Back home, my needs always came last.

Here in Seattle, I only lived for myself.

Mr. Hadrian chatted with me once in a while and mentioned what was going on with the Veyne family.

Without private tutoring after starting college, Maren’s grades were unremarkable among all the top students.

Aurelia still couldn’t shake her playful ways. She skipped classes many times in her first semester and was forced by the school to repeat the grade.

My parents begged her repeatedly to focus more on her studies.

Yet she compared herself to wealthy classmates and complained that her parents lacked art industry connections and had given her far too little.

Little by little, Aurelia fought with my parents more and more often.

One day, Mom cleaned up my old bedroom again.

The bed, desk and curtains were put back just the way they used to be.

Aurelia frowned when she saw this and complained she had nowhere to place her paintings.

“Aurelia, you can put your paintings in the storage room. There’s enough space,” Mom said softly.

“The storage room is dirty and dusty. How can I put them there?”

She shot back with a scowl.

Dad spoke, holding back his anger.

“But Celestine lived there for three years.”

Aurelia slammed the door shut in rage and locked herself inside. She did not speak to my parents for days.

My parents set meals outside her room, only for her to kick them over.

Staring at the daughter they had spoiled for 18 years, they stood frozen. Helplessness and sorrow weighed heavy in their chests.

After Aurelia’s final explosive fight with my parents, she packed her bags and moved out.

Ever since Mom restored my old room, she cleaned it every single day and stayed there for hours.

She hoped to find some trace of me inside the room.

Yet apart from those cheap “birthday gifts”, there was nothing left that belonged to me.

Dad flipped through the thick photo albums and found the only two pictures of me.

The first one was taken when I turned six. I was squished to the far edge of the family photo, half my body cut out of the frame.

The second was my middle school graduation photo. The camera focused on Maren and Aurelia. I stood in the corner with no smile on my face.

He picked up those photos, staring and wiping them over and over again.

Beef stew became the main dish on their dinner table, but no one ever took a bite.

Soren asked every acquaintance he knew for my new number. He wanted to find out how I was doing in Seattle.

One day when I unlocked my phone, a familiar friend request popped up.

Soren: [Celestine, it’s me! Soren.]

Soren: [I’m sorry. I know I wronged you. I want to know how you’re doing in Seattle. Can you message me back?]

Once upon a time, I would rush to open every message from this profile.

Now it stirred nothing inside me.

I locked my phone. Stellan walked toward me holding a latte.

Seattle was one thousand six hundred miles away from Northvale, far enough to keep away everyone I never wanted to see again.