They Cropped Me Out, So I Cut Them Off Chapter 05

They Cropped Me Out, So I Cut Them Off Chapter 05

Theodore felt like every sound in the world had suddenly disappeared.

His mind went blank.

“Blythe is gone?”

Luca snatched the phone from him.

He sounded panicked.

“What do you mean she’s gone?”

“We were gonna ask her to clean up the streamers by the door, but her room was spotless and completely empty.”

“All her clothes were gone.”

“We checked her drawers…”

“Her ID, her documents, and all the photos she’d kept since she was little-gone too…”

Isla took the phone.

She sounded impatient.

“Come on, she’s just throwing a fit and running off. It’s not a big deal.”

“How old is she now?”

“Is she still pulling this?”

“We’re about to board.”

“We’ll talk later.”

She was about to hang up.

My parents went quiet.

They seemed stunned.

Maybe they never expected their own daughter to be so cold.

My mother sounded shocked.

“She’s your sister!”

Isla held Serena’s hand.

She sounded cold and distant.

“Sister?”

“You both said it yourselves. So many times.”

“That Blythe was too ordinary.”

“That you wished you’d never had a daughter like her.”

My parents looked at each other.

Had they really said those hurtful things so many times without realizing it?

Serena glanced at the time.

Impatience flashed in her eyes.

But she still spoke softly.

“Maybe she left early to catch up with us.”

“Maybe she didn’t actually run away.”

“Don’t worry.”

“If we don’t see her at our destination, we can report her missing then.”

Theodore forced a smile.

“Yeah.”

“She’s probably just rushing over to catch up with us.”

“She probably just threw everything in her bag.”

“Don’t worry.”

“That’s not it… Her things are all gone…”

My parents tried to explain, but Theodore had already hung up.

The entire way to the airport, no one said a word.

Luca kept checking the time the whole way.

He just wanted the plane to land.

Faster.

He wished that the moment he landed, he would see Blythe smiling at him.

Then she’d complain, “What took you guys so long?”

A tear slid down Luca’s face.

Because the truth was…

He had always liked Blythe.

It was just that after they got together, everyone kept saying they didn’t match.

His parents often said,

“You’ve got Isla and Serena. Why pick someone as plain as Blythe?”

“What if your kid looks like Blythe? That’d be pretty plain.”

Everyone had asked him the same question.

Why did he like Blythe?

At first, Luca would seriously explain all the things he loved about her.

The truth was, Blythe wasn’t ugly.

She had a delicate, gentle kind of beauty.

She was thoughtful.

She was considerate.

She was the one who planned every trip.

But no one ever listened.

Just like no one ever bothered to really know Blythe.

They just threw out one careless line.

“You don’t have a thing for ugly girls, do you?”

So, over time, Luca stopped explaining.

Whenever someone asked why he liked Blythe,

he went from staying silent…

to just admitting,

“I confessed because I was angry at Serena.”

But that wasn’t the truth.

He simply liked Blythe.

He just didn’t have the courage to admit it.

Sometimes he’d catch himself blaming her.

Why couldn’t Blythe be someone he was proud to show off?

After hearing the same words over and over again,

even Luca started believing them.

He prayed silently.

He hoped that the moment he got off the plane,

he would see Blythe waiting for him.

But I knew nothing about what was happening with them.

Because I had already arrived at Alpine Valley Town.

I just never expected to meet someone there.

Someone I never thought I would see again.