Grandma Faked Dementia So My Sister Could Steal My Fiancé. Chapter 10

Grandma Faked Dementia So My Sister Could Steal My Fiancé. Chapter 10

The day I left, dawn had barely broken.

Megan drove me to the Blue Line station.

I didn’t have much luggage.

One suitcase. One laptop bag.

And a paper bag of pastries Megan had practically shoved into my hands.

“Eat these on the plane. Don’t go hungry.”

I said, “I’m taking the train to O’Hare, not heading into the wilderness.”

She rolled her eyes. “As far as I’m concerned, breakup plus overseas assignment equals a fresh start. Fresh starts require emergency snacks.”

I laughed.

Then my eyes suddenly stung.

A platform announcement crackled over the speakers.

I gripped my suitcase and turned toward the train.

Megan hugged me.

“Text me when you get there.”

“I will.”

Then she added, “And remember, you’ve got people who want you around.”

I nodded.

“I know.”

And I really did.

For years, I’d worked myself into the ground, taken care of my family, and put Ethan’s needs before

mine.

Not because I liked carrying everyone.

Because I was afraid.

Afraid that if no one needed me, they’d leave.

Now I finally understood that being needed wasn’t always love.

Sometimes it just meant they’d figured out how useful you were.

Just before the train pulled away, my phone buzzed.

A message from Diane.

“Your grandma’s doing better today. She asked when you’re coming back.”

I replied, “We’ll see after the project ends.”

The typing bubble stayed on the screen for a long time.

Finally, she sent, “Take care of yourself.”

I stared at those four words for a long time.

It was the first time she’d ever said that to me.

Not take care of Grandma.

Not look after your sister.

Not keep the peace.

Take care of yourself.

I didn’t reply.

A few minutes later, a long message arrived from an unfamiliar number.

I didn’t need a name to know it was Lily.

“Claire, I finally realized Ethan was never a lifeline. He runs from anything hard and dumps

responsibility on someone else. I used to think having him made you lucky. Now I see how tired you

must have been too. I’m sorry.”

There was more beneath it.

She said she regretted what she’d done.

She said she shouldn’t have been jealous of me.

She said she was fighting constantly with Mom and Dad now.

She said even Grandma had stopped defending her.

The last line said:

“Claire, have I lost you forever?”

I looked out the window.

The city slowly fell away behind me.

Skyscrapers, billboards, gray overpasses, all slipping farther into the distance.

I typed one word.

“Yes.”

Sent.

Then I turned off my phone.

The train entered a tunnel.

The car went dark, then flooded with light again seconds later.

A little girl beside me was asleep with her head in her mother’s lap.

Her mother gently patted her back.

I watched for a moment, then looked away.

I opened the paper bag Megan had packed for me.

Inside were two croissants, a scone, and a note.

“Claire Bennett, keep going. Don’t look back.”

I tucked the note into my book.

Outside the window, the morning kept getting brighter.

I didn’t know what my life would look like six months from now.

Whether the project would go well.

Whether I’d settle into the new city.

Whether anyone in my family would truly change.

How often Ethan would think of me after I was gone.

None of it mattered anymore.

What mattered was that I was finally done standing still and waiting for someone else to choose me.

I pressed my palm to the window.

The glass was cool beneath my hand.

The train kept moving forward.

So did I.