He Brought Me Home, But Never Made Me Family Chapter 04

He Brought Me Home, But Never Made Me Family Chapter 04

My heart dropped.

The next second, deliberately quiet footsteps faded away.

The front door clicked shut.

I stared at the dark ceiling for a long time.

Long enough for my eyes to sting and my nose to clog.

Then I laughed once, bitterly.

“I’m done.”

I slept until almost noon.

When I woke up, the Whitmore housekeeper said Adrian had fought with Isla over the graduation dinner after he got back.

Isla had a meltdown and was taken to the hospital.

The housekeeper asked if I could come over and talk things out.

By then, I had already packed my few belongings.

I did not take a single thing Adrian had given me.

I took the key and went to the hospital.

A team of specialists had just left the room.

“Adrian Whitmore really panicked. One small episode, and he called in an entire team of specialists.”

My heart sank again.

When I first transferred schools, Isla’s people bullied and isolated me.

Adrian just made a call to the doctor, switched my classes, and never showed up again.

I stood at the door, about to knock.

“I told you, Willa coming back won’t affect your place. I brought her home because it was Mom and Dad’s last wish.”

“Stop throwing tantrums. I’m good to her because I owe her all these years. It’s not so she can replace you.”

“Otherwise, why do you think I never let her move into the Whitmore house for three years when you said you didn’t want a sister? Why do you think I never officially added her to the Whitmore dependent records?”

“Try to understand my position. She’s already been found. If she goes back to the Caldwell family now, what will people say about the Whitmores?”

“Let her stay for now. Once she finishes college, I’ll send her to the West Coast office. Okay?”

Isla sobbed, her eyes red and swollen.

“What if she won’t go?”

Adrian was quiet for a moment.

“Then I’ll set her up with someone appropriate. She’ll build her own life far away from here.”

“After that, the Whitmore family will only have you as a daughter. Sound good?”

Isla smiled through her tears.

“You promise?”

Adrian gently tapped her forehead.

“I promise. Now rest. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You better get better soon. Otherwise I’ll take someone else on that trip for two.”

Cold air slipped through the crack in the door.

I stood there, my fingers tightening slowly.

The key dug into my palm.

I opened my hand and stared at the red marks, then smiled.

This key never should have been in my hand anyway.

I left it at the nurses’ station and asked them to give it to Adrian.

After taking a cab back to the apartment, I grabbed my suitcase.

I looked around the place where I had lived for three years, the place that had never once felt like home.

When I left, I did not feel the same reluctance I had felt when leaving the Caldwell family.

As I closed the door, Adrian suddenly appeared.

Guilt flashed across his face.

“You left the key at the nurses’ station?”

He stared at me.

“You heard everything, didn’t you?”