They Chose My Sister and Lost Me Chapter 07

They Chose My Sister and Lost Me Chapter 07

Bnoon, I had reached a tiny town at the far northern tip of Sardinia.

Trees and vines lined the asphalt road like strokes of green paint. I crossed the town square and found the landlady I had contacted in advance.

I rented a house. After the paperwork was done and I had moved in, I felt a lightness I had never known before

At last, there was no one shouting in my ear. I opened my window each morning to birdsong.

The landlady noticed the bruises on my legs and brought me ointment. After all those years, a stranger’s kindness was the first real warmth I had felt.

I had saved plenty of money while studying abroad. Two weeks later, once my injuries had healed, I rented the empty storefront downstairs.

I opened a coffee shop and adopted a little black cat.

I planted wild climbing roses by the door.

They were nothing like Beth’s stiff, showy red roses or her style of decor.

The girl next door came to do her homework in my shop every day. Whenever she got stuck, she asked me for help.

After I helped her a few times, she started bringing classmates with her.

The children spread the word, and business got better by the day.

Life was beautiful and steady, everything I had ever dreamed of. But before long, news from home found me.

I came across a viral post online. Mother had written a long, tearful essay about how guilty she felt for neglecting

me.
Some commenters berated me for being ungrateful. Others blamed Mother for playing favorites, and plenty told her to let it go.

Word had spread that the Cassano Family was offering me a fortune to join them.

I found it all tiresome and blocked every one of those accounts.

But they still found me.

I had just seen off the last customer and was about to lock up when I spotted Umberto standing at the door.

He looked terrible. His usually immaculate suit was wrinkled. “Adele. So you really are here.”

I glanced at him calmly. “How did you find me?”

I once had feelings for him. But the moment he stood with Beth and pointed the finger at me, every last trace of those feelings vanished.

He took a step forward, then stopped at the bottom of the steps. “I saw this coffee shop online and had a feeling it was yours.”

“I can’t believe it really is yours.” He lowered his gaze, a flicker of pleased surprise in his eyes.

“Well, now you can leave.”

He looked up, his eyes reddening. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Come home with me. Ever since you left, Your parents haven’t been well.”

“Your mother was so devastated that she ended up in the hospital. Beth is a wreck too. Once word about you spread through the Family, the elders refused to let her anywhere near the port.”

I let out a flat “Oh.” Then, “That’s got nothing to do with me.”

My indifference must have gotten to him, because Umberto’s yoice sharpened.

“How can you say that? They’re your family! The Cassano Family is offering you money, power, connections, everything. Someone as brilliant as you shouldn’t be wasting your talent on a little coffee shop.”

I let out a small laugh.

“I’m staying right here. If you feel sorry for them, then you go take care of them. It’s got nothing to do with me.”

The coldness in my voice left Umberto visibly stunned.

Anger flashed across his face, but he forced it back down.

“Adele, I know you’re angry with them. I brought your necklace back. Please, just come home with me.”

“Besides, if you’d told everyone about your achievements abroad sooner, they wouldn’t have played favorites.”

I almost laughed at that.

I took the necklace, weighed it in my hand, then tucked it into my pocket without expression.

So he really had brought it.

They must all know where I was by now. They had planned this in advance.

Seeing me accept the necklace made Umberto bolder. “Come with me now and join the Cassano Family. Once you’re in, you can support the Riccis. Then they’ll never treat you like this again.”

I smiled faintly. “So what you’re saying is, if I had no value, treating me that way would have been fine?”

I thought of the posts I had seen online.

The way they had treated me was already public knowledge. The Cassano Family had surely heard about it too.

Their sudden humility was for the sake of the Family business, not because any of them understood what they had done to me.

Umberto opened his mouth again, but my voice went ice–cold as I cut him off. “Enough. I’ve made myself perfectly clear. I’m not going back.”

“This is my home now.”

“If you keep bothering me, I’ll call the police.”

I locked the door and walked toward home.