"Junior sister, is there anything else you need to move?"
Bobby's eyes were filled with tender and unabashed admiration.
The moment he saw this smart, beautiful, and slender girl feeding stray cats on campus for the first time, his heart stirred, and he couldn’t control his emotions.
Yet, all his hesitant attempts at connection had ended in failure. This was the first time he had a real opportunity.
Edith leaned on the windowsill, her delicate white earlobes almost translucent in the sunlight. Her two slender legs swayed gently, and her white skirt fluttered softly in the breeze.
A red cord tied around her wrist, holding a jade pendant. The vibrant red made her wrist look even whiter and more delicate.
Bobby gazed at Edith with deep intensity.
"Junior sister, Edith—"
Before he could finish, a man rushed through the half-open door.
"Edith!"
It was Earl.
He saw Edith and Bobby, and the tension in the room was palpable. Earl strode forward with a sharp, angry expression, his focus entirely on Edith. Ignoring Bobby entirely, he reached out and pulled Edith up, as if intending to take her away.
"Earl, what are you doing?" Edith grabbed the cabinet beside her to steady herself, her voice firm and defiant. "Let go! There are people here!"
Earl didn’t seem to hear her. His grip tightened on her wrist, his hold firm and unyielding.
Her wrist, slender and fragile, felt as though it might snap under the pressure. His eyes burned with an unquestionable possessiveness, his male pride evident.
"Go home with me."
He and Bobby stood side by side—two contrasting figures, one mature and composed, the other youthful and inexperienced.
"Why?"
Earl glanced at Bobby, his expression shifting into one of cold disdain. A mocking smile curled at the corners of his lips.
"Why? Are you really staying here because of him?"
Edith refused to meet his gaze.
"Don’t you have Edith? Why do you still interfere in my life? I’ve moved out. What more do you want?"
His voice raised slightly, betraying a hint of panic beneath his control.
"I’m doing this for your own good. He’s not right for you! You don’t know his background. What if he has ill intentions toward you?"
"He's my senior brother!"
Edith shot back, her tone firm and unwavering. "What about you, Earl? Are you right for me?"
The question hung in the air, leaving Earl’s expression momentarily faltering before settling into indifference.
"That’s between me and her. You have no say in it. You will come back with me!"
"I won’t go back!"
Edith struggled fiercely to break free from his grasp, her voice rising in frustration. "Earl, who do you think you are? Why do you keep trying to control me!"
"I'm your brother!"
Bobby hesitated for a moment before stepping forward, his voice gentle yet firm.
"This… Edith’s brother."
"Please, calm down," Bobby said. "Edith is an adult now. She should have the right to make her own decisions. If you truly care about her, you should respect her choice."
Earl shot Bobby a cold glare.
"It's not your place to interfere in what happens between me and her."
Bobby was left speechless, his face flushing with embarrassment and frustration.
Earl opened his mouth again, his voice calm but commanding.
"Please leave."
Having just returned from a business trip, Earl’s tailored black suit clung perfectly to his muscular frame. His expensive cufflinks gleamed, reflecting the anger burning in his eyes—a gaze as sharp and fierce as a jaguar’s.
A young college student, still fresh and inexperienced, couldn’t withstand the pressure emanating from such a mature and domineering presence.
Edith sniffled softly, sending Bobby out with a quiet word.
"Brother, you go back first. It’s okay. He’s my brother."
Bobby left hesitantly, saying, "Call me anytime if you need anything."
Earl heard every word, but his mind was elsewhere. With sharp motion, he slammed the door shut behind him, cornering Edith against the wall.
His fury was palpable.
"Edith, you've become something else."
"You’re dangerous to me now. Do you need another man to protect you?"
The size difference between them was striking at that moment. He loomed over her, his presence overwhelming, while Edith clung tightly to him, like a vine wrapping around a sturdy tree.
Edith’s nose was filled with the sharp scent of pine from his tie, making her eyes sting.
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Earl immediately softened. His hand reached out to brush away the moisture gathering in her eyes.
"Do you like him?"
Edith lifted her gaze to meet him. "He cares about me."
"Your heart is too small," she continued. "If you can’t even accept me, how can you accept someone else?"
"You don’t want me anymore."
Earl shut his eyes tightly, his breath hitching in his chest.
"Fuck," he muttered, unable to deny it. "Who said I don’t care about you?"
But Edith continued, her voice steady, though her words cut deeper.
"It’s been like this since I was a child. You wouldn’t let me fall in love early, wouldn’t let other men near me. I couldn’t have a boy I liked, couldn’t get too close to anyone."
"Even now that I’m in college, even though I have nothing to do with Bobby, you still get angry and drive him away."
Her voice was measured, yet the weight of her words hung in the air.
Earl opened his mouth to speak, but before he could form a reply, his lips were claimed in a long, heated kiss.
