In my heart, I kept comforting myself: they’re just unusually close as siblings, I shouldn’t be jealous.
But deep down, there was another voice, faint yet persistent, asking:
Are they really brother and sister?
Or rather… are they really blood-related?
Sebastian didn’t come to explain anything that night.
My phone stayed dark the whole evening.
No messages.
No calls.
No explanations.
So I started a cold war with Sebastian.
To be precise, it was a one-sided cold war—only on my end.
I’m not someone without a temper. In fact, my temper is worse than most girls’. It’s just that in front of the people I care about, I seem gentler. I can tolerate my boyfriend’s immaturity for a while, but I need responses and explanations in return.
Sebastian’s behavior landed squarely on one of my biggest triggers. I blocked him—at least for the time being, I didn’t want to see him at all. I needed to calm down.
But the campus isn’t that big, and everyone has their usual classrooms. If you really want to wait for someone, it’s not that hard to find them.
So as soon as my lab class ended and I stepped out of the room, I saw Sebastian leaning against the corridor window.
Outside, the sky was just breaking open after a recent rain. Light was finally tearing free from the heavy clouds and spilling onto Sebastian’s profile. In the shifting line between light and shadow, he looked beautifully worn-out, almost desolate.
Then he turned his head and saw me.
That’s when I realized—there was a strange, almost luminous look in his eyes as he gazed at me.
He looked straight at me and spoke in a low, hoarse, surprisingly gentle voice.
“Evelyn, let’s not break up, okay?”
“Please don’t ignore me anymore, alright?”
He looked so pitiful, like a stray dog that had finally found its owner again—desperate to get close, but terrified of being abandoned once more. He could only metaphorically roll over, show his vulnerable belly, whimpering, wagging his tail and begging for my affection.
My heart went soft in an instant.
How could it not? I really did like Sebastian. I really did see a future with him.
Maybe he sensed me wavering, because he suddenly wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into him. He buried his slightly messy head against the side of my neck, his voice rushed and anxious as he tried to explain.
“That night, Isabella got drunk at the bar. I was worried about her, so I wanted to call you and explain, but she accidentally dropped my phone and broke it. I didn’t mean to leave you waiting for me the whole night.”
“Isabella’s just young. She only just found out I have a girlfriend, so she’s not used to it yet. She didn’t do it on purpose. If you really don’t want to see her, I’ll try my best to keep you two from running into each other in the future.”
I sighed without thinking and slipped my arms around him in return.
“Alright, I’ll let it go this time. But don’t hide things from me again. You know I hate being lied to the most.”
I thought I felt Sebastian stiffen for a split second. But the next moment, he was back to normal, as if I’d imagined it.
After that, my dates with Sebastian were still pleasant. He also gave up on the idea of helping me and his little sister, Isabella, get along. He stopped trying to push us together.
But I did notice that every time Sebastian and I finished a date, he would disappear for a whole day afterward.
My roommate thought it was suspicious, wondered if Sebastian had something going on behind my back.
I didn’t think it was strange at all. Couples should have their own privacy, after all. And I trusted Sebastian. I didn’t believe he would ever betray me.
