Olive was visibly displeased when she saw him speaking up for Nathan. "He’s been nothing but trouble for you and yet you're still speaking for him?"
With a helpless sigh, she continued, "You’re just too kind, always avoiding conflict and never fighting for yourself. It makes you an easy target. But don’t worry, with Seraphine and me around, he won’t be able to hurt you again."
Olive shot a fierce glare at Nathan. Her eyes were full of warning.
Watching the three of them so closely aligned, Nathan felt as though he were a world away.
It was supposed to be him who had once been the one held so dearly by the two of them.
The Sharlow Family was a small, wealthy family in Astralis, located in the same district as the Thompson and Pangley family.
Nathan grew up alongside these two prestigious families. Because of his exceptional abilities, both Olive and Seraphine had secretly harbored feelings for him.
After Nathan was accepted into the Aerospace Academy, Olive and Seraphine followed him there. To stay close to him, they bought an apartment near the airport.
He had a congenital allergy and was particularly sensitive to starchy foods. Because of this, he had to be extra cautious about what he ate.
Olive and Seraphine spent a long time learning how to cook. Every day, they would wait for him to return from his flights, ready to prepare a meal for him.
Nathan repeatedly suggested that they leave and that he could manage on his own. But both of them, with teary eyes, begged him to let them stay.
Nathan had no choice but to relent, knowing that once they made a decision, it was hard for them to turn back.
He could only go along with their wishes.
People often said he was lucky. The Sharlow Family might not be considered a true aristocratic family, but with the backing of the Thompson and Pangley Family, their fortune was steadily growing.
The two heiresses had been his greatest support, shielding him from the world's troubles.
Nathan had lived in that warmth, believing it would last forever, until Willy appeared.
Willy was the true heir of the Sharlow Family. Years ago, a mistake by the nanny had led to him being switched at birth and raised elsewhere.
It was only recently that he finally returned home.
That was when Nathan learned the truth that he was never truly the young master of the Sharlow Family. In fact, he didn’t even know who his biological parents were.
On the day Willy returned, he arrived wearing a faded, secondhand shirt, carrying nothing but a worn-out burlap sack, looking utterly alone and out of place like someone with no home to return to.
Nathan never resented Willy’s return.
On the contrary, he felt deeply guilty. After all, he had unknowingly taken someone else’s place for so many years. Even though he had earned his own living and never relied on the Sharlow Family’s wealth, he still felt indebted to Willy.
So, he personally brought Willy into the Sharlow Family.
He introduced him to Olive and Seraphine, guided him through high society and helped him integrate into their world.
Nathan genuinely hoped they could be like brothers. After all, the Sharlow Family had raised him and he felt a responsibility to repay their kindness.
But fate had other plans.
Before his very eyes, he watched as Olive and Seraphine grew increasingly fond of Willy.
Bit by bit, they pushed him aside until he was no longer the one standing by their side.
With just a few words, Willy could twist reality, turning truth into lies and right into wrong.
Olive and Seraphine had never hidden their feelings for him and the Sharlow Family did need a strong ally.
Countless times, the two had fought bitterly over him, hoping he would choose one of them to spend his life with.
Nathan had genuinely considered it. He had weighed his options, thinking that, eventually, he would choose the one most suited for marriage.
But now, he had made up his mind—he wouldn’t choose either of them.
Brushing the smeared cake and cream off his clothes, Nathan quietly stepped away from the commotion. Without a word, he left, vanishing into the night as he made his way home.
He entered the room and rummaged through to find a desk calendar. Each page of the calendar featured the daily lives of three cartoon characters.
It had been custom-made by Olive and Seraphine.
Nathan turned to the page for a week from now, the day he would be leaving.
A circle was drawn around that date. He then realized that it was also the 20th anniversary of the day they met.
Nathan pulled at his lips, giving a self-deprecating smile. It was the day they met, twenty years ago.
