Maddie crouched on the cold kitchen floor, her injured foot stinging with pain. She glanced up at Jane, catching the fleeting glimmer of triumph in her eyes. Jane had done it on purpose—of that, Maddie was certain.
“What’s going on here?”
Before Maddie could respond, Rico walked into the kitchen. Jane’s expression shifted instantly, her red-rimmed eyes glistening with unshed tears. She rushed toward him, her voice trembling with feigned distress.
“Rico! I just wanted to help Maddie in the kitchen, but I ended up making a mess.” She lifted her foot slightly, revealing a few rice grains stuck to her pristine, unblemished skin. “Look! I even burned my foot. It hurts so much…”
Rico’s face softened immediately. He knelt down, gently cradling Jane’s foot in his hands, his voice thick with concern. “Jane, are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?”
Maddie’s stomach churned as Rico shot her a sharp glare.
“Maddie! How could you be so careless? Apologize to Jane!”
Her breath caught. Apologize? Maddie blinked, her tears spilling over as she stared at Rico. Did he truly believe she was the one at fault? Did he even care about what had happened?
It was Jane who had bumped into her on purpose. Maddie bit her lip, swallowing her retort. This wasn’t the Rico she had grown up with—the boy who had once fought off bullies for her, who had promised to always protect her.
Her tears dripped onto her injured foot, mingling with the blood seeping from the cut. The pain was unbearable, but not nearly as deep as the ache in her chest.
***
Rico’s frown deepened as he glanced at Maddie crouching on the floor. “Maddie, did you hear me? I told you to apologize!”
But before Maddie could muster a response, Jane tugged on Rico’s arm, her pout firmly in place.
“Rico, don’t be so hard on her,” she said in a singsong voice. “She’s been cooking for you all morning, after all. Let’s not make a big deal out of it.”
Jane led him out of the kitchen, turning back to cast Maddie a victorious smirk.
“Go eat, Rico,” Jane cooed. “You’ll need your strength for that interview later.”
Rico hesitated, his gaze lingering on Jane’s foot. “Your burn needs to be treated. Change your clothes and I’ll take you to the hospital before the interview.”
“Okay, Rico,” Jane replied sweetly, glancing at Maddie out of the corner of her eye.
Rico’s voice turned cold as he looked back at Maddie. “Clean up this mess. Someone else could get hurt.” Without another word, he left the kitchen, his concern wholly reserved for Jane.
As their laughter faded, Maddie broke down. The sobs she had suppressed poured out in ragged gasps.
It hurt.
It all hurt.
She wasn’t sure if the burning pain from the porridge or the cut on her foot was worse—or if it was the ache in her heart that consumed her the most.
***
After wrapping her foot with a makeshift bandage, Maddie hailed a taxi to the hospital. The doctor cleaned her wound and stitched it carefully, offering advice about avoiding further strain.
As she stepped out of the hospital into the crisp morning air, her phone buzzed. It was her mother.
“Maddie,” her mother began, her voice warm but tinged with concern, “how’s the packing going? I bought you a plane ticket for six days from now. Your sister will come to pick you up in New York the day before.”
Maddie leaned against a bench, staring at her stitched foot. “Mom, I can handle the flight myself. Just have him meet me at the airport. I haven’t packed much yet, but I need to visit the orphanage before I leave.”
There was a pause on the line before her mother spoke again, her voice softer now.
“It’s important to go back, Maddie. That place raised you. Your father and I donated some money recently—I wanted the children there to have a little more, to live a bit better than before.”
The kindness in her mother’s voice cracked something inside Maddie.
“Mom… I don’t blame you or Dad,” she said softly, sensing her mother’s unspoken guilt. “I know you did everything you could. It was hard back then… transportation, communication… everything was harder.”
Her mother’s voice broke slightly. “We searched for you everywhere, Maddie. We never stopped. But the years…” She trailed off, unable to finish.
Maddie closed her eyes, her thoughts drifting to her childhood. Her earliest memories of the orphanage were cold and lonely, but she had always wondered—if circumstances had been different, would she have stayed with her family in Haichester?
***
Her mother’s words brought back painful memories. When Maddie was three, her family had been torn apart by greed and betrayal. Her uncle had demanded a split of the family inheritance, creating rifts that couldn’t be mended. In the chaos that followed, Maddie was separated from her parents, lost in the bustling streets of Haichester.
For years, she clung to the hope that they were searching for her. Now, after so many years apart, the ache of those lost years was still fresh. Maddie had found her parents, but the void in her heart remained.
And now, as she prepared to leave Rico’s home, she realized she was once again stepping away from a life she had fought so hard to build.
