The turmoil in Maddie’s life began long before Rico came into it. As a child, her family had been torn apart by greed and betrayal. Her uncle, desperate to force Maddie’s father into splitting the family fortune, kidnapped her one night. His plan unraveled quickly. Maddie’s uncle, drunk and reckless, died choking on his own vomit in a dingy bar, leaving her abandoned in a hotel.
Terrified and alone, Maddie wandered the streets until a childless couple found her and took her in. They renamed her “Lana,” hoping the name would bring them luck. Their prayers seemed to work—six months later, Maddie’s foster mother became pregnant.
One crisp autumn morning, her foster father packed a small bag of her belongings and brought her to a train station. They rode for an entire day until they reached New York. He left her in front of an old brick building.
“This will be your home now,” he said flatly, handing her the bag. Without waiting for her reply, he walked away, his steps hurried and final.
Maddie stood frozen, clutching her bag. Tears welled in her eyes as she stared at the looming building that would become the orphanage she called home. She was on the verge of crying herself to sleep on the cold steps when a boy’s cheerful voice startled her.
“Hey! What’s your name? Did your mom and dad not want you either?”
She looked up to see a boy with messy hair and an oversized shirt peeking through the iron fence.
“My name is…” Maddie hesitated. She didn’t like the name Lana. Somewhere deep in her heart, she remembered being called something else. “Maddie. My name is Maddie.”
The boy tilted his head, grinning. “I’m Rico. My mom and dad don’t want me either. Don’t worry! I’ll go get Mrs. Walker!”
Before she could respond, Rico darted off. Moments later, a kind man with graying hair led her inside. Rico was waiting by the door, a proud smile on his face.
“Maddie, don’t be scared,” he said, reaching out to hold her hand. “My parents don’t want me anymore, either. But now we can be a family.”
***
Life in the orphanage wasn’t easy, but Maddie found solace in Rico’s unwavering protection. The staff tried their best and occasionally, donors would visit, bringing toys or supplies. But with so many children and limited resources, fights and bullying were common.
Whenever Maddie was teased or cornered, Rico would appear, fierce and unrelenting, to defend her. Over time, no one dared to bother her anymore.
As the years passed, Rico became her rock, her safe place. But somewhere along the way, things changed. The warmth between them faded, replaced by a distance Maddie couldn’t understand.
She couldn’t pinpoint when Rico began to drift away. All she knew was that the boy who once promised to protect her was now a man whose heart belonged to someone else.
***
Maddie sat beneath the golden ginkgo tree outside their shared apartment complex, her gaze fixed on the balcony of the 23rd floor. The plants and flowers on that balcony were her pride and joy—each one nurtured with care. But soon, they wouldn’t be hers anymore. Perhaps they never truly had been.
As the midday sun burned her skin, Maddie let her tears fall freely. She reached up to wipe them away, only to be interrupted by the buzz of her phone. A message from her editor appeared on the screen:
[Maddie, why didn’t you update yesterday? The readers are begging for the next chapter. You can’t miss another deadline!]
She stared at the message for a long moment before typing a curt reply.
[Okay.]
Standing with a wince, Maddie limped toward the elevator. Writing had always been her escape. Her current novel—a story of two children who grew up relying on each other—mirrored her own life in many ways. But unlike her story, the heroine in the novel was the one who saved the boy and the boy had fallen in love with her.
***
At her desk, Maddie opened her laptop and pulled up the comments section beneath her latest chapter.
[Maddie, when will the two of them finally get together? I can’t take the suspense anymore!]
[Please don’t break my heart. Let them be happy. They deserve it.]
[Don’t let the hero leave with his real parents. The heroine needs him!]
[If you write a sad ending, I swear I’ll send you a razor blade!]
Maddie stared at the screen, a bitter smile tugging at her lips. Readers poured their hearts into the story, rooting for her characters to have the happy ending she had always dreamed of. But how could she give them something she didn’t believe in anymore?
With trembling fingers, she began to type. Her thoughts wandered as the words appeared on the screen. Was she writing for her readers, or was she rewriting the life she wished she could have?
