"I've made up my mind, Brent. I'll work at your company, but I've got a few things to take care of first."
The sky was lit with the soft hues of a sunset as Melanie stood on the second-floor balcony, looking down at the luggage by the door. A woman stood there too, eager to move in. Watching it all unfold, Melanie felt her heart sink so low it felt like it might never rise again.
"Alright, Mel. Let me know when you're ready, and I'll book your flight," Brenton replied.
"Thanks, Brent," she murmured before ending the call.
Turning back to her room, she quietly started packing her things.
She had lived in this house for eight years, once thinking it would be her home forever. But that was just her wishful thinking.
On the night before her 14th birthday, her parents abandoned her. They left behind nothing but a short letter and a mountain of debt. Her perfect world came crashing down, and she was kicked out of the villa like some stray with nowhere to go.
At her lowest, it was Edwin Setchfield—nine years older than her—who defied all odds to bring her into his home. He protected her and cared for her for eight long years.
He gave her back a sense of stability, joy, and the freedom to chase her dreams without fear.
In her youth, she met someone who made her feel like he could define her life, and that guy stayed by her side as she grew up. How could she not fall in love with him?
It was slow, so slow she didn't even notice it at first. But the way he cared for her and how he was always there made it impossible not to hope that maybe he felt the same.
Last summer, she went hiking with friends, got lost, and injured her leg. It was Edwin who searched for her all night in the rain. When he found her, he carried her down the mountain on his back.
At dawn, as she lay against him, watching the golden light spread across the horizon, she finally confessed her feelings.
But Edwin didn't say anything.
Not long after they returned to Oklahoma, he introduced a girlfriend to the family.
Everything changed after that. He stopped picking her up from school. He stopped taking her out to eat or shop. They hardly saw each other anymore.
By June, at Melanie's graduation ceremony, she overheard someone say Edwin had broken up with his girlfriend.
That night, after a few drinks with friends, she kissed him in a haze of courage, wrapping her arms around his neck and confessing to him in front of everyone.
It was the first time he ever yelled at her.
"This is ridiculous! Melanie, I'm your brother!"
"But you're not really my brother, Ed! I've liked you for so long, since—"
"Enough! This is absurd!"
He stormed off, slamming the door behind him.
That night, it rained harder than it had in years. She waited for him outside the bar, sitting in the cold for hours. But he never came back.
When she finally ran back to the Setchfields' villa, drenched and shaking, the maid told her he hadn't been home at all.
Terrified something might've happened to him, she ran out again into the rain to look for him. She checked his office, his usual spots—he wasn't there.
Then it hit her. His ex.
Out of desperation, she rushed to the woman's place.
By the time she arrived, the rain had eased, and the sky was starting to lighten.
Across the street, she saw them—Edwin and Maurice. She was standing there in a silk nightgown, leaning close to him under the same umbrella. They looked nothing like two couples who had broken up.
When Melanie returned to the Setchfields' villa, soaked and exhausted, Edwin was calmly having breakfast.
He barely glanced at her before saying, "Get your things packed. Don't be late on your first day at work."
Fighting the ache in her chest, she walked up to him, holding back tears. "Have you ever… even once… liked me?
