Chapter 36: Why Is He Here?
Una glared at Wade’s back as he walked away.
She couldn’t say it out loud—that Tilda had already cut ties with the Jensons, moved out, and cut off every last connection. If that truth got around, cruel people would twist it. They’d use it to mock her, humiliate her, and hurt her even more.
“Wade, if I ever find out you mess with Tilda again, I swear I’ll never forgive you!”
Wade wanted to find Tilda, but Orica University was huge. And from what Shaun had said, it sounded like Tilda had already been gone for a while.
If she already left campus, and I don’t even have a way to contact her, how am I supposed to find her in a giant city like Slosa? I don’t have her number. I don’t know where she likes to hang out on campus. And once she stepped outside Orica, where could she even go?
The day she left the Jensons’ house with nothing but a suitcase, where did she end up? Is she staying at Una’s? A hotel? Some tiny rented apartment?
He had no clue.
And suddenly, Wade felt the weight of what he’d done. How could I have been so cruel to the sister I’ve been separated from for 19 years? I never even tried to know her. Instead, I’ve thrown up walls of disgust, stabbed her with sharp words, and forced her to keep her distance, never letting her near. Even if I try to justify that it was all for Kyla’s sake, the truth is clear—I’ve failed as a brother.
I don’t know her favorite food, her favorite outfits, or where she likes to go. I don’t even know about the incredible talent she’s hiding.
His steps slowed. Fear started eating at him. With all this guilt, how can I face her now? What can I even say?
Right then, his phone buzzed. It was a message from Clive.
“Wade, someone said they saw Tilda sunbathing near Skyview Lake on campus.”
Wade replied, “Thanks.”
Sliding his phone back into his pocket, Wade took a deep, shaky breath. I’m not going there as her brother, he told himself. I’m just going as someone who needs to learn from her. If I think of it like that, maybe it won’t hurt so much.
Maybe.
By the time he reached Skyview Lake, he saw Tilda.
She was lying on the grass with a blanket under her, soaking up the autumn sun with lazy indifference. The air was cool and crisp, the season shifting, but the scene felt soft and golden, as if time itself had slowed down. Her pale, delicate face glowed under the sunlight, so strikingly beautiful that it almost didn’t feel real. Her clean, short hair made her look even sharper, as if her whole presence carried a bold, sharp edge.
Wade’s mind flashed back. The day Tilda first returned to the Jensons, her hair had been long. And it was Wade who had sneered that her long hair was disgusting, that it made him sick.
That same night, she hadn’t come down for dinner. He could never forget the look in her eyes, that wounded, broken stare.
The next morning, when he saw her again, her long, gorgeous hair was gone. She had chopped it off into the short style she wore now. And she had stood there, small and timid, forcing herself to speak words meant to please.
“Wade, I didn’t know you hated long hair. I’m sorry. I cut it short. Please don’t hate me. Please don’t feel sick when you look at me. I’ll be careful from now on. I’ll make sure not to upset you again.”
Her voice had been so soft and desperate, as if she had nothing left and was some unwanted weed on the side of the road. But irritated by Tilda’s sorry tone, Wade snapped at her again before storming out and slamming the door. He couldn’t stand the sight of her broken, self-hating self.
Compared to Kyla’s bright grace, her charm, and her sweet confidence, Tilda had seemed unbearably low, as if she didn’t belong at all. But still, he remembered faintly the tears slipping down her face, silent and invisible.
At the time, he had felt nothing. If anything, he wished she would break faster so he could drive her out of the Jensons’ lives once and for all. But now, looking back, the memory twisted inside him until the sharp and suffocating guilt rose up to drown him.
Tilda must have known that Wade didn’t actually hate long hair. He liked it. Because Kyla had long hair. And Wade had praised Kyla’s hair more than once, running his fingers through it, telling her how beautiful it was.
The truth was, he just couldn’t stand seeing Tilda grow hers out, longer and prettier, as if she could replace Kyla. That was why he’d spat those cruel words.
Now under the autumn sun, Tilda stirred. She felt his stare, her eyes opening just slightly, catching him standing not too far away, watching her with a conflicted look.
Disgust swelled in her stomach as her mouth twitched.
Gosh, why is he here?
In my last life, I wasted my life chasing after the Jensons, humiliating myself with desperate acts of devotion, begging for scraps of love, and even a little recognition. And all I ever got was more hatred, colder rejection, and even stronger favoritism toward Kyla.
But in this life, I’ve let go. I’ve cut the ties. The Jensons and I are strangers now. And that’s exactly what they wanted from the start. So why do these “accidental” run-ins keep happening?