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Soon after,he mailed them to my specified address.
Picking them up,I passed a famous bakery.
I returned home with a bag of cakes.
As I turned the key,the door opened from inside.
A woman leapt onto me like a koala,beaming.
I sighed,holding her,kicking the door shut.
“Jane Brooks,no slippers again?”
She grinned,flashing three fingers.“Next time,promise!”
I“found”Jane on a rainy day.
At the public hospital for a bandage change,I heard a commotion—someone arguing.
The doctor sighed.“That girl’s so filial,but saddled with uncaring parents.”
“Well,the old lady doesn’t have long,”another said.
After my bandage,I wove through the crowd and saw her—Jane Brooks.
I didn’t want trouble,but my feet wouldn’t move.
I watched her pleaded with the doctors to treat her dying grandmother,heard her parents curse the bedridden woman as a burden.
Then I saw Jane,looking utterly hopeless as she stood drenched in the rain.
I held my umbrella over her.She looked up,stunned.
“How much more for her treatment?I’ll cover it.”
She came home with me,saying she was homeless and unwanted by her parents.
Except by her grandmother—and me.
She said her parents found the money I sent,conned it away,and still refused treatment.
“Am I stupid?”
Her hopeful eyes meeting mine.I nodded.
She looked sadder.
I smiled softly,pulling her close.
“Stupid,yes,but kind.I haven’t seen that in a long time.”
Jane was no one’s substitute,not Fiona’s.
She was her own person,entirely different.
Fiona grew up in a world of fame and profit,avoiding anything unrewarding.
Her pride and vibrancy were like a fiery rose—beautiful but prickly.
Jane was a timid,gentle bunny,kind to those who cared for her.Her warmth and attentiveness were what I craved.
I vanished for two weeks.Fiona was livid.
At first,she couldn’t reach me and thought I’d stormed off in a fit of anger over Victor’s promotion.
Frustrated,she texted:
“When did you get so childish?My decisions are final.No matter how mad you are,Victor’s VP.Accept it!”
I snorted in disdain,blocking her number.
Week three,Victor,seeing her mood,suggested a Maldives trip.She agreed irritably.Before leaving,he sent me selfies,captioned:
“Fiona and I are the better match,don’t you think?”
