Unspoken Obsession

At the age of eight, I was taken in by the Sinclair family as their adopted daughter.

They treated me like their own flesh and blood, and my brother granted my every wish.

At my eighteenth birthday party, I accidentally got drunk and laid my heart bare.

I confessed my feelings to my brother.

I thought I had just made a fool of myself.

But I never expected that Carters endless pampering would be entirely withdrawn after that night.

I could feel Carter deliberately distancing himself from me.

He left early, came home late, and practically ignored my texts.

Growing up, Carter was the quintessential aloof heartthrob in everyones eyes.

No matter how much people hyped his cold demeanor, he still had two lockers full of love letters.

But to me, Carter was just a normal, doting older brother.

If I cried, he coaxed me; if I caused trouble, he cleaned up the mess.

Others teasingly called him fiercely overprotective of his little sister.

He never denied it.

I always thought I was special to him.

It wasn't until I took a hard fall and busted my lip that I realized the truth.

Without the label of "sister," I was absolutely nothing.

When I realized Carter had stopped coming home altogether, I couldn't pretend nothing had happened anymore.

Because I remembered, and Carter remembered too.

Mom packed a thermos of soup and asked me to drop it off at his company and bring him home.

"Your brother dotes on you the most. He'll definitely listen to you."

I forced a smile, bitterness flooding my mouth.

When I reached the top-floor executive suite, Carter was still working overtime.

Seeing it was me, his face remained expressionless as he shifted his gaze back to his screen.

I placed the thermos on his desk. The moment I opened the lid, the rich aroma of homemade chicken noodle soup filled the room.

"Carter, Mom made this. She wants you to come home and stop working so late."

"Mhm."

I gripped my sleeves tightly and offered a bitter smile.

"Carter, I'm sorry about that night... I hope I didn't freak you out. I drank too much and mistook you for someone else. Please don't take it to heart."

Carter finally shifted his gaze back to me, his dark eyes bottomless and unreadable.

"Mistook me for someone else? I don't think you know another guy named Carter. Emma, you called my name, told me you liked me, and kissed me."

All the color instantly drained from my face.

Carters casual words had basically handed me a death sentence.

I gripped my trembling hands, desperately trying to stay calm.

"Carter, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

He had never called me by my full first name beforenot even when he was scolding me.

So this was what he looked like when he completely stripped away his affection.

"Carter, Mom is really worried about you. Just come home. This is your family, after all."

My voice grew hoarse. "If anyone should leave, it's me. You don't have to hide from me anymore. I'll move out... Just stop hiding."

"Suit yourself," he replied coldly.

I moved out, and stayed away for two whole years.

I didn't return home once during that time; I was even more ruthless than Carter.

Mom called me more than once, crying and saying how much she missed me.

All I felt was a suffocating sense of guilt.

I was a complete and utter bitch.

They treated me like blood, provided me with food and a luxurious life. Without them, I might have died a long time ago.

Yet I was shameless enough to covet their real son.

Even if they wanted me home, what right did I have to show my face there?

When flu season hit, I unfortunately caught the bug.

Just as I swallowed two cold pills, Moms call came through.

Not wanting her to worry about my pale face, I immediately switched the FaceTime to an audio call.

"Sweetie, what are you up to?"

"Just got out of the shower."

"Did you wash your hair? Don't blow-dry it all by yourself, okay? With your brother not around, I worry about you."

I froze, feeling a sudden wave of disorientation.

Living alone for two years, I thought I had forgotten.

Once, while drying my hair at home, I accidentally got a lock caught in the motor of the hairdryer.

Ever since then, no matter how late or tired he was, Carter would always dry my hair for me.

Through my hesitation, I inexplicably sensed that Mom was in a fantastic mood today.

She said, "Sweetie, are you coming home tomorrow? I'll have your brother pick you up."

Before I could answer, she dropped the bombshell.

"Your brother is bringing his girlfriend home tomorrow."

"We're all going to have dinner and officially meet her. Sound good? Mom misses you so much."

It felt like a grenade had gone off right next to my ear.

My senses failed me. It felt like that shrapnel had hit me dead center, tearing me to shreds.

"Emma?"

I cleared my throat, forcing a tone of pleasant surprise. "No need to bother Carter! If hes bringing his girlfriend home, I can just catch an Uber myself."

Unsurprisingly, my fever spiked that night.

Not wanting to face Carter and his girlfriend so soon, I took some fever reducers and dragged my feet until dinner time before finally heading to the Sinclair estate.

The moment the door opened, Mom hugged me and started crying.

"Oh, my sweet girl, how did you lose so much weight?!"

Terrified she would notice my fever, I quickly brushed it off with a few comforting words.

Mom led me to the dining room, and as my gaze shifted, I finally saw Carter and his girlfriend.

According to Mom, the two of them had known each other in college. Reconnecting after starting their careers, they were more mature, and sparks naturally flew.

The woman was elegant and beautiful, a perfect match for Carter.

She was exactly the type I had always imagined he would like.

"Hi Carter. Hi... sister-in-law."

I greeted them warmly, but my choice of words startled her.

Mom laughed, patting my shoulder, and shot a look at the blushing Chloe before playfully scolding me.

"Oh, this kid! Don't mind her, Chloe. Shes just a bit clumsy with her words, but hey, its bound to happen sooner or later... haha."

Chloe quickly waved her hands in embarrassment, while Carter frowned, staring at me with clear displeasure.

How had I managed to piss him off again? It was a title she'd have eventually anyway.

The table was filled with my favorite dishes, but I had absolutely zero appetite.

After dinner, instead of joining them on the couch for small talk, I ran upstairs to pack some things.

My bedroom had a massive walk-in closet where I kept all the birthday gifts I had received over the years.

My twelfth birthday present was a tiara.

The princess aesthetic had been hugely popular back then. Seeing how much I loved it, Carter had one custom-made for me.

He had handed it over so casually, as if hed bought a cheap trinket from a flea market.

It was densely packed with sparkling stones.

For the longest time, I thought they were just rhinestones. I later found out they were real diamonds.

But none of these belonged to me anymore.

They belonged to Carters "little sister."

I grabbed a few items of clothing, threw them in a suitcase, and headed downstairs.

Seeing me dragging a suitcase, Mom grew frantic.

"Sweetie, you can't stay the night?"

"I have some stuff to take care of for grad school."

"Carter! Get Carter to drive you back."

Mom snatched the suitcase from my grip and shoved it into Carters hand.

He and Chloe were standing shoulder-to-shoulder; they were clearly getting ready to leave together.

Why would I third-wheel their romantic drive?

Chloe had her arm linked with Carters, but Carter was now holding my luggage.

No matter how you looked at it, the scene was completely comical.

"It's fine, really! I'll just call an Uber."

"With your brother right here, why on earth would you take an Uber?"

Mom spoke to me gently, then instantly whipped her head around to scold him.

"Carter Sinclair! Is it really that agonizing to drive your sister home? Why do you look so miserable?! Chloe, you need to keep a tight leash on him. If you aren't happy with him, yell at him. If he doesn't fix his attitude, tell me. If he still doesn't change, then dump him! A man like this is useless anyway."

Carter just stood there in silence, getting chewed out.

At his company, he was the charismatic CEO everyone swooned over. At school, he was the untouchable heartthrob. But at home, Mom tore him down to absolute zero.

After taking the scolding, Carter just nodded.

He dragged my suitcase and shot a look at me.

"Let's go."

When the car finally parked outside a run-down, aging apartment complex, Carter couldn't hold back anymore.

"What happened to the luxury condo Mom gave you?"

Even at a moment like this, my stupid brain was thinking: Is this his way of caring about me?

My head was spinning. "My boyfriend lives here, so I don't really have a choice."

Having said my piece, I tried to bolt out of the car like a fugitive.

But Carter was a step faster, instantly locking the doors from the driver's seat.

"Emma, you better explain this to me right now."

His icy tone frightened Chloe, who softly tried to intervene.

"Babe, what are you doing? Don't be so fierce with Emma."

Seeing them acting so affectionate in the front seat made me feel sick to my stomach.

Would Carter treat Chloe the way he used to treat me?

No, they were a couple. He would treat her a hundred times better than he ever treated me.

"Explain what? You can date whoever you want, but I can't?!"

"You didn't tell me, and you didn't tell Mom and Dad."

"Did you announce it to Mom and Dad the second you started dating? I don't need to report every single detail of my life to you."

Something about that sentence must have triggered him. Carter's face darkened completely.

"Say that again."

I was dizzy, my face flushed with fever. I couldn't stop coughing, and as I did, tears streamed down my cheeks.

I didn't understand what Carter wanted from me.

He was the one who cast me aside, and now he was the one getting angry.

"I know... I know you look down on him. You think he's poor and beneath us."

I wiped my tears.

"But I don't have some grand ambition... I just... I just want someone who treats me well, someone who loves me. That's all I need."