Part 2Fate Let You Go

We were stopped at a red light when Joshua finally broke the silence.

“Lils, what’s wrong? You’ve been quiet ever since we left the restaurant.”

I forced a smile, trying to change the subject. “Joshua… I think I want to come home.”

He slammed on the brakes, his face lighting up with pure joy. “You finally want to come home? Seriously? That’s fantastic! I’m telling Mom and Dad right now. I’ll have Maria redecorate your room, anything you want. Just tell me what you’re thinking, and I’ll make it happen.”

As he started driving again, he continued to ramble. “So, when do you want to move back? Today? Is that too soon? Would it be a hassle for everyone?”

I looked at him, suddenly anxious.

He reached over and affectionately ruffled my hair. “Silly girl, what are you talking about? It’s never a hassle when family comes home. Don’t you worry about a thing. Hey, should we let Chad know?”

I shook my head softly. “No, let’s not. It’s a small thing, no need to bother him. I wouldn't want Chloe to get the wrong idea.”

Joshua nodded, then launched into a detailed plan for redecorating my room. I turned my head to the window, quickly wiping a tear from the corner of my eye.

The trees outside blurred into a green streak. It was on a day just like this that I first went to live with the Peis.

When I was three, an old beggar came to our door. After my mother gave him a meal, he looked at me with an unnervingly serious gaze and told her, “If you want this child to see her eighteenth birthday, she must be raised far away from you. Otherwise, she is fated to perish before she turns ten.”

My parents dismissed it as nonsense at first. But after my third birthday, I started getting sick. Constantly. The worst time, the hospital issued a critical condition notice. In a moment of panic, my brother reminded my parents of the old man’s words. After much debate, they decided it was better to be safe than sorry.

So, they sent me to live with close family friends in the next city over.

The Pei family. Chad’s family.

I had lived in their home for fifteen years.

By the time the car pulled up to the Pei’s villa in the hills, the tear tracks on my face had dried, and my brother was none the wiser.

I jumped out of the car, feigning cheerfulness. “Hey, Joshua, just give me a minute. I’ll grab my stuff. I’ll be quick.”

The garden in front of the villa was in chaos. Workers were bustling about, digging and planting.

Seeing me, the Pei’s housekeeper looked flustered. “…Miss Shen. Why are you back so early?”

I was confused at first, until I saw it: all of my luggage, haphazardly piled outside the door to the storage room.

The housekeeper rushed to explain. “Young Master Pei said to move you to the east wing room. It’s just… it hasn’t been prepared yet, so we had to put your things here for now. Please, have a seat. I’ll get the staff to speed things up.”

A heart I thought couldn’t break any further was brutally gouged once more.

I managed a bitter smile. “It’s fine.” It wasn’t their fault.

I bent down and began picking up my things, carefully placing my important documents back into my suitcase. The noise from the garden was a constant hum. I couldn’t stop myself from asking.

“Why all the sudden landscaping?”

The housekeeper answered respectfully. “The young master said there will be a happy occasion in the family soon. The future Mrs. Pei loves lilies of the valley. So we have to clear out the… unimportant plants to make room for them. He had them flown in from overseas yesterday. They’ll be here this afternoon. They’re very precious.”

My mind went blank.

I loved tulips. I’d mentioned it to Chad several times, how I dreamed of having a field of them in the garden. He’d either frown and say it was too much trouble, or just wave me off and tell me to ask the housekeeper. As a guest in their home, I never felt comfortable making such a frivolous request.

But lilies of the valley… they were a hundred times more delicate and difficult to care for than tulips.

So, it was never about it being too much trouble.

It was about who he was willing to be troubled for.

At the very bottom of the pile was a box of things related to Chad. The 9,999 paper cranes he’d folded for me. Our first photo together, both of us careful not to stand too close, terrified his parents might see something. A piece of coral he’d brought back from his first deep-sea dive when he was eighteen. He’d said he hoped we would share many firsts together, that he only wanted to experience the wonders of the world with me.

Flashbacks from last night flooded my mind—his arms around me, his voice coaxing me into one more time. It was more nauseating than any soap opera. I had laid in his arms and asked when he would tell our parents about us.

He’d said, “Soon.”

And soon turned out to be today, a dinner with his girlfriend.

Tears fell again.

The housekeeper asked gently, “Miss Shen, are you alright? The room in the east wing has the same layout, it gets plenty of sun. It just hasn’t been used in a while, so it’s a bit dusty. If there’s anything you’re not happy with, please just say the word. Otherwise, the young master will be upset with us when he returns.”

I shook my head. “There’s no need. I’m going to stay at my family’s home for a few days.”

She breathed a visible sigh of relief.

I picked up my suitcase and pointed to the box of memories.

“Please, throw all of this away for me.”

The housekeeper looked stunned, but she eventually just nodded.

Fifteen years with the Peis. Today, it was finally over.

My brother was slouched in the driver's seat, playing on his phone. When he saw me emerge, he leaped out to help with my suitcase.

“You sure you don’t want to stay a few more days?” he asked.

I glanced back at the villa, just a few yards away, and gave a bitter laugh.

“No. I’m done.”