Part 3he Second Chance—Saving Myself by Calling Her Childhood Crush

I shot her a cold glance and didn't feel like saying much.

But Elena stormed over and snatched the mouse out of my hand right away.

She moved in close, scrutinizing my face. "Why are you being such a cold fish? Is it because I brought Aidan to the company that you're all bent out of shape?"

I quickly shook my head to clear things up. "No, I'm really chuffed for you. It's just that I'm swamped with work and have to get it done ASAP."

Elena still looked mad as hell and clearly didn't buy my story.

She let out a scoff. "Really happy for me? Yeah, right! Bruce, don't tell me you still have some wacky ideas about me. That night after high school graduation, you pulled out a love letter and tried to confess your love. After I turned you down, you ran outside blubbering and got plastered.

"Over the years, you've been snooping around, keeping tabs on my likes and dislikes. Every time I said I was into something, you'd go and learn all about it, then act like it was no biggie in front of me. But it was as plain as day in everything you did. Even my friends knew you had a thing for me.

"I'm warning you, don't have any crazy pipe dreams. I'll never fall for you. Stop making a fool of yourself."

As she ranted, she marched over to my desk drawer and yanked it open. It was crammed full of stuff I'd collected about her over the years.

Elena grabbed a handful and chucked it in my face, laughing derisively. "Bruce, if it weren't for the sorry sight of you bawling your eyes out in the orphanage back then, I wouldn't have had a soft spot and decided to take you in. But instead of being grateful, you've got these pervy thoughts about your foster sister!

"You know I'll only ever love Aidan. Yet you've been keeping all these records. You're like a total creep, and it makes my skin crawl!"

She glared at me with pure venom in her eyes.

"I came here today to set the record straight. I got drunk last night. When you came to see me, it was obvious you were getting ideas. Thank God you still had some sense and called Aidan over. Otherwise, I'd have had you locked up for attempted rape and made sure you paid the price."

My heart twisted in pain. But whether it was in my past life or last night, she'd called out my name in her stupor.

I guessed she'd been confused.

Even though I'd already decided to let her go for good, her harsh words still hit me like a ton of bricks.

Seeing me keep quiet, Elena gave my leg a good hard kick.

"Stay away from me and Aidan from now on. If you cause any hassle for him, you'll be sorry."

With that, Elena flounced out of the room.

I sat there in silence for a moment, then opened my email. There was an invitation from my overseas tutor. This time, I didn't hesitate and clicked to accept.

I spent the entire afternoon getting my overseas travel essentials in order and answering emails. By the time I finally wrapped things up, it was already the wee hours of the night.

As I stepped out of the company building, I was floored to find that my car, which I'd parked there earlier, had vanished into thin air.

Just as I was about to dial the cops, Aidan shot me a message: [Bruce, I noticed you hadn't come back yet. Thought I'd let you know it's been freezing cold these days. Elena was worried I'd catch a chill on my way home at night, so she lent me your car. You'd better take a cab back.]

Then he sent a pic of himself grinning from ear to ear, holding the car keys.

[Hey, it's your sister's ride after all. She can do whatever she wants with it, right? I'm sure you won't kick up a fuss.]

This car was a gift from Elena when I broke my leg last time. She wanted to make it easier for me to get around town.

Back then, she said she couldn't stand seeing me in pain. Elena knew darn well that being so nice to me would make a guy like me, who'd been starved of love since childhood, grow attached to her. But she still went ahead and did it.

Now, Elena was mocking me, calling me pushy. And she didn't even have the decency to give me a heads-up before snatching the car away, all because she felt sorry for Aidan.

I let out a bitter laugh and hailed a taxi home.

When Elena heard me unlock the door, she sauntered out of the bedroom and gave me a casual once-over.

"Aidan's still not fully over his cold. I was worried it might come back, so I told him to drive the car home. Besides, your leg's all healed up. A little exercise never hurt anybody."

I just nodded and kept my mouth shut.

But all of a sudden, Elena got her back up.

"Bruce, what's with the sudden silence? Don't tell me you're up to something shady. You've been acting fishy all day. Usually, you throw a fit when someone touches your stuff. How come you're being so laid-back now?

"I'm warning you, whatever scheme you've cooked up, ditch it right now. If Aidan tells me you've pulled something, I'll make sure you live to regret it."

As I made my way to my bedroom, I retorted, "I'm not thinking about anything. I just wanna live my own life and stay out of other people's business.

"Besides, Elena, didn't you always whine about me bugging you? You should be happy I'm like this now."

Elena was caught off-guard by my words. She huffed and clapped her hands. "Fine, Bruce. Just like you!"

Then she spun around and stormed back into the bedroom, slamming the door shut with a deafening bang.

In the old days, whenever she did that, I knew she was steaming mad.

But now, I couldn't care less about cheering her up. After all, Elena was just my foster sister in name. Since she had her own boyfriend, it was his job to calm her down.