The sixtieth day.
The Fontaine family stock price dropped by twelve percent.
The headline read:
“Fontaine Heir Leaves, Internal Family Conflict Suspected.”
Someone in the comments section dug up the livestream recording from the 18th birthday gala.
The moment Rhys removed the Fontaine family crest brooch and pinned it onto Tahlee was edited into a fifteen-second clip.
Twenty million views.
The trending hashtag was:
“Where Did Fontaine Family’s Rightful Heir Go?”
I didn’t read the comments.
A classmate sent them to me.
“Is this your family?”
“It used to be.”
“Then why are you eating cafeteria food here?”
I took another bite of mashed potatoes.
“It’s good here too.”
On the sixty-third day, Rhys flew to Paris.
He found the academy entrance and waited at a cafe across the street for three hours.
When I walked out after class, I saw him right away.
He had lost weight.
Dark circles shadowed his eyes.
The heart-rate monitor was still strapped to his wrist.
When he saw me, he stood up.
His lips moved slightly.
But the first thing he said was:
“You lost weight.”
“So did you.”
He walked toward me.
“Come back home.”
“No.”
“Sloane…”
“You flew twelve hours…”
“Just to tell me that?”
He froze.
A few seconds later, he took a box out of his bag.
He opened it.
Inside was Grandma’s pearl tiara.
“I got it back from Tahlee.”
I looked at the tiara.
The pearls still shone.
But I didn’t want it anymore.
“Keep it.”
“Grandma gave this to you.”
“When Grandma gave it to me, I was seven.”
I looked at him.
“Back then, you still helped me reach the storybooks on the top shelf.”
His expression changed.
“And then?”
I continued.
“Then Tahlee came.”
“You stopped even knocking before you came into my room.”
“You only pushed my door open because you wanted to take my things away for her.”
Rhys tightened his grip around the box.
“I thought you never cared.”
“You never fought back.”
“I thought you really didn’t mind.”
“I didn’t fight because it was pointless.”
“You always chose her.”
Rhys stood in front of me, fists clenched.
“What if I told you it would never happen again?”
“Then what happens to Tahlee?”
He didn’t answer.
I let out a quiet laugh.
“Well…”
“You can’t even do that now.”
“So why should I believe things will be different later?”
He lowered his head.
The heart rate monitor on his wrist flashed once.
Green.
Tahlee’s heart rate was normal.
I looked at the device.
“When you take it off…”
“Then come find me.”
I turned around.
I didn’t look back.