Chapter 1

My Ex-Employers Can Go to Hell

It was my fifth year as a personal caregiver for the Harrison brothers.

Julian’s paralyzed legs were strong enough to carry him again, and Leo, who’d been blind, could finally see.

Just when I thought I’d finally warmed these two brothers' hearts, and everything was about to get better, after five years of silence, Chloe Hayes came back.

It was to stop her from leaving the country that Julian and Leo had engaged in a reckless high-speed chase on the highway that ended in a horrific crash, leaving them both critically injured.

That day, I finally understood.

I wanted to see the Switzerland my mother had longed for before she died.

...

"Shameless! A mere caregiver, completely forgetting her place. Did she really think a few years of looking after the Harrison brothers would suddenly change who she is?"

"Now she's a joke! The moment news broke of the Hayes heiress's return, they dumped her flat and left her for us to laugh at."

"If I were her, I'd just throw myself in front of a bus. No matter how she dressed up, that desperate, cheap vibe just reeked off her."

I was enveloped by their scornful, mocking stares, every word a jab at my self-delusion.

Yes, I had indeed misunderstood.

Yesterday, they had eagerly pulled me along, picking out dresses and accessories.

Tomorrow, the Harrison family was hosting a grand banquet for them.

And I, the great benefactor who helped them recover, was to be publicly thanked.

When Leo said it, his eyes shone with an undeniable joy.

But when his gaze met mine, he shifted it away awkwardly, as if hiding a secret.

After we finally finished trying on clothes, Julian was called away by a phone call.

Leo eagerly led me to his room. He pressed his lips together, his eyelashes trembling slightly with nervousness.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to say something very important at the banquet. Really, really important. So you have to listen carefully."

"This year, I want to watch the snow with you."

In that moment, I remembered the winter when Leo's blindness hadn't yet healed.

I stood with Leo by the door, feeling the soft crunch of snowflakes falling around us.

We'd only been out for a little while when Leo fumbled, trying to go back inside.

But he slipped on the icy ground, falling in a messy, furious heap.

He blindly scooped up a handful of snow and flung it in my direction, his voice raw with fury.

"Are you deliberately trying to make fun of me? You know I'm blind and can't see, but you brought me out to watch the snow. Are you trying to humiliate me?"

"Seeing me like this, are you satisfied?"

I sighed, standing still, letting him vent his emotions.

Then I knelt down and shaped a small snowman, placing it in his palm.

"Some things, you only truly realize you've memorized when you can't see them."

"Feel it carefully. Can you remember what snow looks like now?"

Only when the snowman was about to melt did I take out a clean, soft handkerchief and carefully wipe the melted snow from his hands.

Afterward, I heard Leo say, confused:

"Only when I can't see do I realize what I've memorized?

"But why is it only your face that appears in my mind right now?"

In that moment, surrounded by the vast expanse of snow, I said nothing.

But I clearly heard the sudden acceleration of my heartbeat in my chest, answering him.

After returning from the banquet, I changed out of my elaborate dress.

I went back to my small room and skillfully pulled out a somewhat worn notebook from a drawer.

I flipped through the pages, one by one, until my eyes blurred, and warm tears streamed down my face, dripping onto the paper.

It was as if I was crying out all the grievances I'd endured over these past few years.

I remembered my mother's frail, drawn face in her final days, whispering weakly from her hospital bed:

"Skylar, my two biggest regrets in life were not being able to give you a better life and not being able to visit Switzerland myself."

"If you ever get the chance, go see it for me, won't you? How beautiful it truly is, the place that kept him from ever coming back to see me."

I don't know how long passed before I closed the notebook and put it back in the drawer.

From inside, I pulled out another document.

It was the employment contract I had signed to care for Julian and Leo.

The contract was for five years, and now, only seven days remained until it ended.

So, I’ll use these seven days to say a proper goodbye.

It's time for all of this to come to an end.