Chapter 5

Skylar's POV

The day of my discharge, nobody came to pick me up.

I took a cab back to the Sterling residence by myself, clutching a bag of prescribed medication. The very first thing I did when I got upstairs was purge my room.

Anything remotely connected to Shawn, I dug it all out: the candid photos of him playing high school basketball, which I had carefully clipped from the school paper; a handful of movie stubs from films I had dreamed of watching with him once his sight returned.

Everything went straight into a large black trash bag.

I had hidden those slips of paper in the deepest corner of my closet for four whole years, fiercely guarding them from anyone's touch.

I had kept them only for the day he would finally recognize me, so I could show him the memories we shared.

I hauled the heavy bag out to the curb and dumped it straight into the garbage can.

The only thing I kept was the little hairpin. It was the last gift my grandmother gave me before she passed, and the only physical keepsake left from those six months in the ward.

Just as I straightened my back, a luxury car pulled up to the gate.

Chloe stepped out, her arm intimately looped through Shawn’s as they chatted and laughed their way up the driveway.

Chloe’s sharp eyes caught sight of the photo peeking out from the top of the trash bag—a profile shot of Shawn.

She leaned in close to Shawn’s ear, speaking just loudly enough for me to hear from the porch: "Look, Shawn... Skylar must have really given up this time. She even threw away your pictures."

Shawn glanced dismissively at the bin. "She should have given up a long time ago."

In the past, a single cold remark from him would have brought me to tears.

This time, standing on the steps, the words washed over me with quiet clarity: *He's right. I should have given up a long time ago.*

I dusted off my hands, turned around, walked upstairs, and shut my bedroom door.

The next day marked our joint birthday.

Naturally, the Sterling family threw a lavish celebration solely for their younger daughter. The banquet took over the grandest ballroom at Southern Heights, filled to the brim with high-society elites.

I was placed at an isolated table in the farthest, darkest corner of the hall.

I ate quietly. Since I was already here, there was no reason to leave on an empty stomach.

Muffled whispers from nearby tables drifted into my ears like venomous darts.

"Look at Skylar. How does she even have the nerve to show her face? Trying to seduce her own sister’s fiancé... completely shameless."

"Mr. Crawford adores Chloe. He bought her a luxury villa, custom diamonds, you name it. And Skylar still tried to claw her way in."

"I heard that just a few days ago, she pushed Chloe down a flight of concrete stairs..."

I swallowed another bite of food.

Up on the brightly lit stage, Robert, Margaret, and Shawn gathered closely around Chloe, singing "Happy Birthday" beside a towering, multi-tiered confection.

Chloe wore a delicate tiara, leaning happily against Shawn's chest.

Watching the flickering candles, my mind wandered back to that one birthday in the hospital.

Shawn was still blind and bandaged. I had sneaked into the hospital staff kitchen to whip up a bowl of creamy mushroom pasta for him.

He fumbled with his fork, sharing that simple bowl of pasta with me bite by bite. "When I get better, I'll buy you the biggest cake in the city. I'll make up for every single birthday you ever missed."

That was the first time in my entire life anyone had ever celebrated my birthday.

In over twenty years, that was the only celebration I ever had.

And today, nobody in this room remembered it was my birthday, too.

As the song ended, Robert took the microphone. "Today is the birthday of my beloved younger daughter, Chloe. Taking advantage of this wonderful occasion, I’d like to officially announce that all assets and business operations of the Sterling family will be passed entirely to Chloe. She has always been the pride of this family, and I couldn't be more confident placing our legacy in her capable hands."

The ballroom erupted in thundering applause.

Not a single soul mentioned that the Sterling family had an elder daughter, or that today was my birthday as well.

Shawn stepped forward, holding a velvet jewelry box and a champagne-gold key. Inside the box rested a massive diamond ring.

He gazed down at Chloe. "Chloe, will you marry me?"

Chloe covered her mouth as tears spilled over her cheeks, nodding furiously.

Amidst the roaring cheers, I quietly calculated the timeline: *I’ll be boarding my flight before the wedding ever takes place.*

I set my fork down and prepared to slip away unnoticed.

Just as I stood up, Chloe's voice echoed through the microphone: "Skylar, don't rush off! Today is my birthday, and you haven't shown everyone the gift you brought for me yet."

Every pair of eyes in the ballroom pivoted toward me.

I paused for two seconds, pulled a small gift box from my purse, and walked up the stage stairs to hand it over. It was a silk scarf I had picked up while passing through a department store yesterday.

Just as Chloe reached out to take it, Shawn's gaze locked onto the hairpin in my hair.

It was crafted from silver, adorned with a tiny, delicate mustard blossom at its tip.

Back in that dark hospital room, when he was completely blind, that was the very hairpin his fingers had traced every single day.

He closed the distance between us in two strides, his fingers clamping down on my forearm with bruising force.

I froze.

Chloe’s hand froze mid-air.

Shawn stared intently at the tiny blossom, his Adam's apple bobbing. He slowly opened his mouth. "That hairpin..."

He had touched that little flower for six months. Of course he recognized it.

Yet the person who had worn it while sitting faithfully by his bedside remained an invisible ghost to him.