Chapter 3

Tears hit my phone without warning.

I bit my hand hard, terrified of sobbing out loud.

Memories flooded back.

Sarah and I grew up together in the orphanage since we were little.

I was quiet and reserved, while she was sunny and bright.

Yet, two people so completely different became best friends.

When the older kids at the orphanage bullied and ostracized me, Sarah would stay by my side and tell me stories from "The Little Prince".

"Don't be sad, I'll stay with you."

When others put mud in our food, Sarah would share her lunch with me and report them to the director just to get even.

"They're all jerks. One day, I’ll shred their bedsheets!"

When the only toy my mother left me—a little panda—was secretly torn apart by some boys, Sarah used her own pocket money to buy me a new one.

"Here, a new one for you. Exactly the same."

After being abandoned by my parents, Sarah was my only family.

So, the day I was adopted, I knelt before the director and my foster parents, begging desperately:

"Sarah and I are like sisters. If she’s not going, I’m not going either."

The director was in a tough spot.

Even though Sarah had a personality that was more likable than anyone else there, fate was cruel.

Sarah just happened to be the daughter of a murderer.

Couples who came to the orphanage would always spot her first, but after seeing her file, they’d shake their heads helplessly.

Then, they’d adopt a child whose personality was ten times worse.

At night, I’d hold Sarah, wiping away her silent tears.

I’d kiss her cheek and promise:

"It’s their bad taste. But I will always, always stay with you."

"Pinky swear, and it won't change for a hundred years."

So even though my foster parents' family situation was very good, and I could have easily changed my fate, I would never abandon Sarah.

But why, now, did she choose to hurt me like this?

"Ding."

A new post appeared a second later.

I was pulled back to reality and frantically clicked it.

My mind went blank, and my heart plummeted.

【Traveling with my baby is the only ray of light in my desolate life.】

In the photo, those two pairs of hands—which I had touched, held, and linked with—were clasped tightly together.

I stared at the 1,023 sweet travel photos on Ethan’s page.

Rippling green mountains and clear waters.

Silent, desolate deserts and high mountains.

White walls, black tiles, and the Cangshan Mountains and Erhai Lake.

...

Those were all places Ethan had never taken me.

My heart was pierced, bleeding profusely.

The perfect world I had built for myself came crashing down.

I booked a plane ticket immediately, ignoring the doctor's advice, and headed for the snowy mountains.