Chapter 3

The doorbell suddenly rang.

I placed the plates on the drying rack, wiped the corner of my eye, and walked over.

"Hello. Your documents. Please sign here."

It was my diploma.

My heart suddenly felt lighter.

It meant I could finally leave.

"What arrived?"

My brother's voice came from behind me.

He was holding a cup of black coffee, one hand tucked into the pocket of his suit pants, watching the faint smile on my lips.

"My diploma."

He made a small sound of acknowledgment and turned to leave, then seemed to remember something.

"What gift do you want? I promised I'd give you a graduation present."

I froze for a second.

I had not expected him to remember.

But I had never dared hope for anything.

After thinking for a few seconds, I looked up at him.

"Come with me tomorrow to get a vaccine."

For the South America assignment, the company required us to be vaccinated in case anything happened.

"That's it?"

He sounded surprised.

I nodded.

"That's it."

He nodded casually and agreed.

The next afternoon, after packing my bag, I stood by the door waiting for him.

But when my brother came out, there was some helplessness on his face.

"Sofia wants to buy a few dresses for Sicily. I'll take her to Fifth Avenue first, then come back and go with you."

"But the appointment time is fixed."

"Then reschedule it. Sofia is in a hurry. She's leaving tomorrow."

My open mouth closed.

When Sofia saw that I was silent, her eyes instantly reddened. She clutched the hem of her dress and said slowly, "Then maybe I won't buy anything. Vince, you should go with Elena."

My brother refused without hesitation.

"Don't say things like that. If you're going on vacation, of course you should dress nicely."

After saying that, he seemed to feel his bias was too obvious, so he threw the decision to me.

"Elena, what do you think?"

I looked up at his face.

He was waiting with a kind of pressure.

I suddenly felt exhausted.

They looked as if they were waiting for me to decide.

But all of us knew the decision had never been mine.

I was silent for a few seconds, then smiled lightly.

"Go ahead."

My brother let out a breath of relief.

Sofia ran over and kissed my cheek.

"Thank you, Elena."

"You're welcome."

I went to get the vaccine alone.

After it was done, I booked a ticket for New York the next day.

When I returned home, Sofia was showing my parents everything she had bought.

At the end, she pulled out clothes she had bought for them.

My mother praised her warmly, but the moment she saw me from the corner of her eye, the smile disappeared.

"Elena, I'm not trying to criticize you, but look how thoughtful your sister is. She bought gifts for both your father and me. You never think of us."

"Where would I get the money?"

Sofia could buy them gifts because before they left, my mother had given her two thousand dollars.

She was making an offering with someone else's money. My mother knew that perfectly well, yet she still used it as a knife against me.

"What do you mean? Are you blaming me for not giving you money? How old are you? Why are you still competing with your sister?"

My mother clearly had not expected me to talk back. After freezing for a second, she fired off questions in anger.

"I'm twenty-four. One year older than her."

"Enough!"

My father snapped at me.

"You're grown up. Why are you still arguing with your mother?"

My brother also looked at me with complicated eyes.

"Elena, why has your temper been getting worse lately?"

With people supporting her, my mother's eyes immediately reddened. She turned and went into the bedroom, looking hurt.