After the True Heiress Returned

: An Awkward Drive

3

The number one rule of childhood sweethearts is living close by.

But today, I was reminded of the downsides.

Like how I can run right into my parents the moment I step outside.

"Aria, heading to work? Hop in, we'll give you a ride."

I glanced at my parents, dressed in their business attire, and suddenly remembered they had an important meeting today.

"That's alright, I can go on my own."

Zane Donovan had offered to let me take his car, but I'd turned him down.

My parents didn't say much when they found out I was staying at Zane Donovan's place. They just said they'd have me move back home after Charlotte Sterling had settled in.

"Alright, I'll give you a ride."

Just then, my brother, Ronan Sterling, sauntered out of the house. He was dangling his car keys in one hand, his tie not even done up.

"Let's go. It's not every day I get the honor of chauffeuring The Young Miss to work."

Ronan Sterling was bantering with me like he always did. I was just about to get into the car when I suddenly saw Charlotte Sterling standing by the front door.

"Brother, are you heading to work? Could you drop me off at the City Center? I need to buy a few things."

"Sure, hop in."

My brother got in the car right away. I instinctively moved toward the front passenger seat, but after a moment's hesitation, I opened the back door and got in.

"Why don't you take the front seat, Sister? That way you can talk to Brother."

With one hand on the passenger door, Charlotte Sterling looked at me cautiously.

"Alright, why don't you two just sit in the back and chat? I'll just play chauffeur for you both."

I have to admit, after years of being a playboy, Ronan Sterling might not have many other skills, but he was a master at keeping the peace.

The car was completely silent. On any other day, Ronan Sterling and I would have been talking the whole way.

Ronan Sterling must have felt the awkwardness too, because he quietly turned on the car's Bluetooth.

A song began to play.

"What more do you want from me, what more..."

The atmosphere grew even more awkward.

Ronan Sterling muttered a curse under his breath and shut off the Bluetooth.

Our eyes met in the rearview mirror.

"Haha, I actually really like this singer."

It did nothing to warm up the atmosphere.

Amid the bizarre silence, Charlotte Sterling spoke up.

"Sister, do you want to go and see Mom and Dad?"

I knew she was talking about my biological parents.

"Are they... doing well now?"

"They died a long time ago, back when I was eighteen. I grew up on my own after that, with no other relatives around. I was just asking if you wanted to go pay your respects."

A wave of complex emotions washed over me at the news.

It meant that the only people in the world I was related to by blood were gone.

At the same time, I felt a pang of guilt toward Charlotte Sterling.

While I had entered adulthood at eighteen surrounded by my family's blessings, Charlotte Sterling had shouldered the burden of her parents' funerals all alone.

'I'm so sorry.'

'You were supposed to have a wonderful, brilliant life.'

"You should definitely go. It's a chance to see the environment you grew up in, right, Charlotte? And Aria can pay her respects, too. When the time comes, I'll drive you both. It's not safe for two girls to go back on your own."

Ronan Sterling had it all planned out in an instant. But Charlotte Sterling, who had been staring at the floor, suddenly snapped her head up.

"I have to go back, too?"