An Ode to Freedom

My expression was unchanged. "You've got it all wrong, Flora. I'm perfectly happy with your pick for my future brother-in-law."

When Flora heard the words "brother-in-law", her eyebrow twitched.

She was about to say something else when Sean tugged her sleeve. "Vincent and I had some misunderstanding before this, so it's normal for him to be a little cold toward me. We'll get along eventually."

Flora shot me a look when she heard that, her tone pointed. "He'd better! If he's unhappy with you, I'll stop calling him my brother, too."

Jack quickly stopped her and said, "Stop saying such nonsense..."

Finally, my appetite was gone as I put down my fork and knife.

In my previous life, I had been physically abused, and I had been starved to the point of becoming a bag of bones. Now that I finally had a warm meal in front of me, I could not help but eat a little more. If I had known this would happen, I would have gone to the company with my mother earlier.

"I'm full. Enjoy," I said.

I did not bother getting involved with Flora as I stood and walked away.

Half an hour later, I was about to head to my mother's company when the car door suddenly opened again. Flora leaned down and squeezed into the back seat, her eyes dark. "You're getting a little too daring, Vincent. You won't even listen to me anymore."

She held my wrist with a mocking smile on her lips. "You have always followed after me all the time and won't stop talking. Why didn't you say a single word at the table just now? What, are you jealous?"

Her scent and the heat of her skin dragged my mind back to that dark little room in my last life, where I could only cry and struggle under the abuse until I finally went numb.

I shook her off and forced down the upset feeling in my stomach.

After a pause, I calmly said. "You've got it all wrong. You and Sean are perfect for each other."

Flora let out a cold snort.

She lifted my sleeve, exposing the scar on my wrist. "Is that so? Funny. I remember you reading the love letter I wrote to Sean, then stumbling down the stairs in a daze and leaving this scar. I know your secret, Vincent. You're in love with me."

Hearing that, I was a little dazed.

She was right. I had been in love with her.

When Jack married my mother, I was still a boy, and the company had just started. My mother was obsessed with expanding the business, and Jack had been busy with the social events. Flora had practically raised me.

At first, she had had no patience with me. "Crying again? All you do is cry! Are you really a boy?"

But she was the one who remembered everything, like the limited-edition models in my drawers, the new game consoles, and the birthday surprises.

She had said, "No matter what, you're still my little brother. You need to have all the fun and delicious things that the other kids have!"

And then, I had reached my teenage years. I grew sensitive, and my heart started to stir, but Flora still took me with her.

Her friends would tease her and say, "You're taking Vincent with you everywhere and treating him so nicely… Are you raising your future husband?"

Flora would lightly punch them. "Get lost. He's my brother!"

But when a girl in my class gave me a love letter, Flora tore it to shreds right in front of me, then called the girl out and gave her a cold warning. She then declared, "Vincent is mine forever. No one else is allowed to even think about him!"

A teenage boy's feelings took root like a seed, growing quietly into a towering tree.

How could I not fall for her?

Yet in my previous life, that secret love had brought me nothing but suffering.

Only then did I understand that Flora was never a good match for me.

Seeing that I did not argue back, Flora's expression turned even more certain. She let go of me and spoke in a righteous tone, "Give it up, Vincent. I only see you as a brother. If something had truly happened between us yesterday… Well, I would have taken responsibility, but I would never fall in love with you. All I would feel is disgust!"