[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":10},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-260322A01459-509":3},{"id":4,"number":5,"name":6,"content":7,"isLocked":8,"price":9,"hasRead":8},509,16,"Chapter 16: Why Was Yours Always Sweeter?","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Desmond didn't leave that night.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He probably assumed I was fast asleep when he began to murmur to the dark, his voice low and ragged.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"The truth is, I’ve liked you for a long time. Longer than you ever liked me.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He sighed, a heavy, jagged sound in the silence. \"But then Mom and Dad stepped in, and everything went sour. You know how they are—suffocating.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"They had to control everything. My career, my marriage, my entire life.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"So, from the moment we said 'I do,' I told myself this was just a play. I wanted this marriage—the one they were so proud of—to be rotten to the core. I thought if I ruined it, I’d be the one who won.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"But the biggest mistake I ever made wasn't rebelling against them,\" he whispered, his throat tightening until he could barely speak. \"It was losing you in the crossfire.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Desmond choked on his own words, unable to continue.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I turned over, careful to make the movement look sluggish and unbothered. I kept my back to him. I couldn't let him see the tears tracing lines into my pillow.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He could never be anything more than a brother to me.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">***\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Dr. Duncan and his supervisor finally cleared me for discharge.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Desmond refused to accept it.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I remembered everyone—the nurses, the orderlies, the doctors—but when it came to him, I only had one name.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Brother.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Desmond gripped my hands, his knuckles white, his eyes desperate. \"Is that all, Serenity? Think. Do you remember who I am?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Brother, you’re my brother.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He leaned in, his voice trembling. \"And what else? Think back.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I looked at him and smiled—a distant, vacant thing.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I remember when I was ten. A pack of stray dogs chased me, and I was so terrified I couldn't stop screaming as I scrambled up the stairs. You were there. You pulled me behind you, your hands shaking, but you shielded me until the end.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"And I remember when I had that upset stomach, and I wouldn't touch my medicine. You spent hours over a stove, simmering warm, spiced cider for me. It was tart and sweet—the best thing I’ve ever tasted.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I tilted my head, looking at him with genuine curiosity. \"Brother, I’ve always wanted to ask... why was your cider always better than anyone else's?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">This wasn't the answer he wanted.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The flicker of hope in Desmond’s eyes died instantly.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He managed to keep a tight, practiced smile for me, but when he stepped out to speak with Dr. Duncan, I saw his shoulders slump and his eyes go raw and red.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Dr. Duncan explained it to me later, his tone clinical and detached. \"The human brain is a complex, precise instrument. Sometimes, when a memory is too traumatic, the mind chooses to excise it entirely.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"It could still be temporary,\" Dr. Duncan added, though he didn't sound convinced.\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272916633]