Chapter 59

Elise had done well on the exam. Her fever hadn’t made her lose focus, but a few mistakes still bothered her.

On the drive home, she kept turning them over in her mind, running through the calculations again until she understood how to handle that kind of problem next time.

She was still thinking about it when she walked in. Only then did she look up and notice the living room.

Julian, Adrian, and Miles were scattered across the wide sofas. Julian and Adrian wore nearly identical expressions of stunned confusion, as if something had drained all the life from them. Miles had it worse. He lay face-down, limbs limp, a human-shaped puddle on the cushions.

No one spoke. Even the housemaids had sensed that something was off; they crossed the room lightly, careful not to make a sound.

Elise had noticed that Miles hadn’t asked to ride home with her today, but she’d assumed he had other plans. Now she wondered if he was in a bad mood.

She walked over. “Julian, Adrian, Miles. What happened?”

Her voice brought Julian back to himself. Looking back, he could see the signs. Their tutor, Mr. Collins, had abruptly changed his tune and started praising Elise. At first, Julian had assumed it was because they’d increased the tutor’s fee. Now he understood.

His sister really was brilliant.

It was another way this life differed from the last. So much had changed. His younger brothers had changed their attitudes toward Elise too, just as he had. Had his return caused some kind of butterfly effect? Or had his siblings come back as well?

He pushed the strange thought away and stood. Resting a hand gently on Elise’s hair, he ruffled it with a warmth he rarely showed so openly.

“Congratulations, Ellie. You did great. I’m proud of you.”

Elise blinked, then guessed that Ms. Parker must have told her brothers about the exam. She smiled. “Thank you, Julian.”

Julian glanced toward Daniel. The butler understood and stepped out of the living room. A moment later, he returned carrying a wooden jewelry case.

The gift still mattered. If it couldn’t comfort Elise, it could celebrate her high score instead.

Daniel opened the case. Gemstones of several colors rested in neat rows on the luxurious lining, catching the light: rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and more.

“These stones are exceptionally rare,” Daniel explained. “They’re highly sought after by collectors.”

Rare, then. Expensive, too.

Elise started to object, but Julian spoke before she could finish.

“I know what you’re going to say,” Julian said with a smile. “They weren’t bought. They’re something Mom left for you.”

“Really?”

He nodded.

Elise relaxed. The case no longer looked like an extravagant purchase she ought to refuse. It was something her mother had left her.

Her room had already been transformed, filled with gifts from Julian, Adrian, and Miles. With this case added to the collection, she began to wonder whether she ought to replace her bedroom lock with a sturdier one. What if someone broke in?

At that, Adrian finally came back to life. He rolled his eyes at Julian.

You win this round.

If Julian was giving Elise a present, Adrian couldn’t be outdone. He went to his room and returned with the album he’d prepared for her.

Elise held it in both hands, feeling more than one thing at once. Adrian had written a song for her, which was touching. But he really hadn’t needed to write one, had he?

Adrian was watching her with an unmistakable, hopeful expectation of praise.

“Thank you, Adrian. I love it.”

“And?”

Elise paused. She looked at the album cover, where Adrian’s face practically announced, I’m the most handsome man in the world.

“You’re… very handsome.”

That satisfied him completely.

He’d misunderstood his sister before. Now that he knew she was a top student, he could be happy for her. Proud of her, even. The praise he’d been composing in his head could circle the globe by now.

He couldn’t keep it to himself. He pulled out his phone and started typing. A sister this remarkable had to be celebrated. She was a genius! So much smarter than he was. The thought made him want to cry.

Adrian disappeared into his own little world. Elise quietly took a couple of steps back and looked at Miles, who was still sprawled on the sofa like a boneless creature.

She bent toward him, concern in her voice. “Miles, are you okay? Do you feel sick?”

His eyes shifted toward her and stopped on her face. Then he sat bolt upright.

His sister was worried about him. He was alive again.

“I’m fine,” he said, scratching his head. “It’s just…”

He couldn’t be in the same class as Elise. If some punk tried to get close to her at school, he wouldn’t be there to knock sense into him right away.

Elise noticed the test paper in his hand and gently pulled it free. When she saw the score, she gasped. “Miles, that’s amazing! You passed!”

Her delight was so sincere, and so emphatic, that it pulled him out of his gloom. Miles suddenly looked bashful.

“Yeah, no big deal,” he said. “It’s not as impressive as you’re making it sound. Ha.”

Elise truly was surprised. Given how little time he’d spent building his English skills, a passing grade was beyond what she’d expected.

He’d worked hard. She wanted him to know it mattered.

“This is a big deal. You didn’t have much of a foundation before, and you got a passing score in such a short time. That means you’re smart, Miles. You’ve got a real talent for learning.”

His eyes lit up. “Really? I have talent? You mean I’m smart?”

Elise nodded firmly. “Yes. Keep working at it, and you can get into a great college.”

Miles couldn’t fend off one compliment after another. He lowered his head, smiling stupidly, too shy to answer.

Daniel watched. He’d just seen Miles go from a soulless puddle to a grinning boy, all because Elise had praised him a little.

Was there an invisible tail wagging behind him?

He looked exactly like a husky being praised by its owner.

Before dinner, Julian wanted a little more time with Elise. He thought for a moment, then asked, “The long break in October is coming up. Have you decided where you want to go?”

Only a few days remained before the holiday. At school that afternoon, Nora had talked about it nonstop. She and Jade had grown closer lately, and the two of them had pulled Elise into a group chat to discuss their plans for hours.

Elise already had an idea. With exams over, she wanted to relax for a while.

“Could we go to the Lakeview house like we talked about? I’d like to take Jade and Nora.”

The Lakeview estate sat among the mountains, surrounded by beautiful scenery. A stream and green slopes lay beyond the windows, and the house had plenty of entertainment. It was one of the few places in the area that hadn’t been developed, a spot people called a little piece of paradise. Some wealthy families built houses there for a quiet retreat.

Elise didn’t want to travel far. A long trip would eat up the time, and she wanted to keep the getaway inexpensive. Staying at a family property was the cheapest option.

“You don’t need to borrow it,” Julian said. “What’s mine is yours. I’ll have Daniel make the arrangements.”

Besides, the house was Elise’s in the first place.

Julian rested his forehead against one hand, thinking. He hesitated, then continued.

“When you go, stay away from the house on the west side. Don’t go near it.”

Elise frowned. “Why?”

The owner’s last name was Mu. Whether in this life or his last, Julian wanted nothing to do with him.

But as head of the Mu family, Mu Chuan owned plenty of houses and land. There was no guarantee he would be there.

Julian hesitated again. “The owner isn’t a friendly man. He may not be there, but it’s better to be careful. There’s plenty for you to do at Lakeview. You can go anywhere else you like, just not near that house.”

Elise looked at him, puzzled. When it became clear that Julian wasn’t going to explain, she nodded.

She was only going to have fun. She had no intention of wandering into someone else’s property.

After dinner, Elise went back to her room and took her textbooks from her schoolbag. Her phone buzzed on the desk.

Theo had sent a photo. He’d taken it from outside the Whitmore house at night. Warm yellow light shone from one of the third-floor windows: Elise’s room.

Elise: ?

Elise: Are you outside?

Theo’s reply was brief.

Theo: Come out.

Elise pressed her lips together and glanced out the window. Beyond the front wall, a car sat with its headlights on. A figure stood beside it. Her third brother.

She thought about asking him to come inside, then remembered Theo didn’t like staying at home. Maybe that was why he’d asked her to come out in the middle of the night.

She hurried downstairs and ran through the front door. Theo was leaning against the car, relaxed, scrolling on his phone. Its glow lit his face.

Elise had rushed out without changing. She was still wearing slippers as she made her way toward him.

Theo ruffled her hair without asking. “I heard you bombed the exam, so your brother came all the way over tonight to cheer you up. Touched?”

Elise fought the urge to roll her eyes. When had she bombed anything? Was her third brother an idiot?

But there was something different in his voice, a little more warmth than usual.

She knitted her brows. He thought she’d failed? Wouldn’t he normally tease her about that? Why was he being so gentle?

Then Theo sighed with exaggerated helplessness and smiled.

“Some people just aren’t born with a talent for school. You may not be much of a student, but you’re great on a skateboard. Good coordination, at least. What do they call it? Strong arms and legs, empty head.”

He wasn’t trying to hurt her. Whenever he provoked Elise like that, she came back to life at once.

So what if she’d done badly? He could always be the one to get her fired up.

Elise drew a slow breath, resisting the urge to bite him.

She lifted her chin and gave him a sidelong look. “Where did you hear I did badly?”

“On social media.”

When she only looked at him skeptically, he woke his phone and showed her Adrian’s post from a few hours earlier.

What do you do when your sister gets sick and bombs her exam?! The school shouldn’t have scheduled it at all! The post ended with two frantic emojis.

Theo and his brothers had grown distant, but they still had one another’s accounts. They might go a year without exchanging more than a couple of messages.

That post had been the first he’d heard that Elise was sick and had done badly. The result seemed predictable enough. In her previous life, her grades hadn’t been impressive. She’d worked hard, but it hadn’t changed much.

If she hadn’t had a fever, she might have managed her usual marks. Passing, at least. With a fever, maybe not even that.

He sighed inwardly.

Elise looked at Adrian’s post. So all her brothers had thought she’d failed. But they’d already learned her actual score, hadn’t they? Why had they still been sitting around looking so miserable?

She opened Adrian’s profile and refreshed it.

A faintly proud smile touched her lips. She turned the phone toward Theo.

“Look for yourself.”

Adrian had posted something new half an hour earlier.

I was wrong! My sister is a top student! She’s amazing! He’d added a dancing emoji.

The picture was a screenshot of the results. Everyone else’s name had been blurred. Elise’s remained visible at the top of the list. A final column showed her grade-level rank: fifth.

Theo stared at it.

That wasn’t how this was supposed to go.

It took him a long moment to rebuild his understanding of the world.

“You… got a 704 and ranked fifth in your grade?” he said at last. “At a top high school?”

Elise’s mouth curved. “That’s right. What did you get back then?”

Theo fell silent.

He’d dropped out.

His sister had found a way to hit him right in the heart.

Fine. What had he just said? That she was all muscle and no brains, with no talent for school?

He’d barely finished saying it before she proved him wrong. And she had a good memory for insults.