I was mucking out stalls for cash when I accidentally splattered horse manure on the bumper of his G-Wagon. He was already in a foul mood, sulking over his adopted sister’s latest romance, but he’d never yell at her. So, he threw his anger—and his keys—at my head. "If you don't break up with that townie loser, you can get the hell out of our house!" The girl, Chloe, burst into tears. "Then who do you want as your sister? Her?" She jabbed a finger at me, still rubbing the spot on my forehead where the keys hit. The crown prince, Julian, didn't even look at me. He just sneered. "Yeah, fine by me." I was about to speak when bright, ethereal text scrolled past my eyes: 【LOL, does Stall Girl actually think he's serious? He's just lashing out.】 【He already regrets it. If she hesitates for one second, he'll take it back.】 【Although... if she did become a Thorne family ward, she'd be set for life. Money, private schools, the works...】 I snapped to attention. "Hi, big brother!" The moment the words left my mouth, the air went dead. Everyone’s expression soured. Julian Thorne looked me up and down, his eyes finally landing on the muck caked on my boots. His face was a mask of confusion. "You... seriously want to be my sister?" I nodded, looking up at him through my eyelashes. "Are you going to take it back?" His expression froze. He just stood there, his jaw tight. "Julian!" Chloe shrieked, stomping her foot. "You promised I was your only sister!" The silence stretched for a few more seconds. Julian sighed, his voice going flat and cold. "Sorry. I was just kidding." My stomach dropped. The floating text reappeared: 【Wow. I've seen desperate, but this is a new low. Begging a stranger to adopt you.】 【She should take a look in the mirror. A literal farm girl covered in horse shit. Does she really think she can compare to our perfect, sweet Chloe?】 【Besides, the 'sister' role is a special status reserved for the female lead. He's never letting some random girl take that title.】 I rubbed the growing bruise on my forehead. I looked down, my voice small. "In that case... can you just pay me more?" Julian gave me three hundred-dollar bills. By the time I left, the siblings were back to normal. Chloe was giggling, hanging on his arm, though she shot me a smug look over her shoulder. "That's probably not even enough for me to buy a new backpack. Should we give her more, Julian?" A chorus of 【Chloe is the sweetest! A true angel!】 filled my vision. I carefully rolled the bills and shoved them deep into my pocket, shaking my head. "No... that's fine." This was compensation, not a shakedown. I grabbed a rag from my bucket and meticulously started wiping the manure off his bumper. Good. It was coming off clean. The whole time, Chloe watched with a hand over her mouth. "Ew, Julian, it stinks! Is that what manure smells like?" Julian shot her a look, but for once, didn't reply. He just watched me until I had cleaned his entire car. He didn't say another word. But just as he was about to get in, he frowned, pulled out his wallet, and stuffed another wad of cash into my hand. That money from Julian was a lifesaver. I split it three ways. One part for my high school tuition. One part for living expenses. And one part for the hospital bills. When the money ran out, I started collecting cans. Right after school until late at night. The next time I saw Julian, he was drinking alone on a park bench. Under the streetlight, his silhouette looked thin, his handsome features shadowed with a kind of deep, lonely frustration. The floating text, which had been silent for weeks, flickered back to life. 【Aww, he just saw Chloe kissing the supporting-character guy. My poor baby's heart is broken.】 【She’s just being a rebellious teenager! It doesn't mean she doesn't love Julian!】 【If only Chloe could see how much he cares! She's only acting out because she knows Julian will always spoil and forgive her!】 【He knows what the problem is, he just can't bring himself to be hard on her, can he?】 ... I quietly walked over and set a carton of milk on the bench next to him. My eyes flickered over his watch. It was worth more than my tuition. I took a deep breath. "Big brother." He looked up, his dark eyes heavy and unfocused. "What did you call me?" I was so nervous, my voice trembled. "If you take me in... I can help you. With your sister." He just stared at me. "You? How?" This was it. This was the moment. I widened my eyes, trying to look as sincere as possible. "I'm a really good cook. I can clean... I'm a really hard worker. I can do all the chores..." His expression shifted to something like amusement. I dropped my gaze, my voice trailing off. "...I can just be a servant. I'm cheap. You should consider it..." My voice got quieter and quieter, fading into the night air. After a long moment, I heard a sound. A quiet huff of laughter. Julian was actually smiling. It lit up his face. "My family doesn't have a history of employing child labor." My shoulders slumped. "Oh." I turned to leave. "But," he called out, "I am currently in the market for a sister who's a little more... obedient." I whipped around, not daring to believe it. "What's your name?" he asked. "Mia." The air seemed to freeze for a second. A tiny, almost invisible frown crossed Julian's face. 【Mia??? Isn't that the same name as the scheming, evil side-character?】 【I thought she was just a random extra... no wonder she's throwing herself at him.】 【She's the one who keeps trying to seduce the male lead, which makes the female lead (Chloe) jealous. All her little plots fail and just end up pushing the main couple together.】 【I heard that in the end, Julian personally marries her off to some 70-year-old creep... who has a psycho son.】 ... I just stood there. My hands were in my pockets, rubbing my last two dollars together. Compared to another day of not knowing if I'd eat... ...my future husband's age didn't seem all that important. Finally, Julian ruffled my hair. "Let's call you Mia Holland. It's easier to remember." Julian's parents were good people. They didn't freak out when he brought home a random girl. They just gave me the guest room. They didn't agree to formally adopt me, though. They wanted an "observation period." Chloe, however, threw a fit. She screamed. She cried. She went on a hunger strike. It took Julian four hours to calm her down. When he walked out of her room, he looked exhausted. I felt a wave of despair. I was so sure I was about to be kicked out, I packed my small bag and sat on the front steps all night. I woke up to someone nudging me with their foot. "What, are you running away?" Julian asked, sounding annoyed. His eyes landed on my face, and he paused. "Huh. You clean up nice. You've even put on some weight. Looks better than the scrawny look." He casually pinched my cheek. "Relax. You can stay. My parents really like you." I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I slept soundly that night for the first time in a week. No more collecting cans. No more worrying about tuition or food. I poured all my energy into my studies. I was in the top ten of my class by the end of the month. With me as a new "comparison," Chloe finally felt the pressure. She stopped skipping class. She ignored the letters from the "supporting-character" guy. She actually started studying. The day she broke up with him, Julian did something he'd never done: he came to pick me up from school himself. "Nice work, sis," he said. He was leaning against his car, a rare, genuine smile on his face. He was holding an unlit cigarette, and the look in his eyes was... proud. It was the first time he'd ever called me 'sister.' I couldn't help but smile back. My smile seemed to make him pause, just for a second. I smoothed my skirt, playing the part. "I know what I have to do next, brother." I started, very deliberately, "bothering" Julian whenever Chloe was around. Julian was a picky eater. I learned all his favorite dishes and made a huge show of bringing him lunch at his office, rain or shine. It got his employees talking. "The new sister is so much more mature than the other one." "She's smart, she's polite, and she actually takes care of her brother." Julian would just smile mysteriously and ruffle my hair. Those rumors got back to Chloe, just as I'd planned. After a predictable tantrum, she started... trying. She'd ask Julian about his day, offer to get him things. One night, Julian was washing fruit for Chloe. I snuck up behind him and covered his eyes. "Guess who, brother..." I whispered. I felt his long eyelashes flutter against my palms. He turned, grabbing my hands. His expression was... strange. "Mia. Personal space. You know that, right?" Just then, Chloe walked into the kitchen. Her eyes turned red. She stormed out. From then on, Chloe not only became super-clingy with Julian, she started treating me as her mortal enemy. After my SATs, she convinced her parents to send me abroad for college. "Julian is my brother, not yours. You can't steal him. Stay away," she warned me, her voice cold. I didn't say anything. I just thanked her profusely. My scores were high. I could get into a better school overseas. For four years, I didn't forget my "promise" to Julian. I couldn't be there in person, so I'd send him things for his car—like a little bobblehead that looked like me. Sometimes, his passengers would tease him. "Girlfriend put that there?" Julian would just smirk. "Something like that. She's a handful. Can't live without me." When I'd come home for breaks, I'd ignore Chloe's death glares and pretend to have nightmares so he'd have to sit with me. My junior year, some frat boy wouldn't leave me alone. I called Julian. He flew out and handled it. He was a great acting partner. He always knew exactly what to do to make Chloe jealous. He played the part of the perfect, doting brother so well. Sometimes... sometimes, I thought he played it too well. He'd buy out every flower shop in the city and have them deliver camellias to my dorm, just because I'd idly mentioned I liked them. He'd call late at night and ask, "Do you miss me?" And when I'd say yes, he'd be on a plane the next morning. Slowly, everyone in Julian's circle learned he had this new sister he was completely obsessed with. His friends would look me over, their smiles a little too slick. "Damn, Julian. Your sister's hot." "How old are you, sweetheart? You dating anyone?" From the corner of my eye, I saw Julian, who had been lounging, sit up straight. He was frowning. I answered honestly. "I dated someone." "Oh yeah? Who? Does 'big brother' know?" I smiled sweetly. "Just a stupid college thing. I kept it from him. I guess I'm confessing now." "A college thing?" one of them laughed. "So, what, you held hands? That doesn't count, sweetheart. Boring." "Shut up, you assholes. All you think about is sex," Julian cut in, his good mood suddenly restored. He slung an arm around my shoulder. "My sister is the best. She's only ever cared about me. She wouldn't have time to date anyone behind my back." Is that so? A very different, very specific, very dark memory flashed in my mind. I just smiled and nodded. "That's right, brother." But I couldn't stop the heat from rushing to my face.
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