My best friend was dead-set on setting me up with her brother. She swore he was the total package: handsome, sweet, with an eight-pack, and he even knew how to cook. All I had to do was meet him once, she promised, and I’d be completely hooked. After weeks of her relentless pestering, I finally gave in and agreed to go to her family's house. I didn’t see her brother at first, but I did see her older brother. My best friend, Ruby, leaned in and whispered, "My other brother's a great guy too, but he's got a kid from a previous relationship. Word is, the trashy mother just took off after giving birth, leaving him heartbroken and raising their daughter all by himself." I didn’t think much of it. But halfway through my blind date, a little girl came running up to me, tugged on my sleeve, and called me "Mommy." And following right behind her was the very same brother Ruby had just told me about. My ex. The man I had dumped three years ago. 1 Ruby and I were partners in poverty. We met working a soul-crushing part-time job and bonded over our shared state of being perpetually broke. We split cheap takeout, shared a tiny apartment with two other people, and our wardrobes were courtesy of fast-fashion websites. To make a little extra bonus pay, we’d work ourselves to the bone, often staying at the office past midnight. Life was tough, but we made do. Then one day, Ruby casually told me she was quitting. I thought she’d been fired and was about to march into our boss’s office to give him a piece of my mind when she stopped me, a mysterious glint in her eye. "I'm rich," she announced. It turned out Ruby was a long-lost heiress. Her biological parents, ridiculously wealthy, had finally found her. Overnight, Ruby’s savings account went from four figures to seven. But she was loyal. She didn’t forget about me after she hit the jackpot. She started treating me to fancy dinners and designer shopping sprees. "Sienna, this feeling of not having to work for anything is incredible," she’d sigh, reclining in the back of a town car. "It's so much easier to spend money when you didn't actually earn it. You should quit your job too. I'll find you a rich husband!" She was always impulsive, so I just laughed it off. But three days later, she sat me down with a dead-serious expression. "I’ve gone through all the eligible bachelors I know, and I’ve decided my brother is the perfect match for you." Before I could refuse, she launched into a full-blown presentation. "First, he's handsome, tall, and has a great personality, which meets all the basic requirements. Second, he's rich, works out, and can cook, which are major bonus points. And most importantly, he's my brother. If he ever treats you badly, I'll be there to back you up." She slammed her hand on the table, making her final verdict. "So, this weekend, you're going on a date with my brother. It’s non-negotiable." I stared at her, dumbfounded. "Ruby, I can't." "Why not? You're my best friend. You deserve the best man in the world, and that includes him." She was already pulling out her phone to call him. I lunged forward and grabbed her arm. After a bit of back-and-forth, I knew I had to tell her the secret I’d been hiding for years. "Okay, wait, just listen to me first," I said, my voice dropping. "I… I've had a child. With my ex." 2 The story of me and Noah is a cliché. We met during my study abroad program in Sydney. I saw him at a party and fell for him instantly. Then, I pursued him relentlessly. Noah was reserved and a little cold. It took me a solid six months to break through his walls. The day I confessed my feelings, he reached up and removed a small device from behind his ear, holding it out for me to see. It was a cochlear implant. "I have a congenital hearing impairment," he said, his voice flat. "Are you sure you want to be with me?" Seeing my stunned silence, a look of resignation crossed his face. He gave a small, self-deprecating smile and started to turn away. I grabbed his arm. "I'm sure." I didn’t care about his hearing. I genuinely, truly liked him. So I looked him in the eye and repeated, my voice firm, "Can we try this, Noah?" He stopped, and when he looked back at me, the gloom in his eyes was replaced by a sudden, brilliant light. "Okay." Noah was a novice when it came to romance, but he was a quick study. He went from being clueless about women to understanding my every mood. He went from clumsy kisses to kisses that left me breathless and weak in the knees. I loved to melt into his arms, feeling the firm muscles of his abdomen through his thin t-shirt, my heart racing. I’ll admit, my attraction to him was intensely physical. Whenever he was near, I felt an almost uncontrollable urge to explore every inch of him. But for some reason, Noah was always incredibly restrained. There were times when he was clearly aroused, his body burning with heat, but he never crossed that final line. That all changed on Christmas Day. 3 I had spent all afternoon getting ready for our Christmas date. But just as I was about to leave, an old friend from back home, who was passing through Sydney, called and asked to meet up. His schedule was tight, and he was leaving the next day, so I had no choice but to postpone my date with Noah for an hour to grab a quick dinner with him. But Noah, who was supposed to be waiting for me at my apartment, showed up at the restaurant. He was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching us with an unreadable expression, his lips pressed into a thin line. After I said goodbye to my friend, Noah silently took my hand and started walking us back to my place. I tried to talk to him several times along the way, but he didn't respond. I figured he must have forgotten to wear his implant. When he opened the apartment door, the first thing I saw was a huge Christmas tree, twinkling with lights. Beneath it, on a soft rug, were gift-wrapped boxes and a perfect, shiny apple. Before I could take it all in, he had me pinned against the wall. Noah’s hand was a firm pressure on my waist, while his other hand toyed with the strap of my dress. He looked down at me, his eyes dark. "You look beautiful tonight. Was it for your friend?" he asked, his voice low. "You two seemed to be having a good time at dinner. Laughing a lot. Are you close?" It hit me then. He wasn't having trouble hearing me. He was jealous. I opened my mouth to explain, but his lips crashed down on mine, fierce and possessive, stealing the air from my lungs. We ended up on the sofa beneath the Christmas tree, the atmosphere in the room thick and electric. I expected him to stop at the last moment, like he always did, and disappear into the bathroom for a cold shower. But this time was different. He pulled me into his lap and reached for one of the small gift boxes. Inside was a ring. He slipped it onto my finger with an almost reverent gentleness. Pressing his forehead against mine, his other hand found the zipper of my dress. "Sienna, I’ll take responsibility for you," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "I’ll marry you." His eyes were shimmering, his long lashes wet. "So… can I?" There was no way I could say no. I leaned in and brushed my lips against his. "Yes." That night blurred into a haze of passion that lasted until dawn. At some point, I was crying and begging him to stop, but he just smiled, mischievously taking out his cochlear implant. "What's that, Sienna?" he’d ask, his eyes wide with fake innocence. "I can't hear you." The ring on my finger was a cool, constant pressure against his skin. At the time, I thought it was just a simple ring. I had no idea how much he meant it when he said he wanted to marry me. Not until I posted a picture of us holding hands on social media. A single comment jumped out at me. "Is that a HARRY WINSTON diamond?! Girl, did you bag a billionaire??" 4 I never imagined Noah came from money. And I certainly never imagined the ring on my finger was worth over half a million dollars. It was too much. I couldn’t accept it. I tried to give it back, but he just smiled at me. "You can't return a gift." The sunlight caught the fabric of his white t-shirt. I realized then that even his casual clothes were from obscure, high-end European brands, each shirt costing more than I made in three months. The vast difference in our financial situations suddenly felt like an insurmountable chasm. "Will your family try to force you into an arranged marriage?" I asked him one day. Noah took my hand, his grip firm. "I'll refuse," he said, his voice unwavering. "When I said I want to marry you, I wasn't joking." Our time in Sydney was pure and simple. After that Christmas, Noah shed his inhibitions. He loved taking off his implant, pulling me into thrilling, secret encounters in every corner of our apartment. We were always careful, but on our last night together, things got a little too wild. The condom broke, and in the heat of the moment, neither of us noticed. Three months later, I was pregnant. At the same time, Noah's family began to put immense pressure on him to agree to an arranged marriage. His father threatened to disown him if he refused. Honestly, I was prepared for us to break up. But instead, Noah showed up in my city with a suitcase in hand. It was pouring rain, and he was soaked to the bone, but he was grinning. "Sienna, I'm here," he said. "And I'm not leaving." Youth makes you reckless, especially when it comes to love. Noah was willing to give up his family fortune to be with me, and I chose to have our child. He was the perfect partner throughout my pregnancy, taking care of my every need. But when his family cut him off financially, the prince was brought down to the gutter. He never complained, but I knew he wasn't used to hundred-dollar clothes or crowded subways. His friends were learning to take over their family businesses, and he was crammed into a tiny rental with me. When I was seven months pregnant, he lost his cochlear implant. The original was too expensive to replace, so he had to settle for a cheaper model that didn’t work as well. One day, when we were out grocery shopping, a group of young boys surrounded him, mocking him, calling him a deafie. In that moment, Noah just stood there, completely humiliated. He, who had been coddled and praised his whole life, had never experienced such cruelty. Watching him, my heart shattered. For the first time, I realized that our stubborn insistence on being together might have been a terrible mistake. Three months later, I gave birth to a daughter. While Noah was still lost in the joy of being a new father, I told him I wanted to break up. I had my reasons all planned out. I told him his hearing impairment was a burden. I told him I wanted to marry a normal man, not be tied to a deaf one for the rest of my life. My words hit him right where I knew it would hurt the most. He flinched, his whole body seeming to shrink, as if he might break apart. Still, he tried to keep his composure, his voice trembling. "I'll work harder, I'll earn enough to buy a better implant, one that makes me just like everyone else. Please, don't leave me." He begged me for a long time that day, humbling himself in a way I'd never seen. I remained unmoved. Finally, he brought our daughter to me. "What about her?" he asked, his voice cracking. "You don't want our baby either?" "No, I don't." "She'll just get in my way. You raise her." His mother had already told me. If I broke up with him, he could go back to his family. And they would take care of the child. Noah stared at me for a long, long time. Then, a broken, tear-filled laugh escaped him. "Sienna," he whispered, "when we first got together, you swore you didn't care about my hearing. If you couldn't accept it, why did you lie to me? Was it fun, playing with me like that?" Our breakup was ugly, but in the end, I got what I wanted. We went our separate ways. Noah took our daughter and went back to his family. I moved to a new city. Before I left, his mother offered me a check as compensation. I didn't take it. I was young, and I felt that taking the money would be a betrayal of what we once had. I never contacted Noah again, and I never saw my daughter. When I told Ruby this story, I kept the names vague, giving her just the broad strokes. She was stunned. After a long silence, she pulled me into a hug. "It's okay, Sienna. That's all in the past now." "It doesn't matter if you've had a kid. You're single now, you can find love again. Not all rich families are that old-fashioned. My parents are really open-minded, you don't have to worry." I mumbled, "The main thing is… I'm not really over my ex." "Then you definitely need to go on this date with my brother! You're never getting back with your ex, so you might as well use my brother to help you move on." Once Ruby gets an idea in her head, there's no stopping her. From that day on, every time she saw me, she brought up the blind date. It was driving me insane. "Please, just meet him," she’d beg. "He's totally your type. If you don't like him, we can leave right away, I promise." I couldn't take her constant nagging anymore. I finally caved. "Fine," I sighed. "But we're just meeting. That's it." 5 Ruby’s family mansion was in New York City. I was a little hesitant about going back. Noah's family lived there too. But then I thought, New York is a huge city. We weren't tied by some deep, cosmic fate. The chances of us running into each other were practically zero. Ruby's parents were definitely rich. The mansion had a sprawling garden that looked like something out of a magazine. The whole way there, Ruby chattered on and on about her brother. I was only half-listening when I saw a man sitting on a veranda in the distance. His back was to me, and I could only see a sliver of his profile, but something about him felt… familiar. Ruby followed my gaze. "Oh, that's my older brother." "He's really handsome too, you know," she continued. "I thought about setting you up with him, but his love life is way too complicated." My gossip-loving heart couldn't resist. "What's his story?" "Well, I heard he dated this awful girl, and they had a kid together. But right after the baby was born, she just abandoned them both and took off. He was completely heartbroken. Now he's just focused on his career and raising his daughter, totally sworn off love." The story sounded eerily familiar. If Ruby’s family name wasn’t Sterling, I would’ve sworn she was talking about Noah.
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