On His IPO Day, He Chose My Sister Chapter 01
I pulled up the live stream of Ethan Cole’s company IPO, and there he stood, lacing his fingers through Chloe
Quinn’s, ringing the opening bell at the Nasdaq.
A ten–second countdown ticked down
Confetti exploded all across the venue.The camera panned over the crowd outside the New York Stock Exchange,
everybody screaming and cheering their heads off.
Meanwhile, I sat alone at my dining table, a pot of fresh
pumpkin soup steaming right in front of me.
It was the only thing Ethan could keep down whenever his
stomach acted up.
Ten years back, he’d just been a nobody food blogger
crashing in a damp basement.
Hardly anyone watched his videos, no one ordered his
meal kits, and he couldn’t even rent basic filming lights to
shoot content,
Fast forward to now, his healthy meal brand was Wall Street’s brand–new startup darling,
Every outlet hailed him a rags–to–riches sucess story–he
built an empire from nothing but a phone and a basement
kitchen.
What none of the press knew? That basement’s 3 a.m.
glow? It was all me keeping that lamp burning.
I drafted the original menu from scratch.
I went through twenty–seven separate batches of sauce
just to perfect the recipe for his viral breakout video.
When suppliers bailed on him last minute, I emptied every dollar I had in savings to cover the unpaid invoices.
When competitors copied every one of his recipes, I pulled three all–nighters straight compiling menus and video
upload timestamps as legal proof.
When he was flat broke, at his absolute lowest, I
swallowed every last bit of my pride and showed up at my
deadbeat dad’s doorstep, begging him to spot me twenty bucks.
All because Ethan hadn’t eaten a single bite that whole day.
He’d clung to me tight back then, eyes red and watery.
I’d only asked him one simple thing,
“Once the company goes public, will you marry me?”
He didn’t hesitate for a second,
“Absolutely,”
“When that day rolls around, the whole world’s gonna
know you’re the one who stuck by me every single step of the way,”
He’d checked off his big dream in New York–but the
woman standing beside him hadn’t been me.
As Ethan’s business kept blowing up, I’d brought up our future together more than once.
He’d never lift his eyes off his laptop, just mumble
half–heartedly, “I’m swamped with work right now. Can we
table this talk for later?”
I dropped the subject after that.
Until today, when I stumbled across that live broadcast on
my phone.
Ethan told me he was flying to Seattle for a work trip.
Turns out he was in New York instead.
And the girl glued to his side wasn’t me.
It was my half–sister, Chloe.
She rocked a crisp white tailored suit, makeup flawless,
grinning like every bit of this success had always belonged to her.
Ethan squeezed her hand, and the two of them struck the IPO bell together.
As fireworks burst overhead, he pulled her into a soft hug -polite, restrained, but way too intimate for just business
partners.
He spoke into the broadcast mic,
“Thank you for being here to witness the biggest day of my life, Having you with me makes all of this worth it.”
Chloe wrapped her arms around him right back.
“I feel exactly the same way.”
I locked my phone screen shut and wiped the tears rolling down my cheeks.
Then I headed out to grab groceries, chopped veggies, and simmer soup just like usual, waiting for him to back home.
At ten p.m., the front door creaked open.
“Still up?”
Ethan stepped inside. He dragged a pale mint–green rolling suitcase behind him, still wearing the exact suit he’d had on during the live stream.
I didn’t rush over to greet him like I always used to, didn’t reach out to take his coat. I just curled up on the couch, staring blankly into thin air.
“I waited up for you.”
His fingers froze mid–way through untying his necktie,
“What’s the point of waiting up? We’re basically an old married couple anyway”
I corrected him flat out.
“We’re not married yet.”
He let out a dry, short laugh. “It’s only a matter of time.”
As he spoke, I caught a whiff of perfume clinging to his
blazer–rose scent.
Nothing like my usual fragrance.
A bitter huff of laughter slipped out of me. “Ethan, do you still actually plan to marry me?”
I wasn’t picking a fight. I genuinely just wanted an honest answer.
His brows knitted tight together.
“Of course I do.”
Just a few hours earlier, he’d stood in front of millions
telling another woman she completed him. But he still
acted like marrying me was a guaranteed done deal.
Only I didn’t want that anymore.
He stripped off his suit jacket and tossed it carelessly onto couch,
“I’m beat with jet lag. You can head to bed without me.”
“Alright”
I stood and walked into the bedroom.
He watched me walk away, finally catching onto how weird
I’d been acting all night. Any other night, no matter how late he stumbled in, I’d always have a mug of warm water
ready for him,
I’d fold his dress shirts, hang up his suit, roll his tie neatly,
and set his cufflinks aside.
He’d always gripe that I fussed over him way too much.
Tonight though? I didn’t lift one finger to do a single thing for him.
A couple minutes later, he knocked on the bedroom door.
“Where’s the pumpkin soup?”
I kept my eyes squeezed shut in the total dark, answering him flatly.
“It’s in the fridge”
He crossed over to the bed and pressed his palm to my forehead. “You don’t have a fever. What’s gotten into you
today?”
I brushed his hand away from my skin.
“Where’d this business trip take you?”
He answered without the slightest pause, no hesitation at all.
“Seattle,”
I couldn’t help wondering how long he’d gotten so good at
lying straight to my face without flinching.
The doorbell suddenly rang out loud.
Ethan frowned, tucking the comforter around my
shoulders. “Get some rest. I’ll go check who’s at the door.”
He pulled the front door wide open. The next second, I
heard undisguised glee in his voice.
“What are you doing here?”
I got to my feet and stepped out into the hallway.
Chloe stood right on the doorstep, wearing that soft,
self–satisfied grin of hers.
“Ethan, you grabbed my suitcase by mistake.”
I glanced at the luggage–identical color, brand, everything
down to the design.
Chloe only pretended to notice me then, her eyes crinkling
in a fake sweet grin.
“Hey there, Maya. So sorry to swing by this late and crash
your night.”
I didn’t say a single word.
Ethan rolled a second suitcase out from the guest room,
slipped his suit jacket back on, and grabbed his car keys
off the entry table.
I asked quietly,
“Where are you headed?”
“It’s way too late for Chloe to drive home alone. I’m
drop her off.”
“Did you fly back on the same flight?”
gonna
He already had his excuse lined up and ready to go.
“Don’t jump to conclusions. We just happened to catch
the same plane. She’s your sister, after all–I’m just looking
out for her for your sake.”
I studied his face carefully.
No flicker of guilt, no waver in his tone. Every word
sounded totally believable.
I stepped forward and called his name.
“Ethan.”
He spun around, his hand laced tight through Chloe’s. “What’s up?”
I shook my head, swallowing every unspoken question before it could slip out.
“Nothing.”
Confusion flickered over Ethan’s face, he could tell
something had permanently shifted between us.
“Ethan, the elevator’s here,”
Chloe’s smug voice cut through the silence, Ethan dropped whatever thought had crossed his mind, hurried
off with Chloe, and vanished from my line of sight,
I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I’d shot down
three years running,
“That head chef and co–partner spot you’ve been
hounding me to accept? I’m all in.”
The voice on the other line shot up an octave in pure shock.
“I’ve been hounding you to come work with me for three years, and you finally said yes?”
I stared at the empty, quiet house and whispered softly.
“Yeah.”
He paused briefly, then pressed further.
“But weren’t you supposed to tie the knot with Ethan this year?”
I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me through
the phone.
“We’re not getting married anymore.”