On His IPO Day, He Chose My Sister Chapter 02
When I woke up the next morning, Ethan had already
bolted off to the office.
He’d only crashed here for one night, but his clutter was
strewn all over every room of the house.
Wrinkled unwashed dress shirts lay crumpled in the
bathroom sink. A half–empty coffee mug sat abandoned on
the dining table. His leather loafers kicked aside
haphazardly by the entryway floor.
I glanced over all of it and didn’t lift a finger to tidy
anything up.
Instead, I called a house cleaning service.
The cleaner worked lightning fast, restoring the entire
house to spotless condition in under an hour. On her way out, she grinned and said, “Mrs. Cole, hit me up anytime you need this service again.”
I corrected her evenly, no malice in my tone. “I’m not Mrs.
Cole,”
She froze, caught off guard and confused,
I added calmly, “Just Maya’s fine.”
She nodded awkwardly. I handed her double the full payment for the day,
“Schedule this same time every day for the next five days
straight.”
Her face lit up instantly. “Absolutely, ma’am.”
Once the front door clicked shut, I started packing my suitcases.
I didn’t own much clothing to begin with.
The only belongings I planned to bring along were my beat–up ten–year–old chef’s knife set, my notebook crammed with handwritten recipes, and Seven–the dog Ethan and I had raised side by side.
These things pulled me through Ethan’s poorest, most desperate days.
They’d kept me company through all the years
he’d grown
distant, cold, and nothing like the man I’d fallen in love
with.
My phone buzzed on the countertop.
The guy I’d spoken to the night before sent over a formal
employment contract.
Job title: Head Chef & Co–Owner,
He’d held this spot open just for me for three full years,
I’d turned it down back then without a second thought,
Foolishly, I’d believed once Ethan’s company went public
and he popped the question, my life would finally begin.
Looking back now, that mindset seemed utterly ridiculous.
I set the phone aside and kept packing my bags.
Seven trotted over with his food bowl clamped between
his teeth, dropping it straight into my open suitcase.
He lifted his head up and barked once.
“Woof
I knelt down and scratched the top of his fuzzy head.
“Okay, baby. Mom’s taking you with me.”
Seven was six years old. Ethan had brought him home right after I lost our baby.
He’d told me, “Whenever I’m stuck at work till all hours,
he’ll keep you company so you’re not alone.
Ethan had told me so many empty lies over the years. That single promise had been the only one he’d ever kept.
In the end, Seven had been my only steady, loyal
companion through everything.
At six p.m., Ethan’s call popped up on my screen.
“Don’t bother making dinner for me tonight–I’ve got a
corporate dinner event to hit.”
I glanced at the takeout sitting on my table.
“Got it.
He hesitated for a beat, then added, “Also, today’s your
dad’s birthday. Don’t forget to give him a call.”
I paused mid–chew. “When did you get on such great
terms with him?”
“That’s beside the point.”
There was a weary, entitled bite to his tone these days.
“In business, there are no permanent enemies. Maya, don’t be so stubborn–do it for my sake.”
He hung up before I could get a word in edgewise.
He fully expected me to cave and comply, just like I’d bent over backward for him countless times over the past ten
years.
But he’d forgotten one huge thing. I’d only submitted to
him because I loved him.
That love was long gone now.
Ten minutes later, my phone lit up again.
This time it was Chloe texting me.
She sent a short video clip. The footage captured my dad’s birthday dinner at the Quinn family estate.
Long dining tables draped in fresh flowers, polished silver tableware glinting under crystal chandeliers.
Ethan sat right beside Chloe, carefully peeling shrimp for her plate. He stripped away every last vein before setting the shrimp down on her dish.
He moved with such practiced ease, like he’d done this hundreds of times before. He’d never once taken care of
me like that, not even once.
My dad–the man who cheated on my mom and abandoned our family–sat at the head of the table, laughing and ribbing them nonstop.
“Looks like we’ll be celebrating a wedding real soon.”
Ethan didn’t deny it one bit. Chloe lifted her gaze straight toward the camera, smiling all sugary sweet.
A second later, a text popped up right underneath the video.
Chloe: [You can’t give him the happiness he’s really after.]
I stared at that line for ages.
Then I pulled up Ethan’s chat thread and fired off a short
message.
“Got twenty bucks to spare?”
He didn’t waste a single second asking why I needed it.
Seconds later, a wire transfer for twenty thousand dollars
hit my bank account.
I accepted the twenty dollars and sent every remaining
cent straight back to him. Then I shot him a reply.
“You sent way too much.”
After that, I forwarded the twenty dollars to my dad’s
account.
Ten years earlier, I’d stood outside his front door begging for that very amount, all so I could buy Ethan a hot meal.
Ten years later, I’d finally repaid that debt in full.
Along with it, I’d redeemed the broken version of myself who’d crushed her self–respect just to keep him from
starving,
Once that was all sorted out, I typed a reply to Chloe.
“Fair enough, So you can have him. You want him?”
Her reply pinged back instantly,
“I do.”