Confessing to My Uncle: Rejected

On my twenty-second birthday, I confessed my feelings to Ethan.

He froze for a moment, his smile slowly fading.

"Zoe, listen carefully. You'll always be my little sister."

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving me standing there in front of all our friends.

...

I never imagined that reaching out to Ethan would one day feel like such a difficult task.

Since that confession, he hasn’t returned to the old house.

Ethan’s father, Ryder, and his mother, Maeve, each have their own places, and they rarely come back anyway.

Now, the large house is mostly empty, just me and a few servants.

It’s been almost a month since I last saw Ethan.

After my failed confession, I was heartbroken and disappointed, but I never regretted it.

Ethan had always been the person I secretly admired growing up.

For the past few years, while still in school, I had kept my feelings to myself, too afraid to tell him.

In the past, he had always seen me as just a little kid.

I kept telling myself to wait a little longer—wait until I was more grown-up, until I was truly an adult.

Then, when I could express my love with confidence, I would tell him again.

This year, I’d turned twenty-two, and I was about to graduate from college.

In every way, I was mature enough to be in a relationship.

I had imagined many possible outcomes after confessing.

The best-case scenario was that he would accept my confession, and we’d begin a sweet, romantic relationship.

The worst-case scenario was that he’d reject me and tell me he didn’t feel the same way.

If that happened, I’d want to know why.

I needed to understand the reason behind his rejection, to see if it was worth pursuing him further.

If, after all my efforts, he still insisted on rejecting me, then I would have to spend some time trying to let him go and heal from the hurt.

It wouldn’t be easy, because I really liked him.

But I would try—at least enough to maintain some peace and avoid making things awkward for everyone.

I’d considered countless possibilities, but never once did I imagine that he’d reject me, get angry, and then give me the silent treatment.

At first, I didn’t realize what was happening.

A few attempts to message him on WhatsApp went unanswered, and he didn’t pick up my calls either, which made me feel something was off.

He was avoiding me.

I even had the butler call him.

Though the butler was able to reach him, when I took the phone, all I heard was the sound of the line disconnecting.

I called his assistant next, but the assistant only spoke politely and respectfully.

"Zoe, Ethan’s not at the office. Sorry, but he’s instructed me not to reveal his whereabouts."

I reached out to some of his close friends—many of whom had attended my birthday party and used to be on good terms with me.

Those who would normally greet me warmly now sounded distant, almost awkward.

"Uh, I don’t know where Ethan is. I haven’t seen him lately. Sorry, but I’ve got to go!"

The truth was, I wasn’t trying to force him to give me an answer.

I only needed to find him because next week, our school was holding the graduation ceremony.

Before, he’d promised me that he’d be there.

"I told you, I’ll be there for all your important days," he’d said, his voice gentle, his gaze soft.

"It’s just some pictures with your cap and gown, right?" He had glanced at the pictures I was looking up on my phone. "All these online photos are the same, no originality. I’ll hire a professional photographer for yours. Something unique, no one else will have it."

"Thanks, Ethan!" I’d said, smiling. "You’ve got to take some photos with me, too!"

"Alright, I’ll make sure to dress well that day."

I’ve always been someone who values important occasions, and the graduation ceremony was a significant moment for me.

Even though my confession had failed and our feelings for each other over the years hadn’t been returned, I still wanted him to be a part of this day.

But now, I couldn’t reach him.