When she got home, Alayna Dickerson was soaked from the rain. She felt drowsy and heavy. After a hot shower, she collapsed into bed and fell asleep immediately.

For the past few days, she had been alone in the mansion. She was already getting used to it. She no longer tried to ask about Jarrett Sheppard's whereabouts.

"Ding."

Her phone chimed with a message. She picked it up and saw it was from her father, Samuel Dickerson.

[My dear daughter, your flight is scheduled to depart at 10 PM on August 25th. Remember to bring all your documents and materials for school. Dad will be waiting for you at the airport.]

Alayna clicked on her phone's calendar. She murmured to herself, "Only seven days until I leave this home."

Her calendar for seven days from now had an entry: [Jarrett Sheppard's Birthday].

Maybe her departure was the best birthday gift she could give him.

Over the next two days, Alayna went through her luggage again, making sure she had everything. Then she packed up all the old things she couldn't take with her and arranged for a donation pick-up service.

As the courier was making a list of the items and preparing to pack them into boxes, Jarrett returned home.

"What's going on?" he asked, his eyes on the piles of clothes and books.

Alayna filled out the donation form and motioned for the courier to take the bags first. "I arranged for old clothes to be picked up. I'm clearing out things I don't use."

Her voice was calm and empty of emotion. It made Jarrett frown. He had felt that Alayna was different lately, but he couldn't quite figure out what had changed. A strange feeling was growing inside him, a sense of emptiness he couldn't explain.

"Kisha and I have been staying at the Blue Sea Apartments downtown," he said, changing the subject. "It's quieter there and more convenient for work."

Alayna just nodded slightly. The Blue Sea Apartments, without her there, would indeed be quieter.

She watched as Jarrett started gathering some of his and Kisha's things, preparing to leave again. On impulse, she asked, "Jarrett, your birthday is next Friday. Can I attend?"

Alayna had meticulously prepared a gift for Jarrett's birthday every single year. This year would have been the tenth year. Ten. A perfect number. She wanted to see it through one last time.

Jarrett had shielded her for ten years. She wanted to say a proper goodbye.

"We'll see," Jarrett said, unwilling to commit. He pushed his suitcase toward the door and left.

The heavy sound of the door closing made Alayna's heart tremble slightly. Her eyes reddened.

Back in her room, she instinctively reached for the drawer in her bedside table, wanting to look at the love letters she had written to him. But when she opened it, the drawer was empty. She had already thrown away those brief but heartfelt letters. Only a faded sketchpad lay at the bottom of the drawer.

Alayna carefully took out the old sketchpad and gently opened it. The yellowed pages each showed Jarrett in a different moment.

Jarrett in his plaid school uniform, holding her hand, saying, "Kid, I'm taking you home."

Jarrett on the highest podium, holding a trophy, hanging the gold medal around her neck. He had said, "Kid, you're my badge of honor."

Jarrett at a formal banquet, holding a wine glass, in complete control, sending a thornless rose over to her table. He had said, "Kid, roses need time to bloom. I'll wait for you to grow up."

Every drawing was a memory etched deep in her mind.

But it didn't matter anymore. She would scrape those memories clean from her heart, bit by bit.

She turned to the last page of the sketchpad. It was blank. Alayna remembered that every year on Jarrett's birthday, she would secretly draw a picture of the two of them together. She thought she would draw one this year, too.

But this year, the people in the drawing would be Jarrett and Kisha Prince.

This time, she genuinely wished them well.

She drew meticulously, stroke by stroke, with great care. She didn't stop until the sun began to set.

Then, she heard the sound of a key in the front door.

Alayna went out to the living room and saw Jarrett stumble in. He smelled strongly of alcohol.

"Jarrett, why did you drink so much?" Seeing his unsteady steps, she quickly went to help him.

Jarrett leaned heavily on her, his large hand wrapping naturally around her waist. The strong scent of alcohol mixed with his familiar woody cologne filled her senses.

Alayna froze. She wanted to step back, to create some distance, but the next moment, Jarrett pulled her into his embrace.

His restless hand slipped under her clothes, and his burning, alcohol-fueled kiss landed forcefully on her lips. He knew exactly who she was, but the suppressed desire broke free under the influence of alcohol.

Alayna Dickerson's mind went completely blank.

This was the scene she had dreamed of countless times, but now it was happening, real and overwhelming. A rough hand moved over her chest, sending a jolt through her body that made her pull back, struggling against him.

"Jarrett…"

Her struggle only seemed to make him more forceful.

"Kisha, be good…" Jarrett's passion-filled murmur exploded next to her ear like a clap of thunder.

In a daze, she felt herself being lifted. The man carried her into the bedroom and pushed her onto the bed.

It was only then, as she landed on the soft mattress, that she truly woke up from the intoxicating kiss.

"Jarrett Sheppard, look closely! I'm Alayna Dickerson! I am not Kisha Prince!"

Alayna's voice trembled with a pain that was sharp and heartbreaking.

Jarrett stopped. His eyes, clouded with drunkenness, glanced at her. He realized he was crossing a line he couldn't uncross. He quickly seized the excuse she offered. "Kisha...?" he mumbled, pretending to be confused.

He then simply pulled her into his arms and held her, doing nothing else.

Alayna tried to get up, but Jarrett's hoarse voice whispered in her ear.

"Don't go."

Her body went stiff. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Was he asking her to stay? Or did he still think she was Kisha Prince?

Deep, even breathing sounds came from beside her. Jarrett had closed his eyes and fallen asleep.

A sudden, suffocating feeling of powerlessness washed over her. She tried to break free from his arms, but his grip was too strong. She couldn't escape.

Her head felt heavy, and the lingering smell of alcohol on his breath made her even dizzier. An overwhelming fatigue washed over her, and she fell into a dazed sleep.

The next morning, the first thing Alayna saw when she opened her eyes was Jarrett. He was standing by the bed, looking down at her with an unreadable expression. To hide his own guilt about the previous night, he attacked first.

"Alayna Dickerson, why are you in my bed?"

The events of last night flooded her mind, and her face flushed with heat. She instinctively opened her mouth to speak, but Jarrett cut her off.

"If this happens again, you'll move to the school dorms. And you will never enter my room again!"

The man's reprimand was mixed with disappointment and disgust. It made Alayna swallow any explanation she might have had.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "It won't happen again."

She knew that even if she told him the truth, he wouldn't believe her. In his eyes, she was just his stepsister who had inappropriate feelings for him.

It didn't matter. Only five days left. In five days, she would be in California. From now on, she wouldn't just avoid his room; she would disappear from his world forever.

Alayna got out of bed, pulling her messy clothes together, and walked out of the room.

Just as she stepped into the hallway, she ran into Kisha Prince coming up the stairs.

"Alayna, why are you coming out of your brother's room so early in the morning?!" Kisha's voice was sharp with shock.

Alayna's face turned pale. She was flustered and didn't know what to say. She avoided Kisha's gaze and fled back to her own room.

But as soon as she entered, Kisha followed her in, slamming the door shut behind her.

"You were in your brother's room all night. What did you do?" Kisha stared at her, her eyes filled with a dark, scrutinizing light.

"We're both women. I've always known how you feel about your brother. I thought you knew your place, but I never expected you to be so shameless. You took advantage of him when he was drunk and climbed into his bed!"

Kisha's words were filled with blatant disgust.

Alayna lowered her head. She knew any explanation would be useless. "Last night, he and I didn't…"

Before she could finish, Kisha interrupted her sharply. "He and I had a fight yesterday, and that gave you an opportunity. But we are getting married soon. If you pull another disgusting stunt like this, I will make sure you leave the Sheppard family forever!"

After her threat, Kisha glared at Alayna one last time, then turned and slammed the door as she left.

Alayna slowly slid down the wall to the floor. She felt as if all her strength had been drained from her body, leaving her weak and helpless.

Jarrett's reprimand and Kisha's warning were like an invisible hand, gripping her heart and squeezing tight.

Large tears rolled down her face uncontrollably. The emotions she had suppressed for so long finally shattered.

Alayna covered her mouth with her hands, letting the tears flow silently through her fingers.

After some time, Alayna Dickerson heard the roar of a car engine outside. She looked out the window and saw that Jarrett Sheppard had driven away with Kisha Prince. She calmly looked away from the window, curled up on her bed, and hugged herself tightly.

The next morning, her phone rang, breaking the silence in her room. The screen displayed 'Mom'. Alayna hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Mom…"

She had barely spoken when her mother, Patricia's, angry voice came through the phone. "Jarrett and I were traveling for a month, and you cause a scandal like this. Your brother is getting married, and you're still trying to climb into his bed! Alayna Dickerson, do you have no shame? Get out of there! Don't live with your brother anymore!"

A wave of immense sorrow washed over Alayna. When she was little, her family had gone bankrupt. Her parents divorced. Her father went to California, and her mother remarried into the Sheppard family, bringing her along.

Her mother always said she was a burden. She said that because of Alayna, she couldn't have another child with Mr. Sheppard. Over the years, her mother had rarely shown any care for her. The only two times she had actively 'cared' were to blame her.

Once, when she confessed to Jarrett, her mother had called and screamed at her, calling her shameless.

Today, her mother was accusing her of climbing into Jarrett's bed, saying she had no shame.

"Mom, you didn't even ask what happened. You're just certain I was the one who initiated it?" Alayna asked, her voice trembling.

The phone was silent for a moment. Then her mother's disgusted voice came again. "We're both women. Don't think I don't know what you're thinking! If you affect my standing in the Sheppard family, you can go find your dad!"

After saying that, her mother hung up.

The black screen of the phone reflected Alayna's lost and haggard face. She bit her lip hard, refusing to let the tears fall.

Looking at the word 'Mom' on her phone's contact list, she thought silently, Mom, don't worry. This daughter you dislike will completely leave the Sheppard family, and you, in just 4 days.

For the next few days, Jarrett didn't come home. Alayna was busy with her own preparations for going abroad and didn't pay any attention to where he and Kisha had gone.

Until 11:59 PM on August 24th. One minute before Jarrett's birthday.

Alayna opened her social media and clicked on the only contact she had pinned. But after staring at the screen for a long time, she closed the chat. This was the first time in ten years she hadn't wished him a happy birthday.

At 8:00 AM the next morning, a flight reminder popped up on her phone.

[Ms. Alayna Dickerson, your flight will depart in 14 hours. Please arrive at the airport two hours in advance to complete check-in.]

She calculated the time. She had only 12 hours left before she had to leave.

She found herself opening her social media again. She saw a new post from Kisha Prince.

[The sunrise by the sea is beautiful. Looking forward to the sunset and you this evening.]

The post included a photo of her and Jarrett holding hands at a place called Rose Coast.

Alayna's eyelashes fluttered. Her heart was calmer than she had expected.

At that moment, Kisha sent her a direct message.

[Your brother wants to spend his birthday alone with me this year. I hope you won't disturb us.]

Below the text was a 10-second video. In the video, Jarrett was wearing a bathrobe, lying on a large, couple's-themed waterbed in a hotel room. Kisha was lying beside him, her shoulder exposed from under the blanket, covered in ambiguous red marks.

Alayna didn't need to think to know what kind of passionate night they had just had.

She just twitched her lips, quietly exited the social media app, and then began to reconfirm and clear out all of her belongings in the house.

4 hours left.

Alayna took the entire sketchpad from her drawer and tore her drawings of Jarrett into tiny pieces, one by one. The shredded paper went into the trash can, and the memories in her mind were cleared out, bit by bit.

3 hours left.

She threw out all her remaining personal items in the house, leaving no trace that she had ever lived there.

2 hours left.

She took the harmonica Jarrett had given her from her bedside table and placed it on the living room coffee table. She put it on top of the drawing she had made of Jarrett and Kisha. It would be her last wedding gift to him, from his sister.

When she was eight, Jarrett had been a light in her life. But from now on, she would be her own light.

Because she was a sunflower, no longer someone's rose.

1 hour left.

She left a small message in the bottom right corner of the sketch.

[Jarrett, happy birthday. Let's part ways here. We have no further connection.]

[I wish you all the best in a future without me.]

Birds and fish travel different paths. Mountains and rivers will not meet again.

After that, Alayna picked up her phone. She deleted Jarrett and Kisha Prince as friends and deactivated her social media account. Then she did a full factory reset on her phone, erasing everything.

The whole process was done without a single moment of hesitation.

Having done all that, Alayna took one last look at the home she had lived in for ten years.

Then she turned and headed straight for the airport.

The plane roared into the sky.