Maddie crouched on the cold kitchen floor, her injured foot stinging with pain. She glanced up at Jane, catching the fleeting glimmer of triumph in her eyes. Jane had done it on purpose—of that, Maddie was certain.

“What’s going on here?”

Before Maddie could respond, Rico walked into the kitchen. Jane’s expression shifted instantly, her red-rimmed eyes glistening with unshed tears. She rushed toward him, her voice trembling with feigned distress.

“Rico! I just wanted to help Maddie in the kitchen, but I ended up making a mess.” She lifted her foot slightly, revealing a few rice grains stuck to her pristine, unblemished skin. “Look! I even burned my foot. It hurts so much…”

Rico’s face softened immediately. He knelt down, gently cradling Jane’s foot in his hands, his voice thick with concern. “Jane, are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?”

Maddie’s stomach churned as Rico shot her a sharp glare.

“Maddie! How could you be so careless? Apologize to Jane!”

Her breath caught. Apologize? Maddie blinked, her tears spilling over as she stared at Rico. Did he truly believe she was the one at fault? Did he even care about what had happened?

It was Jane who had bumped into her on purpose. Maddie bit her lip, swallowing her retort. This wasn’t the Rico she had grown up with—the boy who had once fought off bullies for her, who had promised to always protect her.

Her tears dripped onto her injured foot, mingling with the blood seeping from the cut. The pain was unbearable, but not nearly as deep as the ache in her chest.

***

Rico’s frown deepened as he glanced at Maddie crouching on the floor. “Maddie, did you hear me? I told you to apologize!”

But before Maddie could muster a response, Jane tugged on Rico’s arm, her pout firmly in place.

“Rico, don’t be so hard on her,” she said in a singsong voice. “She’s been cooking for you all morning, after all. Let’s not make a big deal out of it.”

Jane led him out of the kitchen, turning back to cast Maddie a victorious smirk.

“Go eat, Rico,” Jane cooed. “You’ll need your strength for that interview later.”

Rico hesitated, his gaze lingering on Jane’s foot. “Your burn needs to be treated. Change your clothes and I’ll take you to the hospital before the interview.”

“Okay, Rico,” Jane replied sweetly, glancing at Maddie out of the corner of her eye.

Rico’s voice turned cold as he looked back at Maddie. “Clean up this mess. Someone else could get hurt.” Without another word, he left the kitchen, his concern wholly reserved for Jane.

As their laughter faded, Maddie broke down. The sobs she had suppressed poured out in ragged gasps.

It hurt.

It all hurt.

She wasn’t sure if the burning pain from the porridge or the cut on her foot was worse—or if it was the ache in her heart that consumed her the most.

***

After wrapping her foot with a makeshift bandage, Maddie hailed a taxi to the hospital. The doctor cleaned her wound and stitched it carefully, offering advice about avoiding further strain.

As she stepped out of the hospital into the crisp morning air, her phone buzzed. It was her mother.

“Maddie,” her mother began, her voice warm but tinged with concern, “how’s the packing going? I bought you a plane ticket for six days from now. Your sister will come to pick you up in New York the day before.”

Maddie leaned against a bench, staring at her stitched foot. “Mom, I can handle the flight myself. Just have him meet me at the airport. I haven’t packed much yet, but I need to visit the orphanage before I leave.”

There was a pause on the line before her mother spoke again, her voice softer now.

“It’s important to go back, Maddie. That place raised you. Your father and I donated some money recently—I wanted the children there to have a little more, to live a bit better than before.”

The kindness in her mother’s voice cracked something inside Maddie.

“Mom… I don’t blame you or Dad,” she said softly, sensing her mother’s unspoken guilt. “I know you did everything you could. It was hard back then… transportation, communication… everything was harder.”

Her mother’s voice broke slightly. “We searched for you everywhere, Maddie. We never stopped. But the years…” She trailed off, unable to finish.

Maddie closed her eyes, her thoughts drifting to her childhood. Her earliest memories of the orphanage were cold and lonely, but she had always wondered—if circumstances had been different, would she have stayed with her family in Haichester?

***

Her mother’s words brought back painful memories. When Maddie was three, her family had been torn apart by greed and betrayal. Her uncle had demanded a split of the family inheritance, creating rifts that couldn’t be mended. In the chaos that followed, Maddie was separated from her parents, lost in the bustling streets of Haichester.

For years, she clung to the hope that they were searching for her. Now, after so many years apart, the ache of those lost years was still fresh. Maddie had found her parents, but the void in her heart remained.

And now, as she prepared to leave Rico’s home, she realized she was once again stepping away from a life she had fought so hard to build.

The turmoil in Maddie’s life began long before Rico came into it. As a child, her family had been torn apart by greed and betrayal. Her uncle, desperate to force Maddie’s father into splitting the family fortune, kidnapped her one night. His plan unraveled quickly. Maddie’s uncle, drunk and reckless, died choking on his own vomit in a dingy bar, leaving her abandoned in a hotel.

Terrified and alone, Maddie wandered the streets until a childless couple found her and took her in. They renamed her “Lana,” hoping the name would bring them luck. Their prayers seemed to work—six months later, Maddie’s foster mother became pregnant.

One crisp autumn morning, her foster father packed a small bag of her belongings and brought her to a train station. They rode for an entire day until they reached New York. He left her in front of an old brick building.

“This will be your home now,” he said flatly, handing her the bag. Without waiting for her reply, he walked away, his steps hurried and final.

Maddie stood frozen, clutching her bag. Tears welled in her eyes as she stared at the looming building that would become the orphanage she called home. She was on the verge of crying herself to sleep on the cold steps when a boy’s cheerful voice startled her.

“Hey! What’s your name? Did your mom and dad not want you either?”

She looked up to see a boy with messy hair and an oversized shirt peeking through the iron fence.

“My name is…” Maddie hesitated. She didn’t like the name Lana. Somewhere deep in her heart, she remembered being called something else. “Maddie. My name is Maddie.”

The boy tilted his head, grinning. “I’m Rico. My mom and dad don’t want me either. Don’t worry! I’ll go get Mrs. Walker!”

Before she could respond, Rico darted off. Moments later, a kind man with graying hair led her inside. Rico was waiting by the door, a proud smile on his face.

“Maddie, don’t be scared,” he said, reaching out to hold her hand. “My parents don’t want me anymore, either. But now we can be a family.”

***

Life in the orphanage wasn’t easy, but Maddie found solace in Rico’s unwavering protection. The staff tried their best and occasionally, donors would visit, bringing toys or supplies. But with so many children and limited resources, fights and bullying were common.

Whenever Maddie was teased or cornered, Rico would appear, fierce and unrelenting, to defend her. Over time, no one dared to bother her anymore.

As the years passed, Rico became her rock, her safe place. But somewhere along the way, things changed. The warmth between them faded, replaced by a distance Maddie couldn’t understand.

She couldn’t pinpoint when Rico began to drift away. All she knew was that the boy who once promised to protect her was now a man whose heart belonged to someone else.

***

Maddie sat beneath the golden ginkgo tree outside their shared apartment complex, her gaze fixed on the balcony of the 23rd floor. The plants and flowers on that balcony were her pride and joy—each one nurtured with care. But soon, they wouldn’t be hers anymore. Perhaps they never truly had been.

As the midday sun burned her skin, Maddie let her tears fall freely. She reached up to wipe them away, only to be interrupted by the buzz of her phone. A message from her editor appeared on the screen:

[Maddie, why didn’t you update yesterday? The readers are begging for the next chapter. You can’t miss another deadline!]

She stared at the message for a long moment before typing a curt reply.

[Okay.]

Standing with a wince, Maddie limped toward the elevator. Writing had always been her escape. Her current novel—a story of two children who grew up relying on each other—mirrored her own life in many ways. But unlike her story, the heroine in the novel was the one who saved the boy and the boy had fallen in love with her.

***

At her desk, Maddie opened her laptop and pulled up the comments section beneath her latest chapter.

[Maddie, when will the two of them finally get together? I can’t take the suspense anymore!]

[Please don’t break my heart. Let them be happy. They deserve it.]

[Don’t let the hero leave with his real parents. The heroine needs him!]

[If you write a sad ending, I swear I’ll send you a razor blade!]

Maddie stared at the screen, a bitter smile tugging at her lips. Readers poured their hearts into the story, rooting for her characters to have the happy ending she had always dreamed of. But how could she give them something she didn’t believe in anymore?

With trembling fingers, she began to type. Her thoughts wandered as the words appeared on the screen. Was she writing for her readers, or was she rewriting the life she wished she could have?

Maddie gave a bitter smile as she closed the comment section on her latest novel. Writing had been her escape—a way to preserve the moments she shared with Rico. For years, she’d poured her heart into crafting a love story inspired by their bond, believing her characters could find the happiness she longed for.

But reality was different. Rico had chosen Jane. The dream Maddie clung to had shattered, leaving her grasping at memories that no longer felt real.

In her senior year of college, when Maddie’s biological parents finally found her, she made the difficult choice to stay by Rico’s side. She hadn’t told him about her family, fearing that her newfound completeness would only alienate him further. Maddie had sacrificed so much for Rico.

And what had she received in return?

Nothing but distance.

Rico had long since stepped out of the fragile bond they shared. Maddie was the only one left, trapped in a cage of her own making, guarding feelings that now felt like a lie.

She stared at her laptop screen, her chest tightening. With trembling fingers, she typed the title of her newest chapter: Leave.

***

After updating her novel, Maddie moved through the apartment like a ghost, packing her belongings. She placed her favorite clothes in a suitcase, then gathered the rest into large bags. Once her room was stripped of the little touches that made it hers, she sank onto the bed, exhausted.

Reaching into her nightstand, Maddie pulled out a worn photo album. She flipped through the pages, her fingers brushing over the glossy images.

She had always loved photography. As a child, she didn’t have the means to capture moments, but in college, she’d saved up from her writing income to buy a camera. Most of her photos were of Rico, frozen in candid moments like sitting by the dining room window, sunlight highlighting his features as he ate breakfast. Not only that, he was also lying on the balcony, a cigarette dangling lazily from his fingers, curling up on the sofa after a night of drinking, his expression soft in sleep, wearing an apron in the kitchen, brushing soap suds off a plate, and smiling reluctantly in a goofy birthday hat, his eyes shut tight as he made a wish.

Each photo had once made Maddie’s heart flutter. Now, they only deepened her ache.

Gripping a pair of scissors, Maddie prepared to cut the photos into pieces, but her phone buzzed, interrupting her.

***

Her best friend’s voice came through the line, frantic. “Maddie, have you seen your phone? You’re trending.”

“Trending?” Maddie asked, her brows knitting in confusion.

“Yes, someone uploaded a video of you standing outside Rico’s hotel yesterday, holding flowers and crying. Jane’s fans are all over it.” Lucy’s tone softened, worried. “They’re saying awful things. Don’t take it to heart, okay? You know how those fans are—they’ll attack anything that moves.”

Lucy had been Maddie’s college roommate and the only person who knew about her connection to Rico.

“I’ll take a look,” Maddie said quietly, slipping on her headphones as she opened the app.

The top trending hashtag blazed across the screen: #JaneHarperRicoHughesSoSweet. Below it, another topic hovered ominously: #RicoHughesSponsoredOrphan.

Her stomach dropped as she clicked the second tag.

Photos flooded her screen: A shot of her crying outside the hotel, flowers clutched tightly in her hands. Besides, there were images of her entering and leaving Rico’s apartment complex and a rare picture of her and Rico together as children at the orphanage.

The accompanying comments were cruel, each one like a dagger aimed at her heart:

“Who does she think she is? Rico took pity on her and paid for her education and now she’s clinging to him like a leech!”

“Does she seriously think she has a chance with him? What a delusional toad trying to eat a swan!”

“Rico belongs with Jane! This shameless woman needs to leave and stop embarrassing herself.”

“She’s so pathetic. Jane is classy and beautiful. Maddie is just… nothing.”

Maddie’s fingers hovered over the screen as she read the comments. Her throat tightened, but she refused to cry. Not again.

***

Setting her phone aside, Maddie leaned back in her chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Was this how the world saw her? A pathetic hanger-on, clinging to someone who no longer wanted her?

She had given up so much for Rico—her independence, her family, even her dignity. And now, the only thing she had left was the memory of what they once shared. Maddie’s heart burned with shame and anger.

For years, she had tried to preserve their bond through her writing, immortalizing their moments in a fictional world where love conquered all. But now, the reality was too stark to ignore. Rico had moved on. He had Jane.

And Maddie? She had nothing but the echoes of a past that no longer existed.

She exhaled shakily, turning back to her laptop. The comments section of her latest chapter was still open, filled with eager pleas from her readers:

“When will they finally realize they’re meant for each other?”

“Please don’t let the hero leave. The heroine needs him!”

“If you give them a sad ending, I’ll cry for a week!”

Maddie’s lips twisted into a bitter smile. They wanted a happy ending, but her life wasn’t a novel. Sometimes, the hero didn’t choose the heroine.

Sometimes, he walked away.

***