Chapter 28 Daniel Bullying Me
I thought, 'Zoe's coming over? I can barely take care of myself, and now I gotta babysit her too? Is she missing a limb or just clueless? I was spoiled by my parents too. Before high school, Helen even washed my socks. But when I went to college far from home, I had to fend for myself, and I turned out fine. Why can't Zoe do the same?'
Honestly, I didn't want to agree. I wanted to avoid both Zoe and Daniel.
First, I didn't like Zoe. She always seemed too sneaky and manipulative. I was worried I'd fall into one of her traps. Second, I was busy with the competition and exhausted every day. Without Brad, I might not even eat properly. I really didn't have the energy to take care of Zoe for Daniel.
Bottom line, Daniel should take care of his own girlfriend. It's not my problem.
"Can you, Jane? Please," Daniel asked again with a hopeful smile.
Daniel, who always thought so highly of himself, had never begged like this. For Zoe, he really had changed and sacrificed a lot.
This showed that Daniel truly cared for Zoe.
If it weren't for what happened later, I would've thought that as long as Daniel liked her, I'd support him no matter what Zoe was like.
"Hi, Jane, I'm very well-behaved and won't cause you any trouble," Zoe said, always trying to make her presence known.
I looked at Zoe's beaming face on the screen, her eyes pretending to be innocent but clearly showing her smugness.
My head hurt. "Why not ask Brad? He'd take better care of her than I would."
Daniel awkwardly coughed, "He's a guy and wouldn't know how to take care of her."
I pouted, not buying his excuse.
Hugh and Emma didn't approve of Daniel and Zoe being together. For something as important as Daniel's happiness, Brad couldn't be unaware. Daniel was afraid Brad would treat Zoe the same way Hugh and Emma did, making her feel bad, so he came to me instead.
In other words, I was Daniel's second choice.
Maybe in this lifetime, I was never Daniel's first choice.
"How long will she stay?" I asked.
"At most a month," Daniel replied.
"Let me be clear, I don't have much experience taking care of people. I can't be as attentive as a boyfriend. Plus, I'm quite busy lately, so I'll just do my best. Tell Zoe to come to me if she needs anything, but not to bother me if she doesn't."
"That's enough, thank you, Jane." Daniel was so happy when I agreed that he flashed a big smile.
"Send me her arrival time on Facebook. If I'm not too busy, I'll pick her up." I hung up, threw my phone on the table, turned off the hairdryer, and collapsed on the bed in frustration.
The next morning, Brad took me out for breakfast, but just thinking about Zoe's arrival annoyed me so much that I lost my appetite.
Brad sat across from me, gently asking why I was eating so little.
I explained, "Zoe's coming, but I don't like her."
"Who's Zoe? What's her coming got to do with you?" Brad looked confused.
I was shocked he didn't know about Daniel and Zoe or my history with Daniel. No wonder he never mentioned it or tried to comfort me.
"Zoe is Daniel's girlfriend. She'll be part of your family soon. Don't tell me you didn't know." I pouted, not believing him.
Brad wiped his mouth with a napkin, looking puzzled. "Don't joke like that. You and Daniel have been engaged since forever. He wouldn't dare look elsewhere. Zoe, such a basic name."
Looking at Brad's innocent face, I suddenly didn't know where to start.
Brad never lied, so he really didn't know about Daniel and Zoe.
Everyone who knew us thought Daniel and I would be together forever.
Just like when I stood on the classroom podium in senior year, clarifying that Daniel and I were just neighbors, no one believed our paths had long diverged.
To be precise, Daniel and I never even started. My feelings for him, my pursuit, were all one-sided.
And it wasn't wrong for Daniel to find someone he wanted to be with.
But the fact that Brad, Daniel's own brother, knew nothing about this was a blow to me.
I had thought Brad was kind to me out of guilt, to make up for Daniel's actions.
So, Brad being nice to me had nothing to do with Daniel, which actually made me quite happy.
"Brad, I'm not lying. Nothing ever sparked between Daniel and me, and it fizzled out completely by the end of senior year. Zoe was our schoolmate, and she started dating Daniel in senior year. They're both at National Capital University now, and Daniel really likes her."
Brad put down his knife and fork, staring at me in disbelief, as if trying to confirm what I was saying. Maybe to Brad, it was unbelievable and impossible.
At first, I could meet Brad's gaze calmly, but as those memories flashed through my mind, I suddenly felt wronged, and tears welled up in my eyes.
I swore I tried to hold them back, but I couldn't.
Seeing me cry, Brad quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe my tears. I took the tissue, buried my face in it, and cried silently but intensely.
In the past two years, I had cried a few times when I was deeply hurt, but I always held back. I had never cried so openly and let out all my grievances and sadness like I did in front of Brad.
"Brad, I get it if Daniel's not into me, but asking me to take care of his girlfriend is just too much."
Our commotion had attracted the attention of several nearby tables.
I wanted to stop crying, but I was too upset to do so.
Brad led me out of the breakfast place to a quiet corner, letting me rest my head on his shoulder. "Let it all out. My shoulder is here for you."
Brad didn't say anything else, just sat quietly beside me, occasionally patting my head and wiping away my tears, silently comforting me in his own way.
I cried for a long time, and as my pent-up emotions were released, I felt much better.
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