3
His fingers were about to slip away completely when a gasp echoed from nearby, followed by a chorus of shouts for help.
Leo snapped back to reality and tightened his grip, his eyes wide with a strange mix of fear and confusion as he looked at the hand that had almost let me go.
Once we were both pulled back to safety, his usual combative demeanor was gone. He was unusually silent.
When I tried to make another break for the railing, Leo pushed through the crowd. In front of everyone, he grabbed my wrist, his grip like iron.
“We still don’t know what happened to Sera,” he declared, his voice tight, his eyes turning red despite his efforts. “As the prime sus- pect, it’s my duty to watch you.”
He noticed me looking and turned away petulantly. For a fleeting moment, I saw something on his face that looked like… sorrow. Sorrow for what? I scoffed internally.
When Leo, the sole heir to the Sterling fortune, had been kidnapped and abandoned by his parents‘ business rivals, he had ended up wandering the slums. He was bullied by other kids, chased by stray dogs. Finally, with nowhere else to go, he hid in a dumpster at the end of an alley.
It was the middle of July. The air was thick with flies and the stench of rot. He huddled there, a small, forgotten thing, sharing his refuge with rats and roaches, simply waiting to decay. His only act of defiance was to call out to me as I walked past the alley on my way home from school.
I pulled him out of that dumpster, cleaned him up, and altered my late father’s old clothes to fit him. I was only twelve myself, shar- ing the small stipend I received as an orphan with him.
I was a transmigrator, but at that point, I hadn’t yet remembered my mission. I had no special abilities, no cheats. To make sure Leo could go to school and have enough to eat, I collected empty bottles after class and washed dishes in a small restaurant every weekend.
Child labor laws meant I was paid far less than anyone else. I had to wash countless plates just to earn a few cents. How many dishes would it take to wash away our bleak future? I didn’t know. I just numbly picked up plate after plate, rinsing and scrubbing. The sweltering heat of the restaurant’s back kitchen, the whirring of a small fan, and the perpetual layer of grease became the indelible memories of
my childhood.
I once asked Leo why he had chosen me, out of all the people who passed that alley. He was just a little boy then, but he looked up at me with a wide grin. He said he had watched for a long time and chosen me specifically. He trusted that I was the only one who was truly kind.
11.02
¿Chapter 1
This was the same Leo who, after being taken back by his family at fourteen, disappeared without a word. The same Leo who once claimed to believe in my kindness, but when faced with the inevitable conflicts between me and the heroine, hesitated only briefly before firmly taking her side. He would stand with them, condemning me, his voice ringing with disappointment and contempt.
And now, thanks to his insistence on “watching over me” for Sera, I couldn’t find a single opportunity to end my life.
After witnessing me try to jump twice without a moment’s hesitation, Leo finally understood. This wasn’t for attention. I genuinely
wanted to die.
His attitude toward me softened considerably. On the way back, he even tried to counsel me with surprising patience.
“You’ve done a lot of wrong things,” he said, “but Sera isn’t a petty person. If you just apologize to her sincerely, everyone can go
back to how things were.”
I had no interest in his words, keeping my eyes closed for most of the ride. I only perked up when he mentioned Joey.
Seeing this, a self–deprecating smile touched Leo’s lips, but I couldn’t be bothered with his feelings. All I could think about was Joey. The man who loved Sera so completely. Surely, if I provoked him enough using Sera’s name, he might just kill me for her.
