The atmosphere in the dining room of Camellia's apartment was silent. Only the sound of spoons and plates clinking could be heard.

Camellia occasionally stole glances at Caleya with the corner of her eye. However, her younger sister remained cold, just as she had been every day.

Camellia gave up. She exhaled and placed her spoon on her plate. "How long are we going to keep this up?"

The girl with shoulder-length hair was still busy with her meal. Without looking at her sister, she just shrugged. "I thought you purposely made it this way."

Camellia rolled her eyes. "Caleya, come on! You know it's just the two of us now. Can’t we live like other siblings?"

This time, Caleya, the girl with blue eyes, looked up at Camellia. "No, not as long as you keep acting like that."

"What do you mean by 'acting like that'? What did I do?"

"I don’t need to discuss it."

"We have to, Caleya. I don’t want this to go on."

"Then quit your job. Can you do that?"

Hearing that, Camellia fell silent. She lowered her head for a moment, realizing the problem was still the same.

The 25-year-old looked at her only sister, the only family she had left.

"I can’t, Caleya."

Caleya turned away. "Why not? You already have your own company, so why are you still holding on to that lowly job?"

"Caleya, there’s no such thing as a lowly or high job. It all depends on how we look at it. Besides, what’s wrong with my job? We live off it." Camellia tried to explain.

"But there are plenty of other jobs you could do. Your business has grown, so why are you still doing that?"

Camellia paused for a moment, gazing at her sister, who seemed to be struggling internally. How could she explain it? "If I don’t work, I’ll be idle all day, and it drives me crazy."

"Just because you’re bored, you’re sacrificing your dignity and your sister’s reputation. Wow, you’re such an amazing sister," Caleya sneered, smiling sarcastically.

She then drank the glass of water in front of her and stood up. "I’m leaving. Thanks for the free meal and the roof over my head."

Camellia watched as her only sister walked away, leaving her behind. "This is your place too, Caleya. How can I explain to you that if I stop for just a moment, the past will haunt me again? All the regrets and guilt. All the longing that I feel could kill your sister, Caleya."

A single tear rolled down her cheek. It had been quite a while since she had been living alone with Caleya. Since she was just 15 years old, she had to live separately from their parents.

They decided to divorce and left their two children with their grandmother. After their grandmother passed away when Camellia was only 16, she was forced to start making a living so that she and Caleya could survive.

And to support her sister, she took a job as a disc jockey. A job that Caleya hated to this day.

The issue was trivial. When Caleya was 13, her friends told her that being a disc jockey was almost like being a prostitute—a low and disgraceful job.

So, to this day, Caleya despised Camellia's job, unaware of the great things her sister had been through until now.

Her phone rang. It was Luke, the jerk.

"What is it?"

"I'm downstairs. How long are you going to make me stand here?"

Camellia’s eyes widened in shock. "You—what? No, you must be lying. You don’t even know where I live."

"Come on, Camellia. Technology is advanced nowadays, and besides, what can’t I know about my girl, huh?"

"Luke, don’t mess around in my neighborhood. I could scream."

"What would you scream? That your boyfriend is here and you don’t want to see him? Just come down and pick me up. I know what unit you're in, but our fingerprints don’t match, so I can’t open the door."

"Alright, wait. I’m coming."

She really did get up, with the phone still on, to pick up the jerk now flashing his pearly whites in the parking lot.

Luke waved cheerfully at Camellia, without a hint of guilt.

Camellia glared at him lazily. "I didn’t invite you here."

"You don’t need an invitation to see your own girlfriend, do you?"

Camellia chose to ignore him. "What do you want?"

This time, Luke smirked. "I know you're going to a reunion with your friends, but you didn’t even tell me beforehand. Do you think I wouldn’t be upset?"

"Stop acting like you have the right to control me, Luke. That’s none of your business."

The man in the gray blazer stepped closer to Camellia. "Who cares? I do what I want. Now, get ready, we’re leaving."

"What? We? No, Luke. We are not going anywhere. I’m going, alone, not with you."

Luke exhaled a long breath. "Camellia, going to a school reunion alone and without a partner is a bad idea."

"But bringing you is an even worse idea. What if we meet someone who knows you at the event? I don’t want my friends to find out about what’s going on between us."

Luke grinned at Camellia’s words. He turned away for a moment, then looked back at the beautiful girl in front of him. "What exactly is going on between us?"

"Luke!"

"Alright, sweetheart, I understand. You don’t need to worry, we didn’t go to the same school. Now hurry up and get ready, I’ll wait for you here."

This time, Camellia didn’t argue. She went back to her apartment and began getting ready. Luke would only become more insistent if she resisted.

Camellia just prayed that bringing Luke to the event wouldn’t cause new problems.

***

Bringing Luke to the event might not have been so bad. The humorous guy easily blended in with others.

And here Camellia was, outside the restroom. Eating too much spicy food had upset her stomach.

The girl was fixing her makeup when her eyes caught a familiar figure.

Her eyebrows furrowed. From the mirror, she could clearly see the figure. Her hand froze in the air, just as she was about to touch her face.

She quickly turned around. "Kyle?"

For a moment, the name echoed in both Camellia’s mind and the figure’s. Slowly, the man in formal attire turned and saw Camellia staring at him.

The man’s expression was the opposite of Camellia’s, who looked both happy and surprised. "Kyle—it's really you?"

The man called Kyle shoved his hands into his pockets arrogantly. His gaze was filled with hatred, and his face radiated anger. "Who are you?"

"I—it's me, Kyle. It’s Camellia."

"I don’t recognize you anymore after these six years. I’ve erased all memories of you. You and your memories can’t force their way back in."