He Called Me Sister—Until I Got a Boyfriend

My fiancé says he only thinks of me as a sister. After he was disabled, he stopped feeling like he was enough. He won't admit he likes me. He pushed me away again.

Rows of livechat comments came scrolling across in front of me. [Still talking tough.

Can't he tell our girl is already getting tired of him?] [She's about to fall for that warm, ablebodied diamond college boy!] Jonah stayed as cold as ever.

But the way he looked at me got darker and darker.

Then I brought home a bright, goodlooking boy a year below me at school, wrapped my arm sweetly around him, and introduced him. "Brother, this is my boyfriend.

We're together now." The cup in his hand shattered. All the color went out of his face. Chapter 1 "Get out." Jonah pushed me away. He scrubbed hard at the corner of his mouth.

His ears were red, but his face was cold, and he had a tight grip on the towel around him. The shove made me stumble. I stammered out an explanation. "I was bringing you a towel.

It's so slippery in there—I kissed you by accident…" The man cut me off in the middle of my transparent little coverup. "Anneliese, you've pulled this too many times.

I've told you I don't like you. I only think of you as a sister! The engagement is going to be called off.

Stop doing pointless things like this." He sat in the wheelchair with his eyes lowered, his expression unreadable, water dripping from his soaked hair, his face like a beautiful porcelain doll.

Three years ago, a crash damaged the nerves in his lower legs and left him unable to stand. Ever since, his voice had always been ice.

I'd lost count of how many times he'd pushed me away. I was quiet for a long moment. "Fine. Then from now on I'll think of you as a brother." His head snapped up to look at me.

Disbelief. A second later, he saw the comments scrolling past. [The villain fiancé is still talking tough.

Can't he tell our girl is already getting tired of him?] [The FL, Anneliese Havemeyer, did like him at first, but he had to keep insisting he only saw her as a sister.

Who could keep that up?] Jonah went rigid all at once and clamped down on the arms of his chair. A deep sense of his own inferiority flickered in his eyes. A moment later he let go.

He said it like it didn't touch him at all. "You've finally come around. That's good." "Mm." I turned and left. Something seemed to fall in the bathroom, a bright little clatter.

I didn't rush back the way I always had, didn't ask if he'd fallen, didn't insist on checking him over from head to toe. Jonah listened to my footsteps getting farther away.

The color drained out of his face, and the selfdisgust in his eyes went deeper.

The comments came again. [The villain says he doesn't like the FL, then knocks the body wash over on purpose so she'll come look at him.

That's textbook hotandcold.] [Too bad hotandcold went out of style.] [The FL is about to fall for that warm, ablebodied diamond college boy.] [Sunshine princess vs. younger bad dog.

The sexual tension is off the charts! Does anybody else get it?] The man's head jerked up.

His voice came out panicked and shrill. "Who is the diamond college boy?" The diamond college boy was an actor I'd hired. Benjamin Palmer.

He was a computer science student, a year below me. I'd noticed him because he had a good face.

And because he was always on our school's anonymous crush page, picking up paid work—sitting in on classes for people, taking notes for them. I paid him very well to act with me.

The comments heard Jonah's voice and were stunned. [Villain bro can actually see us?!] [The diamond college boy is Benjamin Palmer, a year below our girl at school.

He's the endgame ML, the clingy puppy everybody loves.] [They met this month in the same gened elective, and our girl already has a thing for him.] Chapter 2 [You must have noticed our girl isn't as warm to you lately, right?] [Love doesn't disappear.

It just moves from one person to another.] [You'll be free soon!] Jonah heard all of it. His lips trembled.

On his way out of the bathroom he didn't watch for the shards on the floor and almost fell out of his chair. The next morning.

I stood in front of the mirror humming, tying the drawstring on my hoodie. Instead of the expensive, elegant dresses I used to wear, I had on a youthful, casual white shirt.

The man appeared in the mirror behind me, staring at the anticipation and delight on my face, his eyes darkening. "Why the sudden change of style?" "Doesn't it look younger?

Friendlier?" I glanced back and smiled at him. "Oh—I won't be home for dinner tonight." There was an obvious pause before he asked, as if it were nothing. "Meeting a friend?" My voice came out a little unnatural. "Yeah… my oldest friend.

You know the one. Shay Zeller, from Zeller Pharmaceuticals." He stopped me at the door. "You haven't given me my goodmorning kiss, Annie. You said it passes on luck and a blessing.

You said we had to keep it up every day." I shook my head. "That was before. These days I don't see much point in that old ritual.

We don't have to kiss." Jonah's expression turned ugly. The moment I was gone, he made a call. "Shay.

Annie says the two of you are having dinner tonight?" The voice on the other end was baffled. "Don't be ridiculous, Mr. Lockwood. I'm diving in Palau.

There's a rare school of fish tonight—what kind of underwater photographer would I be if I missed that?" The comments: [Villain bro, we told you our girl is out with somebody.

You didn't believe us. You had to go check.] [Our girl is willing to let you off. Count your blessings!] Jonah's hand shook around the phone and wouldn't stop.

Something behind his eyes broke fast. I spent the afternoon doing research with Doc Quillen, and when the clock said evening I asked Benjamin to take a walk with me across campus.

As casually as possible, we passed right through the shot—the school's official account was livestreaming a campus tour. Jonah was a Halstead graduate too.

He followed the school's account. Sure enough. Not long after, he videocalled me. "My stomach hurts and I can't remember where my stomach medication is.

Point me to it." I shut off my camera in a hurry. "Ask the housekeeper. I'm in the middle of something, I can't talk." And I hung up.

Jonah slumped back in his office chair and lifted a hand to cover the selfdisgust and the despair in his eyes, the edge of a breakdown showing through.

One glance at the screen and I would have caught the lie. The background was his office. But I didn't look. I hung up because I was afraid he'd see the other man beside me.

That night Benjamin and I went to a restaurant. He was a born ham, and he played it so real.

He pulled my chair out for me, peeled my shrimp, even told the server to let the red wine breathe first. It started a fight at the next table. "Look how thoughtful her boyfriend is.

And you?" I drank my wine and wanted to laugh. Then I felt a stare land on my back. Dark. Clinging. Moving down my spine an inch at a time.

I set down the glass I'd been using as a mirror, pretended not to see Jonah tailing me from behind, and gave Benjamin a warm smile. "After this, let's go see the fireworks at the Embarcadero!" The fireworks at the Embarcadero are beautiful.

It's the spot couples go to. I made a point of standing close to Benjamin and taking pictures, the way the other couples did. And right then.

Chapter 3 A familiar voice came from behind me, low and grim. "Annie. You said you were having dinner with Shay.

Who is that?" I hurried to explain. "He's a guy at my school, a year below me.

Tonight I suddenly remembered that the plan with Shay was for next week, and I ran into the guy from school, so we ate together.

There are fireworks at the Embarcadero tonight and I asked him to take a picture of me. You're not jealous, are you?" Jonah heard all that, and the tension went out of his body.

He was composed again. "Anneliese, I believe you. But don't joke about jealousy again. Your mom and dad asked me to look after you here in Palo Alto.

That's the only reason I care about you—so you don't end up with the wrong kind of person and get dragged down." It was like throwing a punch into a pillow. He actually believed me?

I fired back with more comments. [Keep pretending, villain! No wonder you're the villain—you won't make a move until the FL and the ML are together.] [Dying.

He spent tonight haunting her like a ghost, watching her out with somebody else and hating every second of it, and he still talks tougher than anybody.] [The FL lied to hide it from you, which means you're still in her heart.] [Make a move already.

Any later and she'll actually be with the ML, and you'll have nowhere to go cry!] Jonah's gaze slid over the comments. It didn't stop.

But that night, in the shower, he called for me again. "Annie, I forgot my towel.

Can you help me?" Our bedrooms were next to each other, and I was always sleeping in his, so handing him something was nothing. The bathroom door opened.

A beautiful hand came out, as if he didn't want me catching even a glimpse of what was inside. But the knuckles had that faint pink I liked.

They only got that way when they'd been rubbed hard. He was baiting me. Quietly. Luring… But I only handed him the towel.

I didn't run my fingers along his hand the way I used to, didn't bump into him as if by accident, didn't take hold of the handles of his chair and lean down to kiss him.

Behind the glass door, the man looked at the towel that had been pulled through. It hit him like a punch. His body swayed. Only… the towel… [Is that the villain making a move?

Don't make me laugh. He's guarding himself from the FL like she's a predator!] [If you ask me, that's not direct at all. The FL can't feel a thing.] Jonah's eyes went red.

He murmured to himself, "No. She always loved my hands. There's no way she wouldn't take them…" "She's tired of me." After his shower, Jonah heard heavy rain outside.

I'm terrified of thunderstorms. I always came to his room.

He'd refused before, but he was no match for how relentless I was, and he'd grudgingly draw a line down the middle of the bed—and then, without noticing, end up tangled up in me… enjoying it while pretending to resist.

But this time. He waited a long time after his shower, and I never came. Unease rose in him. He wheeled himself out.

Through the gap in my door, Jonah saw me on a video call with Shay, my oldest friend, my eyes lit up with an excitement that used to happen only when I looked at him. "Shay, listen.

That guy at my school, the one a year below me—he's nothing like Jonah. He's warm, he's sunny, and he has an eightpack. Oh my God!

Do you understand!" "All the things I haven't been able to do to Jonah for three years—I feel like I'll be doing them to him soon." The comments jeered. [See, villain bro?

You turn our girl down, and somebody else will happily take her.] [Once she's eaten her fill out there, you're officially useless garbage.

Who's going to look at you then?] Chapter 4 Jonah's fists clenched, nails digging into his palms, into the flesh, and he didn't feel any of it. On the call.

Shay was puzzled. "So you don't like Jonah anymore? Weren't you always thirsty for his body?

You're giving up, just like that?" I was quiet for a few seconds, discouraged. "Honestly, I can feel the heat for him draining out of me a little at a time.

I don't even know if I'm thirsty anymore. Maybe I don't like him… Better to start thinking of him as a brother now than to end up hating the sight of each other." Bang.

A heavy thud from next door. I shut off the phone in a panic and pushed through his door. Jonah had fallen out of his chair and was struggling to get up.

The corners of his eyes were a pitiful pink, and his loose pajamas had been pulled open, showing a wide stretch of beautiful pale skin—half covered, half not, which pulls at you more than bare ever could.

Seeing me seemed to give him nerve. "It hurts…" I helped him back into the chair and then, as if I hadn't noticed the offer, pulled his pajamas closed. "It's still a little cold out.

Keep your clothes on so you don't get sick." He froze. Like the sky had come down. I pushed him back to his bedroom.

Like a man who'd made a hard decision, he took my hand and pressed it to his chest. "I went to the living room for water just now and my heart started racing.

Feel it… is it racing?" Because he couldn't stand, Jonah worked his upper body every day, and his chest had gotten thick with it.

The feel of it came up through my palm and made my scalp prickle. I swallowed. "Jonah. Can I take this as an invitation?" He didn't answer.

I started undoing his buttons, one at a time. I'd just gotten to his waist when he turned the chair back on reflex, escaping.

I lost my balance, stumbled a step, and almost went down.

One hand on the wheel, one hand clutching his shirt closed, inferiority showing in his eyes, he said, mortified: "I didn't mean it like that! My heart was racing, that's all.

It isn't anymore. Fine—go back and get some rest!" I took a deep breath, smiled a little, and turned to go. "I know you didn't mean it like that. It was a joke.

Don't take it seriously, brother." He heard that. The red at his ears vanished. He said the word over and over, and it went into his heart like a knife. "Brother.

Brother…" The comments kept scrolling. [Well, well, now look at that. The fiancé is a brother!

Serves you right for playing games—you couldn't hold on to a perfect opening!] [Our girl is right to be tired of you. You two aren't a match.

We're not helping you anymore.] That thunderstorm night. Jonah left the light on and waited all night for nothing.

The rain stopped, the sky went light, and I never came with my pillow to sleep in his bed. And there was more. He noticed I was pulling away from him.

I used to fight him for the remote every single time, never treating him like a disabled man.

The two of us would tumble onto the couch together, me sprawled on top of him grabbing for it, and when I won I'd gloat. "Jonah, tonight we watch the truecrime channel.

No business news!" Now he held the remote and warned me, "I'm not letting you have it tonight. Don't even try." But it didn't set off my competitive streak the way it used to.

Instead I said, "Then watch what you want." Jonah sat frozen with the remote in his hand.

It took him a long time to put on his usual business news channel, and then he couldn't take in a word of it. Because I was next to him, laughing into my phone. Happy.

As happy as I used to be when I took the remote out of his hand. Chapter 5 Jonah realized my attention no longer landed on him. He nearly bent the remote out of shape.

A long time passed. I was still deep in my conversation, happy, absorbed, with no idea he'd been staring at me the whole time. Jonah worked to keep himself under control.

He took a breath, wheeled over, got an apple, and started peeling it. Partway through the peeling, he hissed. I still didn't notice.

His face got worse, and he cried out, laying it on thick. "I cut my finger. It really hurts…" That got my head up.

I saw the blood in his palm and got up fast to bring him the firstaid kit. "How are you this careless again?

You're bleeding…" Jonah watched me swab on the antiseptic, hurting for him. His face eased. The corner of his mouth curved. I still cared.

He would always weigh more with me than any of those nobodies. And then. My phone rang.

The second I saw it was a video call I grabbed it and got up fast, heading for my bedroom, brightfaced, unable to wait. I threw a line over my shoulder. "Bandage it yourself.

I have something to do." Jonah sat in his chair, blank. He listened to the bedroom door shut, to my laughter coming through it, and closed his fist a little at a time.

The cut I'd just cleaned split open, and the blood came faster. It ran down between his fingers. His hair fell forward and hid what was growing dark in his eyes.

In the days after that I left early and came home late, always humming when I came in.

No matter how late it was, I'd find Jonah, who liked to sleep early, reading on the couch, and his "You're back" was perfectly flat, as though it happened to be a coincidence every time.

But once I turned away, I could feel the way he looked at me getting stranger and stranger. The comments: [Has anybody noticed how much livelier our girl is lately?

She's glowing!] [Told you. A spoiled princess belongs with a clingy loyal dog! Does anybody else get falling asleep on a video call every night?

That puppy has clinging to his girl down cold!] [Time for the fiancé to exit.

I'm done looking at that offputting block of ice he calls a face.] [Tomorrow is the tenyear anniversary of the day the FL met her fiancé.

Does that mean our puppy ML can't have dinner with her? sad jpg.] At breakfast. Jonah spoke up. "Annie. Can you come home for dinner tonight?" He looked at me, careful about it.

I smiled. "Of course. It works out—I have a surprise to tell you about today!" His eyes lit up at that. The anticipation in them was brimming over. He was visibly happy at work.

Kendall, his executive assistant, and Fiona, an analyst, were talking behind his back. "Is the boss in love?" "He has a fiancée.

Anneliese Havemeyer, the daughter of Mayor Glenn Havemeyer of Boston.

They grew up together, and the families are a perfect match…" "The Anneliese who broke through the firewall of the company next door in middle school?

The tech prodigy who's been doing research with the big names since she was a kid?" "That's her! She must be about to get engaged to him.

Otherwise he wouldn't be this happy." Jonah heard them in the break room and acted like he hadn't. But the corner of his mouth went way up.

When someone brought in more documents, he signed and said, offhand, "Kendall, you and Fiona have a great attitude about the work.

Double pay this month." Kendall had no idea where the money had fallen from, and not even thinking about the most painful thing in his life could hide that smile. "Thank you, Mr.

Lockwood." Jonah left work early. He went home and made the food I like. Chapter 6 He had the cook taste every dish and give notes.

Once he was sure it was all good, he sat in his chair, satisfied, and waited for me to come home. Evening. The sound of the door.

He picked up his water glass and drank, playing calm.

Until I came in with a young man, my arm wrapped sweetly around him, and introduced him. "Brother, this is my boyfriend, Benjamin Palmer. We're together now.

We're planning to get married after graduation." Jonah's head came up to look at me. His pupils shrank. His hand was still shaped around the glass.

The glass was already in pieces on the floor. The color went out of his face. "What did you say?" The man's voice climbed, almost to a shriek. "Anneliese, you're joking, right