Chapter22
Effie nudged her forehead. “Miss Heiress, their breakfast costs 1 or 2 dollars a day. 170 dollars would cover two months of meals.”
‘Rich girl doesn’t get how the real world works. Rich girl, please hush,‘ she thought.
If regular schools gave out 100 to 170 dollars, then for Ordstead, 1000 to 1700 dollars would be fair, right?‘ Dora wondered.
Decision made, Dora turned to Effie. “Help me whip up a fancy–looking certificate for the art competition. Something a little elegant.”
Effie looked even more confused. “What do you need that for?”
Dora slung her bag over one shoulder, flashing her a dazzling smile as she walked off. “To trick a kid.”
Watching Dora disappear into the distance, Effie went full confused grandma. ‘Don’t get it. Still doing it,‘ she thought.
After school, the area outside the front gates came alive with activity. Snack vendors were setting up shop–despite being full of rich kids, Ordstead students still couldn’t resist junk food.
Amid the stream of students coming and going, Dora immediately spotted a figure that stood out–tall, striking, and impossible to miss.
It was Keith.
He looked like he’d stepped out of a show–refined, handsome, with that soft, scholarly aura. His downcast gaze carried a quiet melancholy, his whole expression tinged with something almost poetic.
Chapter22
Dora thought that if Keith ever starred in a historical drama, he’d have girls swooning by the millions.
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Just look at Effie–she’d practically forgotten she had a fiance the moment she laid eyes on him.
“Keith.”
“Keith!”
Two voices overlapped. Dora followed the sound and saw Linda beaming as she jogged toward Keith.
That bright, familiar smile hit Keith like a wave. He suddenly remembered how she used to run toward him just like that when he stopped by her class after school.
Back then, he’d doted on her endlessly. Even after the Acosta family went bankrupt, nothing had changed between them. They’d still take the bus home together–or sometimes, just decide to walk.
Halfway through, without fail, Linda would complain she was tired and ask for a piggyback ride.
He never refused. He’d happily carry her all the way home while she clung to his back, kicking her legs and saying things like: “Having a brother is the best! You’re the best in the whole world! I’m the happiest girl alive!”
Happiness had come easily–too easily. And just as easily, it shattered.
Somewhere along the way, her smile faded, replaced by bitterness and
resentment.
“I’m sick of riding the bus! I can’t stand the smell anymore! Carry me!”
“Seriously? We’ve barely walked. Why are you so useless?”
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Chapter22
“Why don’t you buy a bike? No money? Then get a job!”
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Eventually, she tossed aside the raccoon plushie she used to love most- and with it, the brother she once claimed was the best in the world.
Keith swallowed hard, pushing back the emotion rising in his throat. He had no idea how to face the Linda standing in front of him now.
But Linda didn’t notice. Still wearing that sugary smile, she said sweetly, “Keith, I really miss going to school and coming home with you. It’s different now that I’ve transferred to Ordstead. My classmates don’t seem to like me much. They only hang out with Dora.”
As she spoke, her smile gradually faded, and her eyes began to well up- painting herself as the poor victim of exclusion, quietly implying that Dora was the one leading the charge.
Keith picked up on it instantly, and the words left his mouth without thinking. “Dora’s not like that.”
She wasn’t petty or cold. Even after spending seventeen years in luxury, she was humble and kind. She never once complained about how small their home was or how hard the mattress felt. She praised Chris’s cooking, bought candy for Dewey, always thinking of others before herself.
Dora. was genuinely good. So good it made him feel guilty–that as her older brother, he’d done so little for her, while she quietly gave and adjusted.
Linda froze.
She’d thought Dora had stormed out of the Hendrix family just to put on a show. She assumed that once she got to the run–down Acosta family, all that pampered princess attitude would come pouring out.
But instead, here was Keith–already warming up to her. Just a couple of days, and it was like he’d forgotten all about the sister he’d grown up with
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for seventeen years.
And then a cool, slightly mocking voice cut through the tension, “Wow. I didn’t know Ms. Hendrix had a habit of collecting other people’s brother.”
The moment Dora heard Keith defend her, she smiled and strolled over.
Her peach blossom eyes glimmered with a mix of playfulness and danger “Or do you just get a kick out of stealing things that belong to other people?”
“Dora.”
