Watching us leave, one after the other, Olivia Ashton stood fuming in place, stomping her feet in frustration.
In the afternoon, while working, I suddenly received a phone call from my brother's school. The teacher sounded extremely urgent.
They told me that my brother was missing.
Upon hearing this, I was immediately frantic. I requested time off without hesitation.
Seeing my distressed state, Leander asked me what was wrong, and I told him the situation honestly.
Upon seeing my panic, Leander furrowed his brow and immediately said, "I'll go with you."
My brother had suddenly disappeared, and I was in a state of panic. I was incredibly grateful that someone was willing to help.
Throughout the whole ordeal, Leander was incredibly responsible. He showed more dedication than I, as the sister, had expected, tirelessly searching for my brother.
We eventually found him at an amusement park near the school. When I saw Leander leading my brother out, I almost burst into tears.
At that moment, I forced myself to hold back the tears and immediately checked on my brother's condition, "Are you okay? Are you alright?"
My brother's little face was dirty, and he looked confused as he gently shook his head.
"I'm fine."
He pretended to brush it off, but soon he couldn't hold it in anymore and began crying, clinging to my leg tightly, "Sister, I got lost. I knew you would come for me."
Seeing my brother like this made me feel so heartbroken, so I squatted down to comfort him.
Watching us siblings in a tight embrace, Leander's face slowly filled with confusion.
At least my brother was found, and I exhaled a heavy sigh of relief.
My gaze soon shifted to the man standing nearby, whose confusion was evident. I knew the moment had come to clear things up.
"Actually, this little boy is not my son. He's my younger brother. He's my parents' child, the newest member of our family."
Upon hearing my explanation, the man's confused expression finally relaxed, and he let out a visible sigh of relief.
His eyes fixed on me, and he spoke seriously, "Actually, it wouldn't be a problem if I raised him." Hearing this, I unconsciously smiled, feeling a sense of relief.
It was clear from his previous behavior that, even if my brother were truly my son, Leander wouldn't have minded.
But...
Just as we were having this serious conversation, Leander suddenly noticed something and tensed up.
He quickly leaned down, running to my brother and pulling him into his arms, spinning him around twice before finally steadying him by a flower bed on the side of the road.
Even from this distance, I could clearly hear the heavy thud as his back slammed into the flower bed.
"Bang!"
The sound made me exhale sharply.
I immediately rushed to them, and that's when my brother, still in Leander's arms, started to cry out loud. The shock of what just happened seemed too much for him.
I checked my brother up and down several times, relieved when I found no injuries. If anything had happened to him under my watch, I wouldn't know how to face our parents.
Once Leander confirmed my brother was fine, he visibly relaxed as well. I tried to help him stand, but as I approached, I heard a stifled groan.
"Ugh..."
After examining him, I realized his arm had been seriously fractured.
The thought that he got hurt while trying to help me brought tears to my eyes. I quickly found something to stabilize his wrist and dialed for an ambulance.
Fortunately, the teacher from the school arrived just in time to take my brother back to the kindergarten, and I got on the ambulance with Leander.
On the ambulance, seeing me so emotionally unsettled, Leander couldn't help but laugh, "Are you worried about me?"
Given the circumstances, I shot him a glance and replied, "Aren't you in pain?"
"Yeah!" He looked at me with intense eyes, "If I tell you it hurts a lot, will you feel sorry for me?"
At that moment, the air between us became filled with an unspoken tension, and even the medical staff seemed uncomfortable. After getting to the hospital and undergoing a full check-up, I finally relaxed when they confirmed there were no other major injuries. But since his right arm was broken, someone would need to take care of him for a while.
He was injured because of me, so I naturally had to take responsibility.
I looked at him firmly and declared, "Don't worry, since it happened because of me, I will take care of you and won't stand by."
Upon hearing this, a small, tender smile appeared on his lips, his eyes softening, "So, you'll stay by my side all the time from now on, right?"
I didn't understand why, after all this time, he was so concerned about me leaving him.
Maybe the events from the past really affected him deeply…
During this time, I mostly focused on taking care of his daily needs, and it felt like we had returned to how things were before.
He still loved the meals I made for him. During my free time, I would tidy up around the house, and he would always be there, helping me out.
During this period, I also learned about everything he had gone through over the years.
It made me realize how hard it had been for him to get to where he was today.
Under my careful care, Leander was soon discharged from the hospital.
