Ara couldn't sleep.
Her mind was a whirlwind of questions, tangled with the weight of what she had discovered. The box in the attic, the letters, the photograph... everything had shattered the reality she thought she knew.
Renjun was her brother.
And yet, he had never said a word.
Should she confront him? Should she pretend she didn't know? Had he always known who she was? The questions circled endlessly, leaving her restless and exhausted.
Unable to keep it to herself, she had confided in Ningning. Her reaction had only amplified the storm inside her.
"That's insane," Ningning had said, pacing back and forth across Ara's bedroom. "Why wouldn't your parents tell you? And why would they..." She cut herself off, shaking her head in disbelief. "Why would they disown him?"
"I don't know," Ara murmured, hugging her knees to her chest. "But it makes sense now, doesn't it? Why Renjun always seemed... distant. Like there was something he wasn't telling us."
Ningning had been quieter, her expression unreadable as she processed the revelation. "Maybe he didn't want you to know," she said finally. "Think about it. How hard must it have been for him? To be around you every day, knowing the truth? Pretending like you were just another friend?"
Ara's chest tightened. "I feel so guilty," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "I've had this normal, happy life, and he's been... what? Alone? Struggling? Wondering if he was ever going to see me again?"
Ningning crouched beside her, voice soft but firm. "Hey. Don't do that to yourself. This isn't your fault." She squeezed Ara's hand. "Your parents made their choices. Not you."
Despite Ningning's reassurance, the guilt gnawed at Ara. She found herself pulling away from Renjun, avoiding his gaze, avoiding conversations that lasted more than a few words. Every time she looked at him, she felt the weight of the secret pressing down on her, suffocating her.
And Renjun noticed.
He saw the way her smiles didn't quite reach her eyes anymore. The way she hesitated before responding to him. The way she always seemed to find an excuse to leave the room when they were alone.
Every little distance she put between them hurt him, though he never showed it. Renjun had always been careful, careful to protect Ara, to let her discover the truth on her own terms.
But now, seeing her pull back, seeing her struggle with the truth he had carried silently for so long, he felt something tighten in his chest.
He had his suspicions about what she had learned, but he wasn't ready to face them. Not yet.
Not until he was sure she could handle it.
And so, they continued like this... two people who shared the deepest truth between them, yet kept it hidden, both afraid of how the other might react.
The silence stretched, heavy and suffocating, like a fragile thread connecting them, ready to snap at any moment.
For now, all they could do was wait.
Wait.
And hope that when the time came, they could face the truth together.
