Gavin's POV

After Zoey left, I didn't head straight back to my room. Instead, I called out to my parents, who were about to retire for the night.

"Is it really safe for Zoey to go back alone like that?"

"She'll be fine." Dad headed toward his room. "She's taking a cab. What's unsafe about that?"

I didn't respond right away. After a moment's thought, I spoke up.

"During my time in the service, even when I was in a military vehicle, people could still stop the car. I don't think just being in a cab means she's safe."

"So what do you want to do about it?" Dad asked.

After a brief silence, I pulled out my phone and dialed Lawrence's number.

It rang for a while before he picked up. I could faintly hear noise in the background—he was at a party.

"You went to a party alone and left your girlfriend at our home?" My voice was edged with displeasure.

"Gavin, something urgent came up..." Lawrence said.

The moment the words left his mouth, another woman's voice came through the phone: "Lawrence, what are you doing over here? Everyone's waiting for you to dance!"

"That's your 'urgent matter'?" I asked quietly.

Lawrence sounded flustered. "I..."

I cut him off. "How long have you two been together? Two months? Three?"

"Four months."

"Four months." I repeated the number. "After just four months, you're already neglecting your girlfriend. So why did you even bring her home?"

Lawrence was still trying to defend himself. "You don't know what's been going on between us..."

"I know you're my brother." My tone remained steady. "Which gives me every reason to care about these things. Letting your girlfriend take a cab home alone shows neither gentlemanly conduct nor concern for a woman's safety."

Mom must have picked up on my tone, because she said softly, "Gavin, we can talk about Lawrence's situation calmly. I'm sure he has his reasons."

"Mom." My voice dropped suddenly. "This isn't how a man should behave."

"In your eyes, does he just have people falling all over him left and right?"

"Gavin, that's enough." Lawrence finally snapped back over the phone.

I turned my attention back to the call. "Did I say something wrong?"

Lawrence said nothing.

"Gavin, about the party—I understand. But Zoey already left." Mom tried to soothe me.

"I know she left. But we shouldn't have treated her that way," I said.

"Then why did you..."

I was calm. I didn't think I'd done anything wrong. "If she's really going to become part of this family someday, she needs to know what this family is actually like. Including the most uncomfortable parts."

"If I'd put on some warm, happy family act today, that would have been the real deception."

Mom looked at me, her eyes reddening, but said nothing.

"Have Lawrence call Zoey later and confirm she got back to her dorm safely." Dad spoke up, trying to shut me down. "We can't just ignore her safety after she came all the way here."

Watching my parents' reactions, it suddenly hit me—they'd both been enabling Lawrence.

"How did you become like this?" I said quietly.

"Gavin, you weren't like this before," Mom said softly.

I didn't hesitate. "But you never used to cover for him like this, either."

Having been called out, they had nothing to say.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Go ahead and keep enabling his mistakes. Zoey's not stupid."

I turned and headed toward my room, just as cold and distant as when I'd arrived.

"Gavin." Mom called after me.

I didn't stop.

"Gavin!"

I paused halfway up the stairs, my back to them. "Mom, I don't like this."

I closed the door behind me.

Lying on my bed, my eyes immediately landed on the ceiling light. It wasn't the one I remembered.

During the years I'd been away, a lot had changed at home.

Not major changes, but those small details were what truly unsettled me.

The bookcase was a different color. The way books were arranged. The bathroom renovation. And...

I looked toward the display cabinet.

It used to hold only my trophies and certificates. During my absence, Lawrence had won quite a few football championships. At first there were just a few, but now the cabinet was split evenly—half his things, half mine.

My room was still here, but it wasn't my room anymore.

I walked to the window. The car below was long gone. Zoey had been gone for who knows how long.

I still felt uneasy. A woman going home alone—no matter how you looked at it, it wasn't entirely safe.

At the dinner table, I'd only wanted to know why she was late, but the words that came out seemed to make her uncomfortable. She'd kept her head down.

When Lawrence spoke up for her, though, her eyes lit up again.

What truly bothered me was that I found it hard to ignore these emotions of hers.

I could easily have categorized her the way I handled all unimportant matters—just another woman Lawrence brought home. But I couldn't.

When she came out of the restroom, she'd still been looking for Lawrence. But when she saw Lawrence abandon her to go to a party, what was she thinking?

I didn't know. But I wouldn't forget how, even in her disappointment, Zoey had mustered the dignity to say she'd take a cab home.

"Why am I so concerned about her?" I suddenly caught myself.

From the moment Zoey had to go home alone, I seemed to have been worried this whole time.

"I shouldn't be like this."

I got up and headed to the bathroom, hoping a shower would help me forget everything. But the more I tried, the more vivid her image became in my mind.

I opened my phone and searched for Zoey's name.

She'd won several figure skating championships. Looking at the photos in the articles, I could feel her passion for the sport.

"Zoey."

She seemed different from all of Lawrence's other girlfriends.