Maya POV
It was a quiet Saturday afternoon, the kind that smelled like laundry softener and pencil shavings. Sunlight filtered through the kitchen blinds, casting warm golden lines across the worn wooden table where my little sister, Penelope, sat with a furrowed brow and a purple pencil clutched tightly in her hand.
“Wait… is ‘photosynthesis’ spelled with an F or a PH?” she asked, lips pursed as she stared at her worksheet.
“PH,” I said, leaning over and pointing to the word in her science book. “Like this. See?”
She tilted her head, squinting at the letters. “That’s dumb. Why not just use an F?”
I laughed. “Because science likes to be fancy, Penny.”
Penelope—eight years old and full of opinions—was the brightest light in my life. She had a round face, warm almond skin, and these big brown eyes that always made me think of melted chocolate. Her curly hair was pulled into two puffy buns on either side of her head, and she wore a pastel-blue hoodie with tiny unicorns dancing on it.
She looked nothing like me.
But she was still mine.
My half-sister. The child my mom had with her second husband after my dad walked out on us when I was five. That man, Penelope’s dad, passed away a few years ago. Since then, Mom had been holding everything together on her own—working nights, shifts, and side jobs just to keep Penelope in her private school.
It was the same kind of school she’d worked three jobs to put me through once.
She believed in education like it was the one thing that could save us.
And now… it was my turn to do the saving.
I worked. I cleaned. I paid bills. I stayed up late fixing broken pipes or helping Penny with math that made my brain hurt more than hers.
It wasn’t glamorous.
But it was home.
“You’re so beautiful, Maya,” Penelope said suddenly, peeking at me with a shy smile.
I blinked, startled. “Where did that come from?”
“You are,” she said again, twirling her pencil. “Like a princess. But cooler.”
I chuckled and reached over to brush a stray curl off her forehead. “You’re sweet.”
“It’s true. The girls in my class said you looked like a model when you dropped me off.”
“Tell them I also model trash cans and dirty laundry,” I teased, nodding toward the laundry basket across the room.
Penelope giggled, but then her smile faded a little. “You always look tired though.”
That made my heart ache.
I opened my mouth to reply, but my phone started buzzing on the counter.
“Hold on, Penny.”
I walked over and grabbed it. My stomach dropped when I saw the name.
Noah Sterling.
What the hell did he want now?
“Hello?” I answered, voice cautious.
“Maya,” his voice came through, sharp and cold as ever. “I need you to come to the office. Now.”
I blinked. “I—wait. I’m sorry, it’s Saturday.”
“I’m aware of the day,” he replied.
“Well… I’m helping my sister with homework. It’s my day off.”
“I wouldn’t call if it weren’t important,” he said curtly. “Something changed in the presentation flow. We need to rework the content tonight.”
I pressed my palm against my forehead. “Can’t it wait until Monday?”
“No. It can’t.”
I glanced at Penelope, who was now watching me with wide eyes, her pencil frozen mid-scribble.
“I… okay. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
He didn’t even say goodbye. Just hung up. I stood there for a second, breathing through the frustration building in my chest.
“Do you have to go?” Penelope asked softly.
I crouched beside her. “Yeah. It’s work stuff. Boring grown-up stuff.”
She looked down at her notebook. “I wish your boss wasn’t so mean. You work so hard.”
I gave her a weak smile. “Yeah. Me too.”
I kissed her forehead. “Finish your worksheet, okay? I’ll be home before bedtime. I promise.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
As I stood up and grabbed my keys, I felt a wave of guilt and resentment wash over me. Guilt for leaving her. Resentment that I had to.
That Noah could snap his fingers and pull me away from the one peaceful part of my life.
I looked back once more before leaving. Penelope was quietly erasing something on her page, her small shoulders hunched forward, trying to be brave for me.
I hated him for this.