Unrequited

Eighteen days after giving up on Brendan Maynard, Jayde Rosario cut off her waist-length hair and called her father, announcing her decision to move to California and attend UC Berkeley.

Her father, surprised, asked about the sudden change, reminding her how she' d always insisted on staying with Brendan. Jayde forced a laugh, revealing the painful truth: Brendan was getting married, and she, his stepsister, could no longer cling to him.

That night, she tried to tell Brendan about her college acceptance, but his fiancée, Chloie Ellis, interrupted with a bubbly call, and Brendan' s tender words to Chloie twisted a knife in Jayde' s heart. She remembered how his tenderness used to be hers alone, how he had protected her, and how she had poured out her heart to him in a diary and a love letter, only for him to explode, tearing the letter and yelling, "I'm your brother!"

He had stormed out, leaving her to painstakingly tape the shredded pieces back together. Her love, however, didn't die, not even when he brought Chloie home and told her to call her "sister-in-law."

Now, she understood. She had to put that fire out herself. She had to dig Brendan out of her heart.

Chapter 1

Eighteen days after she decided to give up on Brendan Maynard, Jayde Rosario cut off her waist-length hair. She stood in front of the mirror and smoked her first cigarette, the smoke curling around her fingers. The taste was bitter.

That night, she called her father across the country.

"Dad, I got into UC Berkeley."

Her voice was quiet.

"I want to move to California. I want to be with you again."

Her father, Farrell Conner, sounded surprised on the other end of the line. "After your mom and I divorced, I settled down here. I always asked you to come over as an exchange student, but you insisted on staying with your step-brother, Brendan. Why the sudden change?"

Jayde lowered her eyes, which were red and swollen. She forced a small, light laugh.

"Some paths you have to walk to the end to know they're dead ends."

She paused, her voice shaking slightly.

"Brendan is getting married. It' s not right for me, his sister with no blood relation, to cling to him anymore."

Her father sighed, his voice full of sympathy. "It's good you've figured it out. Your mom and Mr. Maynard have been traveling the world, leaving you with Brendan all these years. You're grown up now. It's time to come live with me. You can study and learn to manage the company."

"Okay," Jayde said, then hung up.

She saw her swollen eyes in the reflection of the dark phone screen. She went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. She had two weeks until she left for Berkeley. She had to pull herself together.

She walked down the hallway and noticed the light was on in the study. She hesitated for a moment, then pulled up her e-acceptance letter on her phone and knocked on the door.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Inside, Brendan Maynard sat at his desk. He wore dark blue silk loungewear, and his high nose supported a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He looked elegant, aloof, and disciplined as he typed on his computer.

"Brendan," Jayde said softly. This was the man who was her step-brother. He was also the secret, hidden crush of her entire teenage life.