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Chapter 45
Sian, unsettled by Aaron’s cryptic words, pressed him for an answer.
“Why? Don’t tell me we’re losing?”
Those sly Pansworth guys!
Seeing Sian clench her fists and burn with hostility, Aaron let out a sigh.
“It’s not like that. We’re winning.”
“What? Then why do you look like that?”
Despite Sian’s question, Aaron’s expression remained sour, like he had just bitten into a lemon.
“You’ll see when you get there.”
Sian tilted her head in confusion but followed him back to the stadium.
When she arrived, she gawked at the scene before her.
Even though the home team usually had an advantage over the visiting team, and even considering that the home team was Wharton School this time…
“Is the scoreboard wrong?”
Sian nearly forgot she had mascara on her lashes and rubbed her eyes.
Luckily, Aaron quickly grabbed her arm, preventing any smudging disaster.
“What on earth happened while I was away?”
Before she had left to tend to her injured brother, the score had been close.
But now, it looked almost like a solo run by Wharton School.
While Sian watched the Wharton players sprint across the field in awe, Lucy called out to her.
“Siana! Come here!”
“I should go. Can you hold my phone for me?”
Sian asked Aaron for permission while handing her phone back.
He nodded and returned to the stands, and Sian turned back to head to her spot.
She saw Pansworth’s cheerleaders drooping their pompoms, looking dejected.
Just moments ago, they had been locked in a tense cheer-off with Wharton’s cheerleaders, but now, facing the significant score gap, they seemed deflated.
In contrast, Wharton’s cheerleaders cheered tirelessly, showing no signs of fatigue despite the long match.
Lucy’s expression hardened when she saw Sian return.
“Siana, who said it was okay to leave your post without permission?”
“Sorry.”
Sian immediately apologized, knowing full well how flustered Captain Lucy must have been by her sudden departure.
Lucy’s expression softened slightly at the apology. Being far ahead in the match certainly helped her mood.
“So, how’s Morgan’s condition? Is he okay?”
Even Lucy’s voice had softened.
Sian felt a pang in her chest as she thought of Ian, left in the infirmary, but she forced a smile and nodded.
“Ian is fine.”
“That’s a relief. Go back to your spot now. You’ll need to prepare for the performance soon.”
“Yes.”
Feeling relieved that she hadn’t been scolded as much as she had feared, Sian returned to her original spot, welcomed by Kylie and Janice.
“Finally, the protagonist of the love triangle scandal is back!”
At Kylie’s teasing, Sian playfully rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“That’s not it.”
“Sure, sure. I saw everything that happened today, so it’s useless to deny it now.”
Kylie kept poking Sian’s side, and it hurt. Sian whimpered, thinking she might get bruised, when she noticed Janice silently keeping her lips sealed.
Sian gestured to Kylie for understanding and approached Janice, linking arms with her.
“Janice.”
“What?”
Janice replied curtly, her voice sharp, showing she wasn’t entirely pleased despite Sian coming to her instead of Kylie.
“Why are you in a bad mood?”
Sian blinked her cat-like eyes and looked at Janice like a little puppy.
Janice, softening at Sian’s unexpected charm, pouted her lips.
“Can you just tell me? I’ll keep it a secret. Of course, if you don’t trust me, that’s fine too…”
“Tell you what?”
“Whether the person you like is Blaine or Ian.”
In truth, Janice wasn’t really trying to find out who Sian liked. She just wanted to confirm that Sian trusted her enough to share a secret.
Seeing Sian flustered, she realized it might be too soon.
“Sorry. Just pretend I didn’t ask.”
When Janice apologized, Sian reassured her it wasn’t a big deal.
“I want to tell you, but things are a bit complicated right now…”
At the very least, she wanted to convey that she and Ian weren’t in a romantic relationship.
To do that, she would have to reveal that Ian was her real brother, which Ian didn’t want.
He wanted to stay hidden from the Morgans, so any potential relationship with Blaine was also on hold.
Sian couldn’t advance her relationship without revealing her true connection to Ian.
The more she thought about it, the more her head ached.
Frowning at the onset of a headache, she said,
“Can you wait a little? I’ll tell you first.”
“Before Aaron?”
Janice’s ears perked up. The person she saw as a rival was none other than Aaron. Sian smiled faintly.
“Yes. Before Aaron.”
“Good.”
Watching Sian smile, Janice sighed internally. Love is often said to be difficult, but friendship, she thought, is truly harder.
The cheerleaders’ performance ended flawlessly, and Wharton School won the match.
The result was so one-sided that any sense of tension was impossible to find.
Pansworth players, who had arrived boldly enough to flirt with Wharton girls, returned to the bus with their shoulders slumped.
Wharton players, in contrast, celebrated their victory.
“Good job, everyone!”
“It was so easy, it barely felt like a match.”
“What? Did you see that guy struggling when the opposing team’s lineman grabbed him earlier?”
“I saw it too.”
Players joked and headed to meet their girlfriends.
Among the smiling crowd, Blaine Williams, the hero of the victory, didn’t look very happy.
He half-listened to the other players while shifting his gaze between Ian and Sian.
‘Shouldn’t he have gone to the hospital?’
Ian, who had been carried out on a stretcher, had returned on his own immediately after the second quarter.
Blaine was naturally surprised.
Ian wasn’t even planning to apply to college as a typical football player.
‘Ian wouldn’t push himself like this.’
Of course, if the Morgans found out he missed an important homecoming game, there would be trouble.
Since his sibling’s death, Ian hadn’t been overly concerned with them.
He didn’t mind academic competitions that benefited him, but he had little interest in football.
‘This isn’t like Ian.’
Blaine couldn’t have known that Ian had overexerted himself just to watch his sister cheer.
“How’s your body?”
Blaine asked Ian.
“I’m fine.”
Ian replied blankly, showing no sign of being fine.
“You should’ve rested.”
Blaine’s question carried the unspoken concern: why didn’t you take a break?
“Just…”
Ian’s dry answer was accompanied by a gaze fixed on a single spot.
Blaine followed his eyes and frowned upon seeing Sian.
‘Is he trying to impress Sian?’
Until now, Ian had consistently maintained a negative stance toward her.
Even if Sian genuinely liked him (which she absolutely didn’t), Blaine wasn’t concerned, assuming Ian wouldn’t reciprocate.
But now the situation had changed.
‘Does she look different because he’s hurt?’
Realizing that Sian was his real sister, this wasn’t a completely wrong assumption.
While Blaine speculated reasonably, Ian was deep in thought.
‘I didn’t ask Sian the most important question.’
He had warned the Wharton boys, especially Blaine Williams, not to meet her, forgetting the crucial detail.
‘I should’ve checked who she’s going to the party with…’
Ian had no interest in events like parties and had completely forgotten.
His gaze hardened as he spotted Sian in the distance.
Her adoptive parents appeared among the dispersing cheerleaders.
“….”
He couldn’t hear their conversation, but judging by the proud and affectionate way they hugged Sian, he could guess.
He had never heard words like this before:
‘I’m really proud that you’re my child.’
Seeing Sian smile brightly after the hug confirmed his suspicion.
Her adoptive parents seemed genuinely good people, which left Ian feeling oddly empty.
Unlike him, Sian was happily living her life, and that fact remained unchanged.
But then… what had all his struggles under the Morgans been for?
He had thought he was protecting Sian.
That his sacrifices ensured she received proper care and meals.
But in reality, she had found a loving family without his effort.
‘What did I suffer for?’
Initially, he had been relieved and overjoyed that Sian, whom he thought was dead, was alive.
But after those emotions faded, what remained was a hollow emptiness.
“Ian?”
Blaine waved his hand in front of Ian, who had been standing still, lost in thought.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Ian snapped out of it. There would be time to reflect on his emotions later.
Something more urgent awaited him.
“Where are you going?”
Ignoring Blaine, Ian sought out Gale, his backup player in 10th grade.
“Gale.”
“Oh, Ian. How’s your body?”
“I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”
“No problem.”
As the formalities ended, Ian asked directly,
“Do you know a Sian in your grade?”
Overhearing their conversation, Blaine swallowed in surprise.
“Sian? Oh, do you mean Siana Rogers?”
“Oh, so you call her Siana.”
Ian nodded. He hadn’t paid attention before, so he didn’t even know her name.
Luckily, her American name was different; it would help maintain the Morgans’ deception, even briefly.
After nodding, Ian got to the point.
“Do you know who her homecoming partner is?”
“If you mean Siana’s partner…”
