No More Chasing You

After my family went bankrupt, my father’s wealthy friend took me into the Sinclair estate. Because of this, the two Sinclair daughters entangled themselves in my life for eighteen long years. Their fierce pursuit and blatant favoritism toward me left everyone in our circle both shocked and envious. Yet, when I finally expressed my desire to settle down and start a family, both of them rejected me outright. The older sister, Victoria, adjusted her designer blazer and said she had to put her empire first and had no room for marriage. The younger sister, Audrey, laughed and told me she was still young and wanted to enjoy her freedom. She even added that fleeting romances should never be taken too seriously. But the very next day, at my own birthday gala, both of them got down on one knee and proposed to Noah, the son of the family chauffeur. To amuse him and prove their loyalty, they cornered me. Knowing full well I suffered from severe stomach ulcers, they forced me to down glass after glass of raw, burning whiskey. As I collapsed, coughing up blood from a ruptured ulcer, they simultaneously covered Noah’s eyes and mocked me for putting on a pathetic show. Lying on the stretcher as the paramedics rushed me away, my heart finally died. On the day I was discharged from the hospital, I pulled out my phone and called my father. "Dad, I'll do it. I will marry the Kensington heiress." 1. The biting autumn wind pierced my clothes the second I stepped out of the hospital doors. My body had not yet adjusted to the bitter chill. My phone buzzed. It was Victoria Sinclair. Her tone was sharp, dripping with misplaced resentment. "Arthur, where exactly are you hiding? Do you honestly think running away absolves you of your responsibilities? Get back here right now and apologize to Noah." Audrey’s voice echoed through the speaker immediately after. "Your little fake illness stunt really upset him. His constitution is already delicate, and thanks to your theatrics, he hasn't had an appetite in days!" I looked at my own reflection in the sliding glass doors. I was so haggard and emaciated that a strong gust of wind could have knocked me over. I had suffered from chronic stomach issues and a weak immune system since childhood. During all those years we spent growing up, the Sinclair sisters had moved mountains to care for me. I still remembered a night when my illness flared up violently. The estate elevators had lost power, and Victoria had carried me on her slender back up twenty flights of stairs just to get me to a doctor. Audrey used to sprint across the entire city in the pouring rain just to buy my favorite artisan pastries, desperate to see me smile. From then on, every single thing I ate or drank was strictly monitored and personally handled by the two of them. It was a beautiful illusion. But the moment Noah stepped into the picture, everything shattered. I remained completely silent and hung up the phone. Then, I dialed my father’s number. "Dad, I have thought it through. I am willing to marry Genevieve Kensington." My father paused on the other end of the line. "Arthur, this is a lifelong commitment. Are you absolutely certain this is what you want?" Years ago, after my mother passed away and our family business collapsed, my father sent me to live in Boston while he stayed behind to hold the crumbling remains of the Pendelton family together. It took him eighteen years of blood and sweat to forge a connection with the old money of the Kensington dynasty, earning our family a chance to rise from the ashes. But compared to the revival of our legacy, he cared far more about my happiness. Even when Dowager Kensington took one look at me and decided I was the perfect match for her granddaughter, my father still placed the ultimate choice in my hands. Back then, I was naive enough to believe that true love was rare and precious. I foolishly wanted to choose between the two Sinclair sisters. Now, the veil had been lifted. I finally understood that I was nothing more than a convenient pastime for their idle boredom. I should have known my place and walked away long ago. I opened a travel app to book a flight to New York. A notification popped up at the top of my screen. It was a new social media post from Noah. The caption read that true love needed no words, and only useless parasites resorted to cheap tricks to climb the social ladder. He proudly flaunted two distinct, dazzling diamond engagement rings on his fingers. The background of the photo was my bedroom. The bespoke tailored suit and the limited edition luxury watch he wore were the exact birthday gifts Victoria and Audrey had custom ordered for me six months ago. I quietly blocked Noah’s account. "I am entirely serious, Dad. I want to settle down and have a child of my own as soon as possible." During my hospitalization, the lead physician warned me that this recent hemorrhage had caused irreversible damage to my already fragile constitution. If I did not try to start a family while I was still relatively young, I might lose the chance forever. I simply had no time left to wait for people who did not love me. "Alright. I respect your decision, son." My father seemed to understand the unspoken pain in my voice. He told me that Grandma Kensington had already consulted their family astrologer, and next Sunday was the perfect date to sign the marriage license. He promised to arrange absolutely everything the moment I flew back. Just before disconnecting, he added one final request. "Make sure you say a proper goodbye to Mr. Sinclair." I looked up at the suffocating gray sky. The doctors advised a week of bed rest to recover from the internal bleeding. I decided to use this one remaining week to sever every tie and properly bid farewell to my past. 2. I took a cab back to the Sinclair estate. The moment I stepped through the wrought iron gates, a blast of freezing water hit me square in the chest, soaking me to the bone. "Oh my gosh, Arthur, I am so sorry. I was just watering the garden and didn't even see you there." Noah held the brass nozzle of the garden hose, keeping the icy spray trained on me until I was completely drenched before finally lowering his hand. I forced my stinging eyes open. My breath caught in my throat. The rare white lilies I had meticulously cultivated for years had been violently uprooted and trashed. In their place was a garish, overwhelming sea of blood red roses. A sharp gust of autumn wind swept past, and my newly recovering body instantly seized up in agony. A wave of dizziness washed over me, nearly sending me to my knees. Standing on the veranda, Victoria and Audrey merely exchanged a look and sneered in unison. Their eyes were filled with disgust, clearly assuming I was putting on another dramatic medical act the second I returned. "I honestly thought you actually had a spine, Arthur. I thought you would never show your face here again," Victoria sneered. Audrey crossed her arms, her voice dripping with venom. "Where else could he possibly go? Even his own parents dumped him. He is just a stray." A sharp, physical ache tore through my chest. I suddenly remembered my very first day at the Sinclair estate. A young Audrey had held my trembling hand, trying every silly trick she knew to make me smile. She had looked up at me with bright eyes and promised that I never had to be afraid, because this would be my home forever. Victoria had personally cleared out the grandest master suite in the ancestral manor just for me. Years later, when the three of us moved into this modern villa closer to the city center, Victoria memorized every single one of my preferences. She designed the primary bedroom down to the thread count of the sheets. She had boldly declared to high society that, now and forever, I was the irreplaceable master of this house. That was true, right up until the day Noah used the excuse of helping his father with errands to enter the villa. Every single day, aside from clinging to the sisters, his favorite hobby was pretending to accidentally shatter my belongings. At first, I pitied his poor background and let it slide. But his audacity grew. He crossed the line by deliberately smashing an antique cameo locket my mother had left me, right in front of my face. Pushed to my absolute limit, I stepped forward to confront him, only for Victoria to shove me back violently. She frowned at me in disappointment, claiming Noah’s life was already hard enough. She demanded to know why a spoiled, silver spoon aristocrat like me insisted on bullying a naive, sheltered younger boy. Audrey chimed in, reminding me that Noah was even younger than her, and told me to act my age and show some grace. Clutching the shattered pieces of my mother’s locket, I felt a suffocating sense of helplessness for the very first time. From that day forward, the entire dynamic shifted. I was no longer the sun their universe revolved around. The chauffeur’s son methodically chipped away at my existence, replacing me piece by piece. He became the new master of the villa, utilizing every manipulative tactic in the book to force me out. Since that was the case, I had absolutely nothing left to linger for. I just wanted to pack my belongings and vanish. I walked into the foyer, only to find my personal items unceremoniously dumped in a chaotic pile in the hallway. Victoria stood at the top of the stairs, her arm wrapped protectively around Noah’s waist, looking down at me like a peasant. "Learn your place, Arthur. You are nothing but a parasite leeching off the Sinclair family. You have absolutely no right to look down on Noah, and you certainly do not have the right to throw aristocratic temper tantrums at him." She continued her decree, stating that I was to move into the servant's quarters immediately. She announced that all my corporate responsibilities would be handed over to Noah, and she was demoting me to the logistics department to do grunt work until I learned some basic human decency. Audrey casually ripped the seams of the vintage teddy bear my father had given me, tossing the stuffing into the air just to make Noah giggle. "If you ever throw another childish fit and upset Noah again, I promise I won't let you off the hook, Arthur." The casual cruelty in their voices was a far cry from the tender devotion they used to show me. If the old Arthur had heard these words, he would have been too heartbroken to sleep for weeks. But I was leaving now. I had zero energy to bicker with them. I kept my voice completely flat. "You are absolutely right." "I will move my things out immediately." "And there is no need to trouble the CEO with a department transfer. I quit." Victoria let out a cold, incredulous laugh. "You really are dead set on clinging to our family as a lazy, useless burden, aren't you?" "Whatever. Out of respect for your father, I will let your insubordination slide this once." "Just remember where you stand from now on." I walked straight past Victoria without looking at her. "There is no 'from now on'." This place had indeed given me countless beautiful memories. But ultimately, it was never my home. 3. I thought packing would take hours. But as I sifted through the pile in the hallway, I realized there was hardly anything left. Almost all of my clothes had been meticulously selected by Victoria. She used to say that I was the most important person in the Sinclair family, so naturally, I deserved the finest things in the world. Now, those exquisite fabrics were soaked in foul, murky water, reeking of decay. I had transitioned from being the center of her universe to an irrelevant parasite. I pushed the ruined clothes aside and saw hundreds of polaroid photos scattered across the hardwood floor. Audrey used to be obsessed with taking pictures of me, insisting she needed to document every single version of my smile. Whenever we took a group photo, the two sisters would practically go to war over who got to press their shoulder against mine. Now, in every single photograph of the three of us, my face had been violently carved out with a box cutter. I couldn't bear to look at the mutilated images any longer. I scooped everything up in my arms and shoved it all straight into the heavy duty trash bin. Victoria was walking down the stairs with Noah just as I let the lid slam shut. A flicker of genuine shock crossed her eyes. She knew I had treasured those items more than my own life. But within a second, her expression hardened into a mocking sneer. "You certainly don't mind throwing away the Sinclair family's money." The old Victoria would drop millions without blinking just to buy me a moment of happiness. Now that Noah was by her side, every single thing I did was a sin. I had lost the privilege of being cherished, and I had lost the desire to defend myself. I looked at her with dead eyes. "I will repay every cent." "The Sinclair family doesn't care about your pocket change. Just remember your promise to never harass Noah again," she snapped. Noah tugged at the hem of Victoria’s silk blouse, pouting his lips. "Victoria, please don't waste your precious time on irrelevant people. I really want to go to the secret base to see the sea of stars. Let's go now." My body froze, and my footsteps halted. The secret base Noah mentioned was a magnificent glass observatory Victoria had built for me when I first arrived in Boston. Mr. Sinclair had been overwhelmed with corporate takeovers back then, so he entrusted my care to Victoria, who was six years my senior. She practically laid the wonders of the world at my feet. She constantly told me I was her eternal moonlight, the pure love she would cherish forever. She personally designed a breathtaking planetarium ceiling inside the observatory, creating an immortal sea of stars just for me. Under that glowing celestial canopy, she had looked at me with profound devotion. "Arthur, never forget this. This galaxy belongs entirely to you, just like my love." She told me that all the rivers and mountains eventually surrendered to the sea, and her love would constantly flow toward me in the exact same way. We spent eighteen years slowly perfecting that glass sanctuary. From that night on, the scales of my heart had tipped irrevocably toward Victoria. Yet, every single time I was on the verge of choosing her, Audrey would throw a spectacular, destructive tantrum, forcing me to retreat to preserve the peace. As for now. They had found their thrilling red rose, and they had long forgotten the quiet, fading moonlight. But it was fine. I took a deep, shaky breath and forced my legs to move forward. I didn't want either of them anymore anyway. 4. Just as I walked past Noah, he suddenly lashed out, grabbing my wrist with a vicious grip. His manicured fingernails dug deeply into my skin, dragging down my forearm and leaving a jagged, bleeding scratch. "Why won't you even listen to me finish my sentence, Arthur? Are you that disgusted by me?" A sharp hiss of pain escaped my lips, and I forcefully yanked my arm away from his grip. Using my momentum, Noah threw his entire body backward, collapsing onto the marble floor. "Victoria, help me!" Panic seized Victoria’s face. She lunged forward, gathering Noah into her arms as if he were made of fragile glass. Before my brain could even process the movement, her hand cracked across my cheek. The resounding slap echoed through the grand foyer. Audrey, rushing in from the courtyard upon hearing the commotion, immediately screamed at me. "Arthur, why are you constantly trying to destroy him?" "Don't you ever forget, if the Sinclair family hadn't taken pity on you, an unwanted orphan, you would be rotting in an alleyway eating out of dumpsters right now! Your ingratitude is one thing, but biting the hand that feeds you is disgusting!" A high pitched ringing filled my ears. This was the first time in my entire life that anyone had ever struck me. My entire universe seemed to shatter into microscopic fragments in that single, agonizing second. Victoria stared at her trembling hand, then up at my swelling face, realizing she had crossed a line. "Are you... are you okay? I..." "I'm fine. I don't blame you." I slowly lifted my thumb and wiped the metallic tang of blood from the corner of my mouth. I truly didn't blame her. I would consider that violent slap the final payment for the life she saved when we were young. From this moment on, all debts were settled. We owed each other absolutely nothing. Audrey, however, refused to let it go, stepping into my path to block the door. "Don't you dare walk away. Apologize to him right now!" Her vicious glare was completely unrecognizable from the sweet girl who used to trail behind me, begging for my attention. I knew exactly how ruthless she could be. Back in high school, a boy had mocked me for being a bankrupt orphan. Audrey had orchestrated a brutal underground retaliation, and Victoria used her wealth to clean up the mess. The two sisters executed their plan flawlessly, forcing the boy’s entire family to flee Boston in disgrace. Back then, I never could have imagined that one day, they would turn those exact same venomous tactics on me. I glanced at the triumphant smirk hiding behind Noah’s fake tears and buried the storm of emotions raging in my chest. "I will never apologize. I did absolutely nothing wrong." I had nothing left to fear from them. Even without their threats, I was already walking out the door. 5. Audrey was still seething with rage, ready to strike. Victoria, plagued by a sudden surge of guilt, stepped in front of her sister and significantly softened her tone. "Let it go. I lost my temper just now, please don't take it to heart. When I come back from my business trip, I'll bring you those rich chocolate truffles you love so much." "But you have to promise me one thing. You must stop making things difficult for Noah." A slap to the face, followed by a piece of chocolate. But she had completely forgotten. I had bleeding ulcers. Chocolate truffles triggered agonizing acid reflux for me. Years ago, in order to protect my digestive health, Victoria fired a dozen private chefs until she found one perfect enough. In the end, she stayed up for consecutive nights researching nutritional therapy, personally designing my entire dietary plan. Audrey used to hover over me every single day, tirelessly making sure I adhered to the regimen. And now, they had forgotten all of it. A draft of icy air swept through the open door, and a bone deep chill erupted from my chest, swallowing me whole. I shivered violently, suddenly remembering that the clothes plastered to my skin were still soaking wet from the freezing water. I could feel a heavy fever rapidly taking over my body. Just as the nausea hit me, Audrey intentionally shoved her shoulder hard into my chest as she walked past. "Stop faking it." My weakened legs buckled, and I collapsed straight into the decorative mud pit by the doorway. Victoria turned her head, a flash of genuine conflict tearing through her eyes. But ultimately, she flanked Noah with her sister, and the three of them walked out, leaving me in the dirt. I lay there for a long time before I found the strength to drag myself out of the mud and call an ambulance. The attending doctor took one look at my catastrophic state and began shouting in pure frustration. "You were literally just discharged! How did you end up like this?" "Do you have a death wish? Because your body cannot handle this kind of abuse!" I didn't dare utter a single excuse. I quietly obeyed his orders and stayed in the hospital under strict observation for several days. It wasn't until my fever completely broke that the medical staff finally cleared me to leave. Having lost so much precious time, I had to accelerate my departure plans. I went to the corporate headquarters to formally process my resignation and say goodbye to the colleagues who had treated me well over the years. Only to discover that Noah had already fired every single one of them. The remaining employees actively avoided me like I was carrying a plague. I stood alone in the grand corporate lobby for half the day, only to be casually informed by a receptionist that Victoria and Noah had left town on a business trip. The three of them had flown to Nantucket, to the very beach I had loved most as a child. They were visiting the exact destinations I had always dreamed of seeing but never had the chance to go to. A bitter, self deprecating laugh escaped my lips. I dropped my resignation letter into the lobby trash can. I had been so stressed about how to explain my sudden departure, completely oblivious to the fact that absolutely no one cared if I existed. Now, I only had one task left. Say goodbye to Mr. Sinclair. Then I could leave this city without a single regret.