WebNovels

Chapter 4 - CHAPTER 4: LIKE I WASN'T EVEN THERE

Scene: "Like I Wasn't Even There"

The estate was too large to feel like home. Every hallway echoed. Every room was too polished, too still. Aria wandered the corridor with slow steps, letting her fingers drag lightly along the walls, her slippers silent against the marble floors.

She had memorized almost nothing yet. Just that her room was upstairs, her aunt liked jasmine tea, and her cousin always had music playing softly when no one was around.

But today—today she was hoping for more.

She turned the corner and paused.

At the far end of the hallway, a tall figure walked slowly down the other side—broad-shouldered, dressed in black, with a phone in one hand and a heavy book in the other.

Her brother.

The one who hadn't spoken to her since she arrived.

The one who hadn't even looked at her.

Her heart jumped.

She stepped forward quietly, her voice barely a breath:

> "Um… excuse me."

He didn't stop.

He didn't slow down.

She tried again, louder this time:

> "Hey…"

He looked up—for half a second. Their eyes met.

Her heart leapt into her throat.

And then—

He walked right past her.

No nod.

No smile.

No words.

Just a cold breeze in his wake.

She stood there frozen, like a statue in a grand hallway no one cared to notice. Her fingers curled at her side.

Her throat tightened.

> He saw me. I know he saw me.

Still, nothing.

She looked down, her lips trembling.

> Why do I feel like a ghost in my own house?

She whispered to herself, more broken than angry:

> "He just walked past me… like I wasn't even there."

A part of her wanted to run after him.

Another part—quiet and tired—decided not to chase anyone anymore.

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