A Fresh Start novel Chapter 13

Extra: Charles Martin's Perspective

I was nine years old when the Martin family adopted me.

All the children crowded around, trying their best to stand out.

After all, the couple seemed well off. The man was gentle and cultured, and the woman was intellectual and beautiful.

Only I kept reading.

The woman softly said to the man beside her, "Looks and age don't really matter. I just hope the child we adopt won't disappoint us. They can depend on us, but we won't support them forever."

Her words instantly quieted many of the children.

Her gaze was calm and honest. At that moment, I looked up and met her eyes.

The headmaster said with some concern, "This child is introverted, not very affectionate."

But in the end, I was the one they took home.

They became my adoptive parents.

On the way home, I learned that I had a sister.

She was the Martin family's precious daughter, cherished from birth.

When she saw me, she smiled brightly and grabbed my hand. "Dad, is this my brother? Hey, I'm Gianna! I heard you're really good at studying. You have to help me..."

She was lively and playful but also thoughtful. She noticed the star plushie I had secretly kept.

Then she put her finger to her lips and said, "Shh! Mom likes things clean. Come with me, let's wash it."

"You don't think it's weird that I… like plushies?"

"What's wrong with that!" she said firmly, "Everyone has the right to pursue what they like. My dad taught me that when I was little!"

From that moment on, or maybe even earlier.

I decided I would always protect my sister.

But when I was twelve, I had an urgent matter and came home early, only to overhear a shocking secret.

Mom and Dad were talking in the study.

"How was your check-up today?" Mom asked with concern.

"Oh, it's the same as always."

There was a pause, and Dad's voice sounded reassuring.

"Even if I can't have children, I'm grateful to have you by my side, and Gianna, and Charles too. Family doesn't always have to be blood-related, right?"

I was completely stunned, and it took a while before I quietly crept back down the stairs.

Gianna was adopted too!

All these years, our adoptive parents had kept it a perfect secret.

Everyone knew the Martin family had a beloved daughter.

So I pretended I had never heard it.

Until just before Dad passed away, we couldn't reach Gianna no matter what.

There was a hint of loneliness, helplessness, and disappointment in his eyes, but he eventually said, "Her exams are important. Birth, aging, illness, and death are inevitable parts of life."

"Charles, Gianna has a strong personality and hasn't faced many hardships."

"I'm just asking you to take good care of her."

The sorrow I felt when Dad passed away was matched only by the anger I felt when I saw Gianna ride off on that thug's motorcycle.

It was the first time I ever got so angry at her.

"You don't appreciate everything you have! Gianna, you don't know…"

You don't know how many orphans could only dream of what you have.

But she argued with me. Gradually, she stopped listening to Mom.

She rebelled. She ran away from home at the drop of a hat. She dyed her hair and shamelessly kissed that thug right in front of our house.

Unsurprisingly, she failed her college entrance exams.

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