Ficorpio
Chapter 1
The second year after breaking up with my former girlfriend, I legally adopted my niece.
When I returned to M City for work, I unexpectedly ran into my ex.
Her voice was cold. “Who are you?”
Right then, my niece came running over and shouted, “Mom!”
The ice in my ex-girlfriend’s expression cracked instantly.
“Mom?”
“You actually let another woman call you Mom?”
There was a significant age gap between Lily and me. I was thirty-five, and she was eighteen.
Once the legal adoption went through, she started calling me Mom.
At first, it sounded strange to me. After hearing it often enough, though, I got used to it.
Lily was thoughtful and responsible. She never gave me anything to worry about. Every summer vacation, she came to M City to keep me company.
I packed my things and headed to the Airport to pick her up.
The place was crowded. I wasn’t paying attention and accidentally stepped on a pair of black-and-white sneakers.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
I looked up—and the moment I saw that face, I froze.
Five years had passed, and Claire Sterling had changed so much. The faint baby fat that had once softened her features was gone, replaced by a mature, striking beauty.
I opened my mouth, but all I managed to say was, “Long time no see. Are you here to pick someone up too?”
Claire was taller than me. She lowered her head slightly, her eyes cold enough to freeze.
“Who are you?”
The words stabbed straight through my heart.
What had happened back then had been my fault. I was the one who had wronged her.
I didn’t dare meet Claire’s eyes again and hurriedly stepped back.
After a long silence, her tone finally eased.
“Sorry. I must’ve taken the wrong medication today.”
“I remember you, Chloe Bennett.”
Then, as if she were afraid I might misunderstand, she added, “Of course, I only vaguely remember you. If you hadn’t shown up here today, I probably would’ve forgotten you completely.”
I said nothing.
The awkwardness between us was almost unbearable.
I was just about to say something when a familiar voice rang out from nearby.
“Mom!”
Lily came running toward me, dragging her suitcase behind her.
I let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Then I looked up and saw Claire’s face turn terrifyingly dark.
“Mom?”
“You actually let another woman call you Mom?”
I froze. Then, when I understood what she meant, heat rushed into my cheeks.
“You’ve got it wrong. She really is my child.”
Claire clearly didn’t believe me.
But I couldn’t exactly blame her.
Who would believe that an eighteen-year-old “child” had suddenly appeared in the life of a former girlfriend?
Besides, when I met Claire, she had only been nineteen.
Back then, Claire Sterling had come to M City alone, determined to make a life for herself.
Chapter 2
Her suitcase was small and grimy. The weather had turned bitterly cold, but all she wore was a light jacket that did nothing to keep out the wind.
I poured her a mug of hot milk.
“Looking for work, kid?”
Claire nodded faintly.
“Found anything yet?”
She shook her head just as quietly.
So she was the type who rationed every word.
I wanted to let her stay for a while, then help her find a suitable job. But Claire was stubborn. Once she had finished the milk, she washed the mug, took her suitcase, and left.
I sighed as I watched her go.
“Let’s hope the weather clears up.”
Before long, Claire found a job on her own.
She must have wanted to thank me for that mug of hot milk, because one day I caught her skulking outside my studio, hovering by the entrance without daring to come in.
I tapped her lightly on the head. “What are you doing out here?”
Claire clutched her head. “I-I brought you something good to eat.”
She held out an elegant little box.
Inside was a homemade mille-crepe cake.
I stared for a moment, then smiled.
“Kid, you’re adorable.”
Claire Sterling wasn’t adorable in the least right now.
The look she gave me could have drawn blood.
“A teenage daughter suddenly appears out of nowhere, and you expect me to believe that?”
I felt a headache coming on. “I’m not lying to you.”
“She is my daughter, but she’s not biologically mine. I legally adopted her.”
Afraid Lily might overhear and be hurt, I leaned closer to Claire’s ear as I spoke.
She froze but didn’t move away. The tips of her ears, however, turned red almost instantly.
I hid a smile.
The kid was still the same as ever—so easily flustered.
“So, can you stop being mad at me now?”
Without thinking, I’d slipped into the coaxing tone I used with children.
Claire’s expression remained cold.
“Who said I was mad? I’m not. I’ve already told you—I don’t care what you do.”
The smile at the corner of my mouth went still.
Apparently, I’d only been flattering myself.
“I understand.”
“It’s getting late. I should head home. Goodbye.”
Goodbye, I’d said.
But M City was enormous. Who knew when we’d ever run into each other again?
Claire parted her lips as if she wanted to say something.
In the end, she said nothing.
On the way home, Lily kept sneaking glances at me. The words juicy gossip might as well have been written across her face.
I sighed. “Go ahead. Ask whatever you want.”
Her eyes lit up. “So she’s your little girlfriend from back then?”
“Yeah.”
“You two really are eight years apart?”
“Yeah.”
A thought suddenly occurred to me. “Is that weird to you?”
Lily immediately gave me a thumbs-up. “That’s awesome! I totally ship it!”
The corner of my mouth twitched.
Who knew where she’d picked that up?
“You can’t ship this. We broke up. Three years ago.”
Silence settled over the car.
Chapter 3
After a long while, Lily spoke again. “Actually, I think she still really likes you. When you were about to leave just now, she looked like she couldn’t bear to let you go.”
I gave a bitter laugh. “Then you must have terrible eyesight.”
Claire Sterling’s face had been so cold.
The fact that she hadn’t torn me to pieces was already generous. Let me go? She’d looked reluctant?
Once I had pulled myself together, I went back to work.
The studio was the same one I had operated before. It had sat empty for years, but the sign was still up, and plenty of old clients continued to come by.
I was going through a message from a customer when I suddenly froze.
That profile picture looks like Claire Sterling’s.
I wasn’t sure. I took another look.
It really is her.
After our breakup had turned completely bitter, Claire and I had settled into an unspoken agreement never to cross paths again.
At first, I was the one who blocked her.
Later, she blocked me.
Either way, starting the second year after we broke up, we never spoke again.
And now Claire Sterling had actually messaged me first.
My heart began pounding. I tapped into the chat and found an almost painfully formal message:
[Hello, Ms. Bennett. I’d like to discuss a business collaboration with you.]
She had added a smiling sticker at the end, presumably to make the message seem polite.
I felt a strange pang of disappointment.
So this is all it is. Business.
I quickly typed back:
[Sure. Go ahead.]
The words Claire is typing… appeared at the top almost immediately.
Claire gave me a brief overview of the collaboration. Everything sounded reasonable, so I agreed.
Just when I thought the matter was settled, another message from Claire arrived after a long pause.
[Are you free, Ms. Bennett?]
My heart gave a hard jump.
[Yes. Why?]
[Nothing in particular. I was thinking about stopping by your studio to take a look and get a better understanding of the situation.]
I pressed my lips together.
[Okay.]
Then I tossed my phone aside and let out a heavy sigh.
“Chloe Bennett, what the hell are you thinking?”
“You were the one who dumped her. And now you’re trying to read something into every little thing she does? What is wrong with you?”
I was thoroughly on edge.
I took my electric scooter out for a late-night bite. It flew down the road, carrying me straight to the night market.
The food still smelled just as good.
I was chewing on a skewer of fried squid when an uneasy feeling suddenly settled over me.
“Chloe Bennett?”
I froze.