Page 189 of Becoming Us
For once, it was starting to feel like I didn’t have to carry everything alone. She wasn’t checking out. She was stepping in.
And what a fucking relief that was.
I leaned forward in my chair. “Okay, how about this: You take the properties—manage them however you think best. Richard and I can advise if you want, but it’s your lead. I’ll keep handling investments and trusts. And we split Mom’s responsibility.
She nodded. “As long as you walk me through it, I’ll figure it out.” She held out her hand, reaching across the bridge I’d thought was broken.
I took it but didn’t let go. “And we figure out how to see each other at least once a month.”
Without hesitation, she nodded once more. “Deal.” She stood from her chair, and I followed. Before I could fully process it, she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me in.
“I’m so sorry, Noh. I swear I won’t let you down.”
A warmth I didn’t know I was missing curled in my chest. “I know you won’t.”
When she pulled back, her eyes were red-rimmed. “I didn’t know about the hospital. Not the first time, and not even why the second one happened. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you.”
I offered a weak smile. “How’d you find out?”
“Mom let something slip while guilt-tripping me into coming to this. Then I called Jaz. She spilled the beans.”
“Of course,” I huffed. “It’s fine, Lan. I’ve worked through a lot of that stuff. I’m better now. Promise.”
She gave me a teary smile. “Yeah, I can tell.”
We stood there for a moment, the weight of everything that had passed between us slowly settling into something quieter. Acceptance, maybe. Or just the beginning of it.
I hadn’t realized how much I’d been bracing for this to fall apart—waiting for a snap, a retreat, for her to pull away again. But she didn’t. She stayed.
It felt strange just…taking off. For once, things were good. This could work. I could have my sister back. An actual family.
“Atty and I are going to have dinner at the Space Needle. Want to come with?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah of course I’m sure. We’re doing a bunch of touristy crap tomorrow. If you’re not leaving, you could tag along.”
“That sounds nice. I’ll come, thanks for offering.”
We paid the bill and stepped out into the lobby, walking back toward the room to grab Atty. Ilana moved in close beside me, and I slipped my arm around her shoulders.
She nudged my hip. “He’s amazing, by the way.”
“Oh, I know. And he survived Mom, so…”
Ilana laughed. “He survived the Noah shrine,” she added with a smirk.
I groaned. “Let’s never bring that up again. Seriously, it might be one of the most disturbingly embarrassing things to ever happen in my life, and of course, my boyfriend had to be there to witness it.”
She threw her head back, cackling. This time, her laughter made me smile.
I couldn’t remember the last time things felt this light between us—when she could tease me, and I could actually give it back without fearing offence. Though, this time, she didn’tquite manage to get much bite behind her words—she was too busy smiling and asking question after question about our life together.
Dinner was easy too. Atty was more relaxed with just the two of us, and it felt like the real deal—like this could actually be my future—a quiet family dinner with him and my sister. It felt like the beginning of something. A flicker of hope I was finally letting myself have. And for the first time in a long while, I couldn’t wait for what came next.
The next day was our last one in Seattle, and boy, did I make good on my promise. Lan joined us, and I dragged them through three tours.
First was the underground—where Lan and I gossiped about family drama I hadn’t even known about, while Atty stood at the front, quietly soaking in every word like he was prepping for a quiz. Then came the chef’s tour of Pike Place Market. It was incredible—but by the end, we were stuffed to the point of bursting. Naturally, we climbed onto one of those red hop-on-hop-off buses and let it carry our food-coma bodies around for an hour. We finished the day on a sailboat, watching the sun sink into the water like something out of a movie.
