My Brother, My Spouse

Chapter 9 A Long-Buried Misunderstanding

The librarian noticed them inside the small room only after their shouts. "I saw that the door was unlocked yesterday and thought it was wear and tear over time, but it turns out it was the two of you sneaking in."

After much pleading from Sylvia, the librarian eventually decided not to report the incident, letting the two go on with their day as usual.

As soon as Sylvia stepped out of the library, she ran into Daniel.

"The award ceremony's about to start," he said excitedly. "You're this year's MVP basketball player again! Go get your award!"

"Alright," Sylvia replied, feeling a rush of pride.

In front of nearly half the girls in the school, Sylvia received her award from the principal. Even those who usually had their eyes on Vincent flocked around her, offering congratulations and even asking her out.

Vincent, seething with jealousy, turned away and stormed off. Alone by a tree, he punched it so hard that leaves shook loose, scattering around him.

"Why? Why does Brian always get what I want so effortlessly?" he fumed as jealousy overwhelmed him.

Vincent's friend Aaron noticed his sour mood and tried to reason with him, "I know it's hard to accept, but the truth is, Brian's just better than you at basketball."

"No, I refuse to accept that!" Vincent's eyes glinted with a dark determination. "I want to teach him a lesson he won't forget."

"Unless we catch him alone and gang up on him, we don't stand a chance against him, and that's almost impossible," Aaron warned.

"Alone..."

Vincent's once refined face twisted with an idea. "I think I know how to make that happen. I'll make sure he never sets foot on a basketball court again."

"But Brian's the Alpha's son! If you go after him, you'll be exiled from the pack," Aaron said, alarmed.

"Then I'll make sure no one knows it was me," Vincent smirked. "One way or another, Brian will pay."

*****

"So, you spent the night in the library?" Selina asked with an amused grin. "And slept huddled together?"

"Yes," Sylvia replied.

"Oh my goodness!" Selina gasped, her eyes shining. "It's like a fairytale—a prince and princess trapped in a tower by an evil queen, with the prince saving the princess with a kiss of true love."

Sylvia rolled her eyes. "There's no story like that. You just made it up. And there was no 'kiss of true love'—only huddling for warmth. Besides, we're step-siblings; we're not getting together."

"Well, you're not blood-related," Selina pointed out, her eyes lighting up. "If I had a stepbrother as handsome as Brian, I'd be thrilled."

"Please, you'd find him just as annoying," Sylvia said. "Remember, this is the same guy who made me eat peanut butter and suffer an allergy. That's something I'll never forgive."

Selina asked, "Are you sure it wasn't an accident?"

"He never explained himself. I'm certain he did it on purpose," Sylvia said, recalling how Brian had reluctantly apologized only after Arthur forced him to.

Selina shrugged helplessly. Just then, her eyes widened as she spotted someone with a swollen face approaching.

"Oh my gosh, look at that... who is that?"

Sylvia turned and saw a face swollen beyond recognition as he set down his lunch tray. "What's with those looks you two are giving me?" he asked in a familiar voice.

Sylvia's eyes went wide. "Are you... Brian?"

"Yeah, it's me. What's wrong?" Brian replied, oblivious to the peanut butter smeared on the corner of his mouth.

"You... Did you eat peanut butter?" Sylvia asked.

"Yeah," said Brian. "What's the matter?"

Selina handed him a mirror. "See for yourself."

Brian looked into the mirror and gasped, horrified. "How did this happen?"

Sylvia rubbed her forehead. "I'm allergic to peanuts, remember? You're in my body now, so you're also allergic."

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked, panicked.

"Guess I'll have to take you to the nurse's office," Sylvia sighed. "But brace yourself. You'll probably be looking like this for a few days."

In the nurse's office, the nurse asked, "Didn't you know you were allergic? Why'd you eat so much?"

Brian muttered awkwardly, "I... forgot."

The nurse shook her head, thinking to herself, 'I need to inform Luna Zola about this; Sylvia's careless eating habits are concerning.'

After leaving the nurse's office, Sylvia asked, "Still feeling miserable?"

Brian nodded. "A little, yeah."

"Well, you certainly deserve it," Sylvia said, unable to suppress a grin. "This is karma. Evil deeds get evil rewards."

"Hey, I'm not evil! And besides, I didn't mean to make you sick back then. I even apologized," Brian protested.

"You expect me to believe you didn't intentionally smear peanut butter on my sandwich because you didn't like me?" Sylvia raised an eyebrow, still unconvinced.

"Not at all!" Brian defended. "Why would I deliberately make a girl sick?"

He took a deep breath, ready to explain. "Look, I admit I wasn't thrilled about Zola marrying Arthur. I thought about causing some trouble, but I never meant to hurt you."

Brian recalled that first encounter with Sylvia; her beauty had momentarily taken his breath away.

"Finding out you'd be my stepsister honestly made me happy, so I put my favorite peanut butter on your sandwich, not knowing you were allergic."

Sylvia blinked. "Then why didn't you explain it to me or apologize?"

"I wanted to, but Arthur and Zola rushed you to the hospital. By the time you were back, I'd already gone to bed. I was going to make you an apology cake, but when I got back to my room and saw you'd shredded my costume, I was furious. Arthur then forced me to apologize, which only made me angrier, so I threw away the cake and never mentioned it again."

Sylvia laughed. "So that's what happened! I thought you'd done it out of spite, and we've held onto this grudge for ten years over a misunderstanding."

Brian chuckled. "Seems like it."

After a pause, he looked her in the eyes and said, "I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Sylvia asked, surprised.

"I'm sorry for making you go through that allergy reaction. It must have been awful. I regret it, even if I was only eight at the time," Brian said with sincerity.

Sylvia smirked, "Apology accepted. And I also apologize for wrecking your costume."

"So, we're even now?" Brian asked.

"Absolutely," Sylvia replied with a grin.

Just then, Selina ran up to them, panting. "I've been looking everywhere for you two! I think I might have found out why you swapped bodies."

Selina leaned in, her voice conspiratorial. "I overheard the principal and the librarian talking. They mentioned two people who snuck into the restricted section of the library and opened a forbidden book. The book had an ancient legend about the Moon Goddess helping a man and a woman swap bodies. It wasn't just a coincidence. It was the guidance of the Moon Goddess!"