Early the next morning, Citrine was the first one downstairs.

    She barely set foot in the kitchen when she felt a pair of gloomy eyes fixed on her.

    ncing over, she found Wade sprawled out in a chair, legs crossed and looking for all the world like a man who''d just lost his life savings at the casino.

    Citrine didn''t think much of it. She tossed out a casual question. "Big bro, you didn''t rack up some secret debtst night, did you?"

    Wade''s expression darkened instantly.

    He should''ve known better than to expect her to wake up and apologize for yesterday. Heartless little brat.

    Citrine,pletely oblivious to his silent brooding, took hisck of response as silent admission.

    She frowned, feigning concern, and offered her sage advice. "Well, you know, if you owe money, you''ve got to pay it back. That''s just how the world works. You can''t run away from your responsibilities."

    Travis couldn''t hold back-he burst outughing, nearly spraying his coffee. The rest of the Saunders family tried to stifle their own chuckles, but a few snickers escaped.

    After a goodugh, Travis patted the seat beside him. "Citrine, don''t mind him. Come sit over here with me."

    Without hesitation, Citrine plopped herself down next to him.

    Noticing she really didn''t remember a thing, Travis tested the waters. "You know, Citrine, you drank quite a bitst night."

    Citrine looked up, brows drawing together as she tried to recall. The mention ofst night did stir a faint memory.

    She spoke slowly, "I remember wanting to see the ocean. The rest is kind of a blur."

    When she realized everyone was giving her strange looks, Citrine hesitated, then nced at Travis, a little nervous. "I... I didn''t say anything embarrassingst night, did I?"

    Travis shot Wade a quick nce, then shook his head calmly. "Nope. Not at all.”

    She turned to the others, searching their faces for confirmation.

    They all shook their heads in unison.

    And so, in this little world, only Wade was left to suffer in silence.

    Wade pursed his lips, resigning himself. Well, whatever, being the doted-on younger brother wasn''t the worst fate.

    He snuck a look at Gorman sitting nearby. Compared to him, maybe things weren''t so bad after all.

    As he thought about it, Wade managed to talk himself out of his bad mood.

    Before long, his usual boisterous self reemerged, and he sidled up to Citrine again.

    "Hey, Travis, you''re always hanging around my house, hogging my sister. Don''t you have a home of your own?"

    He shoved Travis aside with zero subtlety and plopped into the seat Travis had just vacated.

    Travis could onlyugh in exasperation. "Your sister? Citrine''s my sister too, you know."

    He looked smug. "Her home is my home."

    Then he turned to Citrine for backup. "Right, Citrine?"

    Citrine nodded matter-of-factly. "That''s right. My home is your home, too."

    Wade shot Travis a murderous re, practically vibrating with frustration, ready to argue. But before he could, Travis suddenly put on a pitiful act, voice quivering as he whined, "Citrine, did I do something wrong? Is Wade mad at me? Is he going to kick me out?"

    Wade was speechless.

    Where on earth did Travis learn to act like this? Was he taking master sses in

    drama? The guy was as tricky as a fox.

    Still, Travis''s performance was impressive.

    The rest of the Saunders family

    looked at Wade with a mix of

    sympathy and envy. Sure, they were jealous too, but Travis had gotten Citrine''s approval first. If they jumped in now and started fighting over her, she might think they were petty. None of them wanted to put her in a tough spot, so Wade was stuck being the sacrificialmb.

    Sure enough, the moment Wade opened his mouth, Citrine took Travis''s side.

    She frowned at Wade. "Wade, Travis is my brother too. You can''t just toss him out."

    She hesitated, then added, "You''re all

    my

    "any of you got hurt,

    I want you all to get along, okay?"

    "You''re all wonderful. You''ll promise me, right?"

    Now Wade and Travis were the ones left stunned.

    Was it just them, or did that sound a little strange?

    No doubt about it-Travis still had a ways to go with his theatrics. Their little sister

    was the real master of the game.