Chapter 4. Take Off

CHARLOTTE

A Week Later

I made up my mind—I need a vacation. I need to get the hell out of the house and forget about all of this.

The heartbreak, the betrayal, and the continuous failed auditions.

After I was dressed and ready, I looked around my room, then stared down at my passport and luggage, packed on the bed.

This will be the first time I’ll be leaving China.

That’s where my family has lived since Mom remarried and had my twin sisters.

My stepfather, a Hollywood filmmaker, works in the United States.

I was eighteen when Mother joined the film industry and the two relocated to the U.S.

They visit occasionally, while I was left behind with the twins.

I turned to my childhood sketch of myself.

I had glued the torn pieces together and taped them back to the wall.

“I am sorry I was mean to you, Charlotte. You are beautiful, kind, hardworking, and talented. I lost it and said cruel words to you. Forgive me.”

I smiled sadly.

“Charlotte, do you see my gold bracelet? The one my boyfriend Tony gifted me?” Chloe’s voice yelled from the living room.

“You dropped it on the couch. And you’re really old enough to stop relying on me every time, Chloe. You’re twenty-two!” I yelled back and sighed.

I took one last look around my room.

“I guess this is it,” I said quietly, forcing a sad smile.

Just as I picked up my luggage and was about to leave, Chloe barged into my room, wearing nothing but pink lace panties and a matching bra.

Her body was the perfect hourglass shape you can imagine. The kind that turned heads. That kind of small waist that made other girls suck in their tummies.

Curves in all the right places.

She looked like she belonged on a Barbie magazine cover.

“Wait a minute, Charlotte, you’re leaving? Is this because my boyfriend Jun dumped you to date me?”

I froze. “Excuse me? Your boyfriend?” I asked, turning slowly to face her, stunned.

She blinked, then shrugged like she was clueless about why I reacted that way.

“Well, yeah. I accepted his love proposal.”

“What? Are you kidding me? Chloe, I thought you were dating Tony!”

“Well, now I’m dating Jun. Are you mad? I didn’t know you’d be offended. Wow. Now I feel bad. Do you still love him? Maybe I should call him and tell him it’s over. I just didn’t think you were the insecure type. I thought you’d understand—he wants me, not you.”

I was speechless.

Like… no words would come out.

My mouth opened slightly, but I had nothing.

I took a deep breath, forcing calm into my voice.

“First of all, Chloe, I’m not insecure or angry because my ex-boyfriend went for you.”

Just then, her twin sister Zoey walked in, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

Her hair was wild, and she had on her pajamas with a cartoon doughnut printed across her heavy bosom.

“What are you two arguing about?” she mumbled, scratching her head. “It’s early morning. Charlotte, can you just make breakfast already? I’m starving. Had my period last night. I need something made of chocolate.”

I shook my head.

“Sorry, ma’am,” I said, grabbing my passport and dragging my luggage behind me, “I can’t miss my flight. I gotta go.”

Zoey’s eyes widened as she blinked away the sleep. “Wait a minute, where are you going?!”

“Outside China,” I answered.

“To look for your dad, who impregnated Mom and ran away?” Zoey asked.

I paused, pressed my lips together, and pushed the anger back.

Then I turned around and gave her a sarcastic smile.

“No… and thank you for the reminder.”

“Hey, wait! Is Mom aware that you’re leaving?” Chloe asked, following me to the hallway with a slight frown on her face.

Zoey joined her.

“Noooo! But I sent Mom a text message!” I yelled back without stopping.

“Who’s going to cook then?! We can’t cook, you know that!” Zoey shouted dramatically.

I rolled my eyes and turned at the door, my hand already on the handle.

“Get a maid, sweetie!”

Zoey gasped. “A maid?! Do you know how much they cost, Charlotte?!”

I played deaf and walked out of the house.

The cab driver stepped out and opened the car boot for me.

“Thanks,” I murmured as I handed him my luggage.

Settling inside the car, I felt a tear slide down my cheek—

But I quickly wiped it away.

***

Finally, at the airport, I thought I would feel that excitement, you know.

I am finally leaving everything behind, but it feels colder than I expected.

I will miss my sisters, and yes, they can be annoying.

I looked up, trying to blink back the tears in my eyes.

People were moving around, families having a time, couples taking selfies, and solo travelers scrolling through their phones.

I sighed, opened my phone, and scrolled to the gallery app.

My fingers hesitated before tapping: Albums → Recently Deleted.

I found countless pictures of Jun and me.

My eyes went to one of us, smiling at a Chinese restaurant in Chengdu. Then the sight of him kissing my cheek at the New Year’s countdown. Lastly, the blurry photo of our hands interlocked under a blanket during that stormy night in April.

It was weird how you could look so happy in a photo but feel like a stranger to that version of yourself now.

My thumb hovered over the “Delete All” button, shaking a little.

The phone asked if I was sure.

I pressed yes, and the pictures vanished.

I stared at the blank screen for a moment, my eyes glassy, then shut the phone and tucked it into my pocket.

“Attention, all passengers on flight JL44 to Los Angeles,” a voice sounded through the terminal speakers. “We are now inviting passengers in Group A to begin boarding.”

A sharp breath left my lungs as I sat up straighter.

That was my flight.

I watched as people began lining up and immediately took out my boarding pass.

Another announcement. My group.

I stood slowly and dragged my suitcase behind me.

The boarding agent scanned my pass and smiled. I returned a weak one, the best I could manage.

I stepped onto the plane and waddled gently down the aisle, dragging myself like a tired walrus, trying not to whack anyone in the head with my bag.

People were already giving the “Oh no, she’s coming to my row” face.

Get that a lot.

I mean, it’s a talent how fast strangers can judge your entire existence with just one glance.

I finally reached my row, turned the corner, and what a miracle!

The two seats beside my window were empty.

“Thank you, God,” I whispered under my breath.

I took my seat, exhaled with a sigh, and leaned my head against the window.

I love window seats.

Give me clouds over people any day.

But the trauma?

The trauma of being a plus-size passenger in an economy seat? I’ve earned medals for surviving.

I had taken a few local flights before.

Nothing major, just regional trips around China.

And it wasn’t a very good experience for me.

“Lord, please. No angry mothers. No body shaming grannies. And lastly, no one thinks I’m taking up ‘too much space’. I just want to breathe in peace.”

I checked the aisle again, then sighed, staring out the window like some heartbroken main character in a film.

Then boom, the memory of my breakup flashed back into my mind.

Oh Lord, not this again, I groaned inwardly.

“He told me the reason was that I was fat. Thank you, Captain Obvious. After sleeping with my sister, you suddenly realize that? And here I was thinking I was just fluffy with extra personality. Were you blind when you approached me at first? I am fat, and you are too, too, Jun!

He went, ‘Oh, but I’m a man… so it’s different. I’m rich, so I’m like a ten. You’re a woman… so it’s different, you are like a two.’

Just say you want to break up in peace and go! Then he replied. ‘The truth is I’ve always been in love with your sister Chloe.’

I can’t believe I was in love with such a jerk!”

I was talking to myself, mimicking his voice, exaggerating his facial expressions.

Then suddenly, I felt a presence beside me. I turned my head slowly in robotic mode and found a man dressed in all black sitting at the aisle seat!

My eyes first went to the tattooed fingers scrolling on his phone, then to his face.

A black nose mask covered the lower half of his face.

His jet black wolf cut styled medium hair cascaded down to his neck level, just enough to cover one side of his side profile.

I snapped my head back to the window so fast I heard my own neck crack.

WHAT. THE. FUCK!

When did he sit down?! And I was talking to myself! Out loud.

LOUD and doing voices.