Bloom for No One but Me novel Chapter 8

Gigi skipped dinner and locked herself in her room, packing up the last of her things.

Donovan and Meredith figured she was just being dramatic and kept grumbling outside her room. "You're being ridiculous. It's just some artwork. Why did you throw a fit at your sister?"

Another voice cut in. "That's right. Someone's getting a little too full of themselves lately."

With all the heat coming her way, Rylan gently knocked on her door. "Stop sulking, Gigi. Why don't you come out and have a bite?"

Gigi turned toward the door. Her chest ached, but her eyes remained dry. It turned out that she had cried herself out long ago.

Standing outside the door, Kenny irritably dragged Rylan away. "Don't bother with her, Rylan. She's just acting out again. Let's see how long she plans to starve herself."

Gigi chuckled to herself. She would only need to starve tonight because she would be gone by tomorrow.

…

The next day, Gigi made a point of waking up early, but to her surprise, the rest of the family was already gone.

She checked her phone and found out that they had taken Catherine to Brighcoln Mountain for prayers before dawn.

The church at the mountain was known for pilgrims having their prayers answered, but visitors had to hike up there on foot and make their prayers before sunrise.

That explained why they took off so early. They had gone to pray for Catherine.

Every single one of them posted on Instagram—photos of Catherine, prayers written on cards for Catherine. It was all about her.

Donovan wrote, "Wishing Catherine nothing but safety and happiness."

Meredith published the caption, "To my little sunshine—may all your wishes come true and all your dreams come to life."

Kenny posted, "Sending Catherine all the good vibes for an easy, happy life."

Rylan didn't upload Catherine's photo but shared the prayer he had written on a card for her. "I pray for your peace and harmony for many years to come."

In Gigi's past life, Rylan had written many cards containing prayers.

She opened the group chat, and messages tagging her came pouring in all at once.

"Catherine slipped and fell down the mountain, Gigi. She has lost a lot of blood. We need you at the hospital for a blood transfusion now."

"Be at the hospital in 30 minutes. No excuses."

"If anything happens to Catherine, it's on you."

Gigi paused for a second. With a stone-cold expression, she left the group chat and blocked everyone in it.

She was done being Catherine's emergency blood donor, Donovan and Meredith's daughter, Kenny's sister, and sure as hell—Rylan's fiancee.

From now on, she was Gigi, and nothing more than that.

She glanced over her shoulder and took one last look at the place she had called home for over 20 years. Then, without looking back, she dragged her suitcase to the car that had come to pick her up.

The car sped off into the distance, leaving behind nothing but a snapped SIM card on the ground.