5
531words
I didn't like the Fosters, but I needed their power.
It's a place that devours people. We were all raised like fighting pits, turning on each other.
Without a mother, I had no one to protect me. Until I was fourteen, I was bullied and excluded by the others, always covered in bruises.
That's when I met Chloe and Sophia Lawson.
My father lined up all the eligible Foster boys in front of the Lawson sisters and asked them which one they wanted to be friends with.
They pointed at me, in unison. My father frowned and displeased, but he accepted their choice.
I learned then that the Lawson family was, at the time, more powerful than the Fosters.
The Lawsons were shopping for friends, or perhaps future sons-in-law, for their precious daughters. The Fosters seized the opportunity.
I got lucky. I was chosen. I became Chloe and Sophia's companion.
Because of the Lawson connection, I gradually gained visibility within the family.
My father started teaching me things. I wasn't scorned or humiliated as much, though some cousins still whispered behind my back, calling me a weakling who rose to power on the coattails of women.
I didn't care. Back then, I was genuinely grateful to the Lawson sisters. I saw them as my saviors.
I once asked them why they picked me out of the whole group.
They said because I was the best-looking one.
I don't look like my father. At that moment, I was profoundly grateful my unknown mother was beautiful, giving me this chance at salvation.
I stayed close to the Lawson sisters until I was eighteen. Those four years were a period of rapid growth for me, and my father began to show me a degree of recognition.
Then I was sent abroad. Before I left, we took that photo together.
I promised them I'd remain their friend when I returned.
I studied overseas while also handling business deals.
At twenty-four, I finally returned, only to hear the news the moment I landed: the Lawson family was bankrupt.
The once-great family had fallen. Everyone was scrambling for a piece of the carcass. Old enemies saw a chance to claim the sisters for themselves.
I found them immediately.
And they already had Lucas with them.
A nobody. He'd earned their undying gratitude by buying them a meal when they were down and out.
I understood. Help during desperate times leaves a deep mark. It did on me.
To help Chloe and Sophia repay Lucas, I offered him ten thousand dollars.
He threw the money in my face. "Mr. Foster, you think I helped the Lawson sisters for money?"
Frankly, I didn't get his outrage. Even if he wasn't in it for the money, what was wrong with me trying to repay him financially?
The Lawson sisters also disapproved. They looked at me, disappointed.
"Ethan, Lucas helped us. You can't just buy him off."
"What do you suggest then?"
They proposed something.
"Let him live with us."
