I Can’t Keep You, so I’ll Let Go Chapter 10
Three days after Julia left Glenridge, the Hunt family made the headlines.
It started because that television interview never aired.
People found it strange. I was the top scorer in the state, yet no one in my family knew where I had gone.
Then, a neighbor from the rented apartment was interviewed.
She mentioned that I had lived alone for a year, that no one cared when the AC broke, and that I was left shivering in the hallway during a midnight blackout.
Next, the owner of the bubble tea shop spoke out. He revealed that Mom had picked up my month’s wages, only to swap them for fake bills.
The headlines were biting.
“Top Scorer and Biological Son Kicked Out by Family, Goes Missing After Living Alone for a Year”.
“Family Celebrates Adopted Son’s College Acceptance While Top Scorer Son Leaves Unaccompanied”.
I was eating dinner in the cafeteria when I saw the news.
My roommate looked at me cautiously. “Ollie, is this… you?”
I glanced down at the screen.
The photo showed the rented room I had already vacated-the peeling wallpaper, the moldy curtains, and the four rag dolls facing the wall on the floor.
I fell silent for a very long time before nodding slightly. “Yeah, it’s me.”
My roommate didn’t pry. He just scooped the drumstick from his own plate and dropped it onto mine.” You need to eat more from now on.”
I froze for a second, then smiled and thanked him.
The news spread faster than I could have imagined.
Someone at Dad’s company recognized him. Colleagues who used to politely address him as Mr. Hunt now went out of their way to avoid him.
During a meeting, someone even joked, “If Mr. Hunt can drive his top-scoring son out of the house, who could possibly trust him with a major project?”
The rumors surrounding him grew louder by the day, with people saying he favored his adopted son and had driven his own child to leave the family group chat and cut off contact.
The rumors twisted into increasingly ugly shapes until, before long, his most important account was pulled from his hands.
Mom didn’t dare attend the social gatherings with the other wealthy wives anymore. She used to love showing off Paige and Reynold.
Now, the moment she showed her face, someone would ask with a smirk, “I heard your biological son was the top scorer. How could you bring yourselves to throw out a kid that brilliant?”
Paige wasn’t having an easy time at school either.
Back when she barely scraped into Crawford University, the family treated her like a prodigy.
But now, everyone knew that the “immature” brother she looked down on had scored a 1570. He was the top scorer, vastly superior to her.
“Turns out, she wasn’t the brightest one in the Hunt family after all. No wonder she constantly shielded her adopted brother. A mediocre talent will always envy true genius.”
It was the same for Julia.
On the Beaumont University forum, someone dug up the public promises she’d once made to wait for
Others pointed out how she later sidelined me for Reynold and persuaded me to move to another city.
Those rumors traveled fast. Wherever she walked, people stared.
Someone asked her, “Didn’t you say you’d wait for him? You waited all this time, only to lose him in the
end?”
Reynold couldn’t handle the backlash. He cried multiple times at school, claiming that his health was fragile and that none of it was intentional.
But this time, the crowd didn’t gather around to comfort him. People only whispered among themselves.
“Having poor health doesn’t give you the right to steal the biological son’s life.”
“His top-scoring brother was cast out for a year while he lived in a luxury penthouse. What is he crying
about now?”
I heard he tried to take his own life again.
But after checking him over, the doctor merely stated that it was an emotional outburst and that his life was not in danger.
This time, Mom didn’t instantly hold him and weep. She just sat in the hospital corridor, her eyes red as she called my phone.
But I didn’t pick up.
Later, Julia brought Mom, Dad, and Paige to Glenridge. They stood at the campus gates, laden with bags containing clothes, a laptop, bank cards, and a brand-new supplementary family credit card.
The moment Mom saw me, her tears spilled over instantly. “Ollie, please forgive me. We were wrong before.”
Dad’s voice was raspy as he said, “We’ll cover all your tuition and living expenses. We won’t let you suffer anymore.”
Paige kept her head down, too. “I’m sorry.”
As I looked at them, I felt nothing but peace inside.
These apologies, gifts, and affection came too late. At this point in my life, they were worth nothing to
“No, thank you. My scholarship is enough,” I said.
Mom grabbed my hand, weeping. “But we’re a family.”
I slowly pulled my hand back from her grip. “Not anymore.”
She froze right where she stood.
I looked at them and delivered every single word with deliberate clarity. “I had only been back with you for a year. During this one year, you never raised me, and you never protected me.
“When I was sick, injured, being extorted, or too broke to afford food, not a single one of you stood by my side. So don’t ever bring up family to me again. Reynold is the son you actually raised. From now on, just live your lives with him.”
With that, I turned around and walked back onto the campus.
Behind me, Mom’s muffled sobs echoed alongside several voices calling my name.
But I was never going to look back.
So what if no one was there to lift me up? Even if I had to walk alone, I would rise on my own strength and reach the pinnacle.
