Keiki Lahela

Keiki Lahela, a character in the Open Heart series, is Dr. Bryce Lahela's younger sister. She makes her first appearance in Book 2, Chapter 5.

Appearance
Keiki has brown eyes, long brown hair in a balayage to red, and tan skin. She wears a black shirt under a white sweater under a red jacket.

Personality
She appears confident like Bryce but she is also guarded. She enjoys reading, playing board games and video games, and loves listening to Billie Eilish.

Background
The Lahelas were property tycoons who became white-collar criminals. When Bryce was a senior in high school and Keiki was a young child, their father went to jail for insider trading while their mother was acquitted because she testified against him. When Keiki was six years old and in elementary school, Bryce left for college and did not return.

Due to her parents' scandal, Keiki said all the kids hated her. In fifth grade, Liliana King pushed her into a wall on her first day of school.

Book 2

 * Chapter 5: Influence
 * Chapter 8: Fair Game
 * Chapter 14: Snowball
 * Chapter 16: The Kindness of Strangers (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 18: Inevitable
 * Chapter 20: Picking Sides (Determinant)

Book 3

 * Chapter 2: More Than Meets The Eye (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 11: Wedding Belles

Bryce Lahela
Keiki is Bryce's younger sister. In Book 2, Chapter 5, Keiki had run away from home and went to stay at Bryce's apartment. They are not close and they rarely talk, and Keiki seems to hold a grudge against Bryce for 'skipping out on her' when he left to go to college. Before she arrived, the last time he texted her was on her birthday six months ago. Bryce says their parents saw her as their perfect princess. After Bryce realized how bad life was for Keiki with your help, he allows her to stay.

In Chapter 14, Bryce reveals that she got into a fight at her new school and that he had to pick her up from the principal's office. They would not allow anyone else to pick her up, forcing him to and this results in him losing the opportunity to lead in a rare surgery. When he tells you he doesn't know what to do with her and that at his age, he shouldn't be parenting a teenager, she overhears him and runs away, taking Bryce's car. You can choose to follow her in a premium scene or call the police. In the premium scene, it is revealed that she punched a boy when he showed everyone that her parents were criminals and called her a "jail baby". Bryce apologizes for what she had heard, explaining that he was just venting and that he didn't mean it. She forgives him and you help them become closer siblings.

In Chapter 16, Bryce researches different boarding schools for Keiki. He wants her to have a good education and be at a school where she fits in. If you choose to, you can help him with his research. When he sees how much tuition is, he balks as he cannot afford it on his own salary. He comes to the decision to call their parents even though he has not talked to them in a while.

Your Character
You first meet Keiki when she surprises Bryce at his apartment. If you decide to stay and help him cook, you get her to open up and she approves of you. In Chapter 8, you have the opportunity to go with Bryce and take her to the mall. This also helps them become closer.

In Chapter 18, they tell you that they found a boarding school for her and invite you on a two-hour road trip to drop Keiki off. If you decide to go, Bryce tells you that he called their parents and they are paying for the whole thing including the road trip.

Trivia

 * Her character model resembles Danielle from the High School Story: Class Act series.
 * The name Keiki is of Hawaiian origin and means "child".
 * The surname Lahela is of Hawaiian origin. In the Hawaiian culture, it takes the English names and modified in the Hawaiian version. Lahela is the Hawaiian version of the Hebrew name Rachel (which means "ewe").
 * Her family lives in a massive estate in Maui, Hawaii.