“You did this!”
I knew immediately.
I picked up the photo, stood up, and slapped
Sarah hard.
“What is wrong with you?”
く
My brother pushed me away.
This time, I didn’t hide the scar around my
left eye.
When I turned, he saw the scar for the first
time.
At that moment, my brother, who was so full
of rage, froze.
“What…what happened to your eye?”
I gave a bitter laugh, “You don’t remember?
You pushed my head into the cake.”
My brother stared blankly.
But he quickly regained his composure, “How
could icing hurt your eye? Don’t play the
<
I said, “What if there was something
underneath the icing?”
My brother stopped breathing.
His movements seemed to freeze for a
moment.
I guess he finally understood.
I gave a grin and looked at Sarah, “The
birthday cake was a special order from my
sister.”
A hint of panic appeared in Sarah’s eyes.
Then she covered her mouth and, as soon as
she uncovered it, her lips were dripping with
blood.
く
“Brother……I didn’t…Claire…I didn’t
know…”
She was leaning on the door, collapsing on
the ground.
My brother was shocked for a second. But he
quickly went to help Sarah.
I didn’t give him the chance.
I slapped her again and pinched her chin,
pulling out the blood capsule from her mouth:
“Having fun, Sarah?”
Sarah’s eyes widened.
My brother was about to pull me away, but he
stopped for a second.
<
I threw the blood capsule on the ground,
“Didn’t I tell you that Dean was all yours?
What’s wrong, can’t you even get him to give
you some security? You still trying to act up
in front of me?”
“Claire…that wasn’t…
33
Sarah was clearly panicked, something I had
never seen from her before.
Then, blood started pouring out of her mouth.
I was stunned.
I didn’t think there would be so much blood in
a single capsule.
“Sarah!”
<
Someone pushed me away with such force
that I fell to the ground.
My brother checked Sarah’s vitals, his face
pale. He quickly carried her to the car.
Before I could react, he slapped me again.
“Claire, I can’t believe you’re blaming your
sister even when she’s in pain.”
33
He was about to hit me again when someone
grabbed his wrist.
Dean’s voice was calm, but slightly angry,
“Having a good time, Mr. Bennett? Hitting
women in front of my house?”
My brother was clearly eager to take Sarah to
the hospital. He just glared at Dean, forcefully
removing his arm, before getting in the car
and driving off.
“I’m sorry, I’m late.”
Dean lowered his head, his hand gently
landing on my shoulder.
Then, the hand on my shoulder started
trembling.
I looked up, my eyes filled with tears.
Was I hurt?
A
Of course not.
I gave up on them a long time ago.
Nothing they could do would make me cry
く
I did it all for Dean.
I’d been too strong with him, I should try
being soft.
I could see a hint of panic in his usually calm
eyes.
I knew I’d half convinced him.
My tears started pouring out.
“Dean…I don’t have a family anymore…”
He stammered, “Wh–what do you mean? You
can… You can treat me like a friend. Family…
We’ve been through a lot together, right?”
I cried even louder, “You never listen! What
friends and family? What were we, just
<
He was stunned.
I started sobbing.
He immediately started to panic, “Okay, okay!
I’ll listen to you! I’ll do whatever you want!
Okay?”
I
I looked at him through my tears, “Really?”
He seemed to hold his breath, “Yeah, really.”
I held back a smile, and sobbed softly,
“Then… then I’ll believe you.”
That day, he walked me up the stairs by hand.
He had no idea how hard it was for me to not
burst out laughing.
く
Dean’s parents had been in a good mood
lately.
Their son, who had never picked up a book
for the past two years, had started studying.
Not only that, he was also doing really well.
I was even shocked,
“If you’re this good, why did you repeat a
grade?”
He kept his eyes glued to his video game, his
fingers moving, “I told you, life isn’t a single
path.”
I started to see his goals.
He was a free spirit, going anywhere he
<
That’s why he missed his last ride, and was
walking in the dark, looking for a place to
sleep.
Then, he just so happened to save me.
He noticed me staring, he raised his head and
smiled, “Don’t worry, I’ll study for you. I
promised.”
I put my hands on my chin.
Huh, was my face a little hot?
I must have been imagining it.
Those easygoing days didn’t last long. My
brother called again,
“Claire Bennett, are you having fun with the
I frowned, “What?”
