Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Since the guest room was not ready yet, my parents told Landon to share my bedroom.

The thought of breathing the same air as that parasite made me sick to my stomach.

I turned around and quietly packed a change of clothes, deciding I would rather sleep on the living room rug.

Landon strutted into my room right behind me. With a cruel sweep of his arm, he shoved all my textbooks and binders onto the floor, slamming his own backpack onto my desk.

My cold indifference shattered his carefully crafted mask.

"Why does an ordinary nobody like you get a rich, loving family while a genius like me has to suffer?" he hissed, his face twisted in malice. "Just you wait. Everything in this house will belong to me!"

I kept packing, not even bothering to look up. "If you want this garbage family so badly, keep them. You're only picking through my leftovers anyway."

Landon's chest heaved with fury, but his sinister grin returned a second later. "Enjoy talking back while you still can."

Before I could react, Landon grabbed a stack of his own academic award certificates and ripped them to shreds.

He scooped the torn paper into his arms and bolted into the hallway, wailing at the top of his lungs. "Sean, please don't tear my certificates! They're the only memories I have left of my old school! I'm sorry I'm not worthy of sharing a room with you!"

Mom, Dad, and Renee came running at the sound of his screams. They found Landon curled into a pathetic ball on the floor, surrounded by shredded parchment and sobbing uncontrollably.

Renee picked up a torn piece and gasped. "First place in the National Junior Math Olympiad! This would have guaranteed him a spot at any top prep school, and Sean just shredded it!"

Landon wiped his tears, playing the saintly martyr. "It's my fault... I must have upset him. Please don't blame Sean."

Mom frantically grabbed wet wipes to clean his tear-stained face, her voice dripping with sorrow. "How could this ever be your fault? We just spoiled Sean too much!"

Dad's face turned scarlet with rage. He could not comprehend why his own son was such a cruel bully while another man's child was an angel.

I stepped out of the bedroom, my voice cold and steady. "Landon ripped those himself. I never touched them."

Renee shrieked, positioning herself between Landon and me. "Who on earth rips their own awards?! You're a filthy liar, Sean! I never realized how disgusting you were!"

Dad stormed over, roaring in my face. "Sean! You are a complete disgrace! Why can't you learn from Landon, grow up, and stop humiliating this family?!"

I stared back at them with dead eyes. Landon truly was a master manipulator, wrapping them around his finger in less than a day.

He shed two fake tears, and they acted like the sky was falling. Did any of them care that my heart was bleeding out?

In my past life, I had been slightly insecure because Landon excelled so effortlessly, but I still tried to welcome him as a brother.

He used my trust as a weapon, feeding my parents poison until our bond was broken beyond repair.

Now, I had an adult mind and the foresight of a past life. An elementary school sociopath was nothing to me.

To protect Landon from my supposed bullying, my parents decided he would sleep in the master bedroom with them.

They coddled him down the hall, not a single one looking back at me. To them, I was nothing more than an intruder who ruined their happy home.

I clicked my bedroom door shut, sealing out their sweet family whispers.

I had already promised myself that I would never shed another tear over their blind favoritism.