Chapter 3

3

Looking at Brenda sitting upright in bed, looking more energetic than ever, I realized the cancer was likely a lie from the very beginning.

The whole thing had been a twenty-year long con.

But why?

I found myself screaming at them, demanding to know why they would do this to me.

But before they could answer, a sharp, stabbing pain bloomed in my chest.

Taking care of an "invalid" for two decades had taken a massive toll on my health. My heart was weak.

I had skipped my own checkups to pay for Brenda's expensive supplements and "treatments."

I finally collapsed, my body unable to take the stress any longer.

As the darkness closed in, the final truth became clear.

Everything was a lie. The cancer, the house, the love.

I died hating the unfairness of it all, wondering why the universe would let them win.

But the universe had other plans. It gave me a second chance.

"Sadie! Are you even listening to me?"

Brenda's shrill, angry voice snapped me back to the present.

I remembered this day vividly.

It was the start of summer break. I was exhausted, so I bought myself a latte to wake up before heading out to look for a job.

In my previous life, Brenda had knocked the cup out of my hand and screamed at me for being a spendthrift.

"Do you have any idea how much money you've wasted over the years?"

I had heard that line every single day for years.

Back then, I just thought she was a frugal, grumpy woman. I didn't realize she just hated seeing a cent spent on me.

As Brenda reached out to swat the coffee, I pulled it back with lightning-fast reflexes.

"Aunt Brenda, I bought this with my own hard-earned money. What right do you have to call it a waste?"

"You… are you talking back to me?"

She looked at me like I had grown a second head.

And she should be shocked.

In my last life, I was a mindless puppet who did everything to please her, while she just used me up.

This time, the gloves were coming off.

I looked her dead in the eye, my gaze steady and cold.

"First, I earned this money. Second, the coffee is already paid for. Throwing it away would be the real waste."

"You think just because you're in college now, you can grow a backbone and defy me?"

"Do you know you wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for me taking you in after your parents died?"

"Everything you have belongs to me. Without me, you'd be nothing but a gutter rat."

Is that so?

How pathetic. Did she really think I was still that naive little girl?

If she hadn't taken me in, I'm sure the state or another relative would have.

"Then I really should thank you, Auntie."

"You're damn right you should. And from now on, every penny you earn comes straight to me."

"Sure thing. You give Sean a $2,000 monthly allowance. I don't want much―just $1,000 for my basic needs."

"What? You have the nerve to ask me for a thousand dollars? Are you trying to rob me?"

The moment I mentioned money, Brenda went into full nuclear meltdown mode.

She moved to open the front door, intending to put on a show for the neighbors about how I was bullying her.

I beat her to it. I threw the door wide open myself.

I started sobbing loudly, listing every single grievance from the past few years.

The women in this apartment complex were all professional gossips.

They lived for drama and loved seeing people get taken down a notch.

As soon as I started wailing, the lady from upstairs came running down.

"Sadie, honey, is what you're saying true?"

I nodded, tears streaming down my face. "Ma'am, I wouldn't lie. My aunt has been like this since I was a kid."

"She's calling me a brat because I bought one discounted coffee. I haven't taken a cent from this house since high school!"

"I pay my own tuition and bills, while she gives my cousin two thousand a month. I just asked for half that, and she lost her mind!"