Chapter 1

Chapter 1

After helping my brother fulfill his dream of deep-sea exploration, my lungs ruptured due to the extreme underwater pressure.

My mother, a certified diving instructor, rushed my unconscious brother into the only ambulance the second we surfaced.

I collapsed onto the dock, begging her to take me along.

Holding my brother and sobbing hysterically, she screamed at me, "Toby is practically dying and you're still jealous? How did I raise such an ungrateful monster!"

In the end, rescue came too late, and I died on the cold concrete.

Yet the moment she saw my corpse, she lost her mind.

1

I was dead.

I died from pulmonary barotrauma caused by a torn diving suit.

Maybe because of my lingering regret, my spirit drifted to my mother's side right after I passed.

She was stationed by Toby's hospital bed, refusing to leave his side for even a second.

Seeing that he hadn't woken up yet, she screamed at the doctor.

"Is this how you treat your patients? My son is still unconscious, and you dare claim he's fine? If anything happens to him, I'll make every single one of you pay with your lives!"

The doctor tried his best to calm her down.

"Ma'am, please relax. We know he is your only precious son, which is why you're so anxious. We ran a full set of tests, and he only inhaled a little water and is sleeping from exhaustion. He's in no danger."

Mother didn't correct him when he assumed Toby was her only child.

Instead, she nodded in tearful agreement.

"Yes, he's the only precious boy I have left. If anything happens to him, I won't want to live anymore either."

I smiled bitterly.

You really do have only one son left now, Mom.

Your other son just took his last breath in the trauma bay down the hall.

She could have saved me.

She spent years working as a dive master and knew the fatal consequences of ruptured lungs better than anyone.

Yet when I begged her to save me in sheer agony, she shoved me away to cradle Toby.

She screamed that I was an ungrateful monster who was merely competing for attention, then sped off in the ambulance without looking back.

By the time someone else noticed me, I was already in septic shock.

They rushed me into emergency resuscitation, but it was far too late.

What broke my heart even more was that even in death, she didn't spare a single thought for me.

After the doctor left, she clutched Toby's hand with an aching expression.

"Toby, it's all my fault. I should have gone down there with you myself. If your selfish brother hadn't failed to protect you, you wouldn't be suffering like this!"

A sharp, stinging pain tore through my phantom heart.

I wanted so badly to tell her that I had protected him with my life.

If he hadn't thrown a tantrum and forced me into the restricted trench to take sample photos for him, my gear wouldn't have failed under the crushing depth.

Suddenly, Toby's fingers twitched slightly.

Mother burst into tears of relief.

"Toby, you're finally awake! Do you have any idea how terrified you made me?"

The moment Toby opened his eyes, he put on a frail, innocent act.

"Mom, how is Nolan? Is he okay?"

Mother wrapped him in a tight hug, her voice choking up.

"You sweet boy, why are you always so kind? Nolan is pure evil. He tried to steal my attention even while you were passed out! Why do you even care about someone like that?"

I caught the sly glimmer of triumph hiding in Toby's eyes.

Of course.

No matter what happened, Toby always found a way to make Mom despise me.

Even when I paid with my life for his reckless mistake.

Watching their tender embrace, I wanted nothing more than to flee.

Yet my soul was tethered tightly to her side, unable to escape.