Chapter 2

2

Gavin looked stunned by my sudden verbal attack.

He took a step toward me, then looked away, stopping in his tracks.

I ignored him and waved down a taxi.

As the door was closing, a hand gripped the frame, knuckles white with tension.

"Why aren't you using the family driver?"

Gavin's voice was tinged with anxiety and a hint of desperation he didn't even notice.

"That's your home, Gavin. Not mine," I said coldly.

He froze, his pupils trembling in disbelief.

I slammed the door three times before his bruised hand finally let go.

As the car pulled away, I saw him standing there, looking small and pathetic.

In the past, my heart would have ached for him.

But now, I was the one who had been betrayed and discarded.

When I got to my apartment, I poured half a bottle of pills into my palm.

The mission was over, and I only had one goal left.

I remembered my mother back in the real world, holding a birthday cake and smiling at me.

I grit my teeth, my palms sweating under the dim light.

Swallowing an overdose seemed like the fastest way out.

But just as I raised my hand, my wrist was snatched with violent force.

The pills flew from my hand, scattering across the floor like hailstones.

In the middle of the clatter, Gavin's eyes were bloodshot.

"Elara, have you lost your mind?" he screamed.

He glared at me, his chest heaving.

"Stop these pathetic little stunts. They won't work on Barrett."

"You already ruined Piper's childhood. Don't you realize you aren't worth half of what she is?"

Gavin's voice suddenly cut off.

While he was busy lecturing me, I grabbed the other half of the bottle and downed them.

The dry pills scraped my throat, a bitter taste spreading across my tongue.

It felt like all my senses were being stripped away.

But for the first time in years, I felt a spark of joy.

Was I finally leaving?

I could almost see my mother waving at me from the light.

Gavin lunged and snatched the empty bottle from my hand.

After a few seconds, he let out a massive sigh of relief.

The brief flash of concern in his eyes turned back into a sneer.

"Vitamins? Your acting is getting worse, Elara."

"Piper was right. You're just a manipulative, wicked woman."

Before Piper returned, I used to hide my real medicine in vitamin bottles so the family wouldn't worry.

After she came back, no one ever asked how I was doing anyway.

I forced a smile. "You're right. I just wanted to disgust you."

But my body couldn't hold out any longer.

The moment I finished speaking, I doubled over and vomited a mouthful of dark blood.

The red spray landed on Gavin's arm, shattering his arrogant expression.

"Elara? What's happening? We need to go to the hospital!"

He grabbed me, his face pale with panic.

For a second, he looked like the little brother who used to follow me everywhere.

The boy who used to tell the world that his sister was number one.

I had truly loved him once.

That was why his betrayal felt like a knife in the gut.

"Get lost," I spat, wiping the blood from my chin.

"Don't call me sister. Just leave me alone."

Gavin started rambling again.

"Even if you win Barrett back this way, what's the point? His heart belongs to Piper."

It was the same old story.

Even when my fiancé fell for someone else, I was the one branded as the interloper.

It didn't matter. My fate was sealed.

Another surge of blood hit the floor.

"There's so much blood… Elara, you're going to die!"

Gavin's voice hit a pitch of pure terror.

He paced frantically, but the look of relief on my face stopped him cold.

He grit his teeth and pulled a new bottle of pills from the drawer.

"Elara, if you don't go to the hospital, I'll take these too. Do you want to see me die with you?"

He looked dead serious, searching my face for a reaction.

Did he really think I still cared?

I let out a raspy cough and smiled. "Go ahead."

"Then let's go. Let's go to the ER," he said, his eyes lighting up as he reached for me.

I pulled back, my voice cold as ice.

"If you want to die, jump off a building. Vitamins won't kill you."

Gavin's face went ghost-white.

He let his hands drop, stumbling back as tears welled in his eyes.

I didn't care. I only had one thought.

Finally, I'm dying.