Chapter 3
But then everything shifted. People changed. It all came to an end.
His impatient stare had felt like a sharp knife piercing my heart, causing my breath to catch.
Kellie lowered her head, feigning shyness. “Sophia, this was all my fault. Brother Adam had cooked for me, and I should have stopped him. Let me encourage him to eat more, so your efforts wouldn’t be wasted.”
As she had said this, she had reached for the lunchbox in my hand. I had instinctively pulled back, and she had ended up falling to the ground.
Adam exploded with anger, lashing out and kicking my wrist. The food from the thermal bucket crashed to the floor, creating a chaotic mess.
I collapsed to the ground, dazed by the sharp pain in my wrist.
Adam, realizing what he had done, instinctively moved to help me but hesitated, stopping his hand in mid–air.
“You need to do some soul–searching. Don’t think the world revolves around you,” he said.
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“It’s Kellie’s birthday today. What’s the problem with my cooking for her? Is it fair to have double standards?”
The guilty look on his face slowly faded. He started speaking with more conviction, eventually meeting my gaze with a mix of emotions before delivering his verdict. “Sophia, I wish I had never met you.”
My mind was spinning. I had no idea how I managed to leave the office in such a miserable state. People rushed by, and everything felt like a
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gigantic illusion as I drifted through the streets like a lost spirit.
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By nightfall, I somehow ended up at the old house. The cozy villa was bathed in a warm yellow glow. I blinked in disbelief, then hurried to the door in just a few steps, only to hear laughter coming from inside.
“Happy birthday to our precious Kellie! May your life be filled with joy and free from worries!”
“We also wish Kellie endless happiness and a life free of worries. Here’s your present!”
As I stood outside the window, disheveled, I watched Kellie seated in the middle, graciously receiving our family’s well–wishes.
But… hadn’t they died in that car crash years ago? Was I imagining this?
“Adam, Henry, and Sophia have really changed over the years. Perhaps we misjudged her back then. Should we come clean with her?”
“Howard! It’s Kellie’s birthday today. Let’s avoid gloomy topics!”
“What misunderstanding? The private investigator caught her with another man in those photos. She’s an ungrateful, faithless daughter! We failed as parents, and we owe Adam an apology.”
Adam, sitting nearby, calmly poured tea and raised a toast to both parents. “Dad, Mom, let’s not bring up others on Kellie’s birthday.”
The lively chorus of “Happy Birthday” echoed once more in the room, and it hit the last straw in my mind.
They were not dead after all. He had never had faith in me. Years of seeking redemption, self–reproach, agony, and hardship had all been a cruel joke!
Kneeling on the floor, I clutched my chest, gasping for air, trying to smile,
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but ending up in tears.
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With shaky hands, I called a number I had saved for a long time. “I want to make an appointment for euthanasia next week. I… I can’t keep going.”
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