Back at My Brother's Birthday From Hell

Samuel Stone, my brother, glared at the waiter in front of him and snapped, "Are you blind? You just ruined my entire birthday celebration!"

The waiter froze, then quickly lowered his head and apologized. "I'm so sorry, sir. It was my mistake. I can pay for the cleaning, if that's okay?"

Samuel shoved him, his voice rough and aggressive. "Are you kidding me? These are a global limited-edition pair with a superstar's autograph. A drop of water on them and they're done for!"

He lifted his chin, full of swagger. "Where's your manager? Get him out here, now!"

My mother stepped up and patted his shoulder, soothing him. "Don't get so worked up, sweetheart. It's bad for your health."

She then turned to the waiter and shot him a vicious look, her voice as sharp as a whip. "How dare you upset Sam like that! Just wait—you're getting fired!"

My father frowned, his face icy as he stared the waiter down.

In my last life, this was the exact moment I'd stepped in and talked them down, doing everything I could to stop things from getting worse.

And what had I gotten for it? Samuel's resentment and getting pushed off a building.

The poison-laced words Samuel had whispered before shoving me off the building were still ringing in my ears. "It's all your fault for pretending to be some saint and wrecking my reputation, Jeremiah. You deserve to die!"

The terror of free-falling from the 30th floor, the agony of bones shattering on impact—that pain was still seared into my memory. I couldn't help trembling.

My arm brushed against a chair, making it rattle.

Samuel turned and glanced at me, his expression full of mockery. "Didn't you used to work at a hotel, Jeremiah? Do you feel sorry for this guy, seeing him like this? Are you thinking of sticking up for him?"

Before I could answer, my mother shot me a furious glare and barked, "Jeremiah Stone! Sam is your brother. Don't you dare take a stranger's side against him!"

I clenched my fists tightly, a bitter taste rising in my throat.

I did pity the waiter, but if I helped him, I knew I'd just be repeating the same nightmare. After a long moment of silence, I concealed all my emotions and said calmly, "I'm not. I'm just hungry, and I'd like to start eating."

Samuel snorted, looking contemptuous. "Ugh. The fact that you grew up in the sticks is really showing. You're so easy to impress that it's pathetic. Never seen anything nice in your life, have you? All you care about is food."

My father's expression turned impatient, and he let out a cold, annoyed huff. My mother rolled her eyes and snapped, "How did I end up having a kid as useless as you? You're an embarrassment to our family. You and Sam are both my children, but you can't even compare to him!"

My fists, hanging by my sides, clenched even tighter. My parents had brought me into this world, yet they hadn't spent even a second raising me.

For as long as I could remember, they'd left me in the countryside to grow up with my elderly grandmother. Later, when my father's business took off and money started pouring in, they had Samuel. They treated him like the family's lucky charm and spoiled him rotten.

It wasn't until after Grandma passed away that my parents finally brought me back to live with them. Even then, they'd never been kind to me. Even the hired help felt free to snap their fingers at me and order me around.

Now, my mother was calling me an embarrassment to the Stone family.

I sneered inwardly.

I wondered what the looks on their faces would be like when they realized their so-called lucky charm was the one who would drag the Stone family to its downfall.