Her Turn to Break the Rules

The liquid splashed onto my face, igniting a searing, all-consuming pain that seemed to fuse with my skin. My vision blurred and never returned. In an instant, I plummeted from heaven to hell.…Snapping back to reality, I loosened my grip and watched as Linda collapsed weakly to the floor, her innocent, doe-eyed face now smeared with filth. I couldn’t hold back a laugh. “Go ahead! Cry, scream! Show the world that face and tell them I bullied you. Do it!” My voice rose sharply at the end. The memory of the acid burning away my features in my previous life flashed through my mind. Overwhelmed with rage, I stomped on her face twice before finally turning to leave. …Downstairs by the school building, my desk mate, Rachel Summers, was waiting for me. “PE class started ages ago. What were you doing up there?” I replied casually, “Oh, just bullying the new girl.” She turned to me in shock. “What?!” I smirked. “As the saying goes, if the whole world thinks you’re a bully

When I brought home a curly-haired stray puppy, Shawn wouldn’t let the housekeeper open the door for me. “It’s filthy. We don’t welcome things like that in this house.” So, I sat on the steps outside, clutching the little dog in my arms, all night long. I was still young back then and thought that was just his nature—incapable of the gentle affection other brothers showed their sisters until Linda came along. That was when I realized Shawn wasn’t incapable of being affectionate. He simply chose not to show me such affection. I’d seen him sitting in his car, handing Linda a cup of warm milk while ruffling her hair, saying, "Make sure you eat three proper meals a day. If you ever need money, you know I’ve got you."I’d seen her pick up a frail stray cat on a rainy day, with him standing beside her, holding an umbrella and gently asking, “Do you want to keep it?”Even when Linda got drunk and clung to his shirt, rambling nonsense, he listened patiently, his eyes filled with noth

I smirked. “Shawn, what nonsense are you spouting again?” “Don’t think this is up for discussion,” he replied coldly, a trace of mocking disdain flashing in his eyes. “If you insist on performing, you’ll deal with the consequences yourself.” I stopped in my tracks, locking eyes with him and his icy stare. “Brother, is your precious little angel so lacking in confidence that after ten years of piano lessons, she’s afraid of competing with me on the same stage? What a pathetic loser.” …Just a few days before the anniversary gala, Alec came to find me. “Sierra, what happened last time was my fault. But you’ve blocked me from contacting you, and you refuse to see me.“I don’t know what’s going on, Sierra. Do you have a misunderstanding about me, or… have you fallen for someone else?” As he said those final words, his voice carried a distinct trace of pain. “But you said it yourself that you’d always love me the most.” A surge of anger, sharp and burning, shot through my

The scene from my dream suddenly flashed in my mind. He stood outside the hospital room, alongside Shawn, his eyes filled with gentle affection as he watched Linda being wheeled out of the emergency room. When he spoke of me, his voice was completely indifferent, “I’ve never regretted it.” The best fifteen years of my life. The most passionate, sincere love. It was all tied to someone like him. I suddenly laughed out loud, just as my calf was about to be slammed into the railing by him. In one swift motion, I jerked away from his grip. “Worthless.” The pain from my sprained ankle took my breath away, but I seized the moment before Alec could react. Grabbing his hair, I slammed his head hard into the railing. “Scum. You want to hurt me again? Dream on!” His head crashed against the iron bars with a resounding thud. His forehead hit a sharp corner, and blood immediately started pouring out. It trickled down his cheek, dripping onto his clothes. “Sierra…” I took

I tugged at the corner of the blanket and laughed, the movement jarring my injured ankle and making my face twist in pain. From the reflection in his pupils, I saw myself—mad, out of control. Maybe I had been a lunatic since the day I died in my previous life. Shawn's facial muscles twitched slightly, and a flash of anger crossed his eyes before vanishing. When he spoke again, his tone had returned to its usual coldness, distant and condescending. "Is it really worth it? Sierra, even if Linda's performance fails, you still won’t get to dance. Not only that, your crazy, out-of-control behavior was caught on camera for everyone to see."This time, you can't just fool everyone with a fake doctor's memo. The school has already contacted our parents. They’re preparing to expel you." "Hahahaha!" I laughed aloud. "Expelled? Why would I care about that?" "Shawn, don’t forget, I'm just as much a Wood as you are. Just like Alec said, even if this path closes, there are plenty more