Chapter 3

I opened my eyes to find Julian glaring at me furiously.

"Are you done with your act? You knew Chloe and I were going to the pizza place, so you deliberately coughed up blood and fainted in front of us, didn't you?"

"Don't hit my sister!" Emma rushed over and shoved him away.

"Emma, come here," I called softly.

Emma obediently took my hand. Then, I looked up at this brother who shared my blood. My face burned where he'd struck me, and my heart felt shattered.

I'd been rushed to the hospital, yet no one told him about my condition? He was a healer himself. If he bothered to examine me properly, or if he simply unblocked our bond right now, he'd see how sick I really was.

But he didn't.

"Get out," I said quietly.

He ground his teeth in anger. "Stasia, you've really gone too far this time!"

He raised his hand to strike me again.

"Jules," I called him by his nickname.

He froze. I hadn't called him that in so long, not since I realized Chloe had stolen everyone's love. This was the first time in ages I'd called him by his nickname, and it would be the last.

"Let's cut ties. In your eyes, I'm a criminal and a liar. So I don't want to upset you anymore."

I never thought we'd come to this. After all, he used to treasure me above everything else. Everyone knew the Everhart family had a hot-tempered son who was impossibly gentle with his little sister.

He really was good to me once. When I had a fever, he stayed up all night taking care of me. Whatever I wanted to eat, he'd buy it for me. Once on my birthday, I mentioned wanting to go skiing in Swossland, and he chartered a plane that same night to take me there.

He used to always tell me, "Stasia, I'll protect you for the rest of your life."

Then, Dad died, and everything changed.

"Say that again!" Julian's fists clenched in fury.

"I said, let's cut ties. From now on, you're not my brother, and I'm not your sister."

"Fine. Those are your words." He stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Just then, a young man in a white coat walked in. I glanced at his name tag. He was a healer intern named Liam Foster.

He came over and adjusted my IV drip to a slower rate.

"This should make you feel better," he said.

"Thank you," I replied.

Then, I looked at Emma beside me. Her eyes were red, and her face was full of worry.

"Stasia, are you really sick?"

Tears spilled from my eyes beyond my control. "I'm fine. Can you go home first? I'll be back soon, okay?"

She was always obedient. She nodded and left with her backpack.

After she left, Liam let out a sigh.

"Your condition isn't good. You need to stay in the hospital, or you could die in the street at any moment."

"Then I'll stay," I said.

I didn't want to die in the street. That would be too pathetic.

That evening, Dominic came to see me. He carried a bag of my favorite fruits and my favorite strawberry cake.

"The healer said you just fainted from malnutrition. Come home. Stop fighting with your brother."

I'd told Liam not to reveal my condition to anyone without my permission, so he hadn't told Dominic either. I used to desperately want them to know about my illness, but now I didn't want them finding out so soon.

"Dominic, we've already broken up. You have no right to interfere in my life. And what does my relationship with my brother have to do with you?"

His expression darkened. "Stasia, everyone's been so good to you. Why do you have to be so difficult?"

Good to me? How ironic. Being good to me apparently meant trusting Chloe's every word while ignoring mine completely.

"Can you leave?" I held back the urge to pour out my grievances.

"The sight of you makes me sick."

Looking at him reminded me of how deeply he used to love me and how much he ignored me now. If he'd never loved and cherished me so deeply before, I wouldn't feel such bitter resentment toward him now.

The moment I finished speaking, Julian suddenly burst in.

"Stasia, you've really gone too far this time!" He charged over, shouting, and slapped me again.

This time the force was brutal. My ears rang.

Julian never used to hit me. He wouldn't even raise his voice at me. But somewhere along the way, his temper had turned violent, and he started putting his hands on me.

"We already gave you a way out, but you're still throwing a tantrum.

"Fine. You don't want me as your brother? I don't want you as the sister who killed Dad either!"

Dominic sighed in disappointment and left. The people who once treated me so well kept leaving, one by one. Tears blurred my vision.

I told myself it didn't matter. I didn't want them anymore either.

The next day, Julian came again. He carried a bag from the fried chicken restaurant. My face went deathly pale when I saw the logo.

"Get out! I'm not eating that!" I said.

But he answered, "Today's the anniversary of Dad's death. You used to love eating fried chicken on this day, didn't you? Today, you can eat your fill."

Then, he rushed over and started shoving the food into my mouth. Suddenly, I coughed up fresh blood.

The monitor beside me flatlined. My vision began to blur.