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Chapter 2

Penulis: Andy
For as long as I could remember, whenever I was too scared to face something, Hailey took over.

I was afraid of pain, so she was the one who sat through every injection. I was afraid of the dark, so she was the one locked in the dark during punishments.

I'd always believed she was a protector I'd created for myself.

Sitting in Ethan's Maybach, Hailey spoke to me inside our shared mind.

"Sophie, did you see that clearly enough? Brandon is garbage."

I pushed back.

"Brandon saved me once. He's just too kind for his own good. Vivian's like a little sister to him."

Hailey scoffed and went silent.

Ethan parked in front of a luxury apartment building.

"You were reckless tonight. That's not like you."

Hailey stared at him, her gaze unwavering.

"Ethan, I don't have much time left."

Before I could process what she meant, a violent wave of dizziness surged from deep inside my skull.

Ethan's startled face blurred before my eyes, and then everything went dark.

I woke the next morning back in control.

I was lying in a strange bed. I sat bolt upright, panicking, and checked my clothes in a frenzy.

Where was Ethan? What had Hailey done with him last night?

A clean outfit sat on the nightstand, along with a note.

"Get dressed and come eat. —Ethan"

I clutched the note, my mind racing.

Brandon's call came through right then.

I answered immediately, careful and meek.

"Brandon..."

"Sophie! What the hell was that last night? Get to the gym right now and apologize to Vivian!"

His voice was nothing but command and contempt.

I tried to explain.

"Last night, I..."

"I don't want to hear your excuses. If you're not here in thirty minutes, we're done."

The line went dead. I bit my lip, blinking back tears.

I couldn't lose Brandon. He was the only light in my life.

I threw on the clothes and ran out of the apartment without so much as a word to Ethan.

At the gym, Brandon was playing basketball. Vivian sat in the lounge area, holding a towel and a water bottle for him.

I walked over, head bowed.

"Brandon, I'm here."

Brandon tossed the ball to a teammate and walked up to me.

"Apologize to Vivian."

Everyone around us stopped to stare, whispering and pointing.

I gripped the hem of my shirt until my knuckles turned white.

"I'm not apologizing. Last night, you were the ones who..."

Splash!

Vivian jumped to her feet and threw a cup of ice water in my face.

"Sophie, don't play innocent! That slap you gave me last night? My face is still swollen!"

Brandon made no move to stop her. He just stared at me, cold and distant.

"You're disgusting right now."

My last wall crumbled.

I loved him so much, and he just stood there while someone trampled my dignity.

"Sophie, you really are pathetic."

Hailey's voice cut in again.

The next second, I was shoved into the dark.
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  • I Stole My Sister's Life for Ten Years, and She Never Woke Up   Chapter 11

    I wheeled my suitcase out of the apartment.At the airport, sitting in the departure lounge, I got a call from Dr. Carter."Sophie, get to the hospital now! Ethan was in a car accident!"My mind went blank.I dropped my luggage and grabbed a cab to the hospital.The light above the operating room stayed on.Dr. Carter stood outside, his face grim."He's been in a terrible state mentally. He ran a red light and was hit by a truck."I leaned against the wall, shaking.If Ethan died, Hailey would never forgive me.Hours later, the surgeon came out and pulled off his mask."He's alive, but the head trauma was severe. There may be lasting complications."I let out a long breath. Alive was enough.Ethan was unconscious for a full week.I stayed at his bedside around the clock, sponging him down, talking to him."Ethan, please wake up. Just wake up and I'll stay. I won't leave. I'll spend the rest of my life by your side as her stand-in."On the morning of the eighth day, his fingers twitched

  • I Stole My Sister's Life for Ten Years, and She Never Woke Up   Chapter 10

    "Hailey! No!"I screamed inside my mind, but there was no answer.The presence that had been with me for ten years was gone.My mind felt hollow, like an abandoned city.My vision went black and I fainted.When I woke, I was in a hospital bed.Ethan sat beside me, his eyes threaded with red.He saw me open my eyes and gripped my hand."Sophie?"I looked at him, and tears slid down without a sound."She's gone."Ethan's body went rigid. Then he lowered his head and pressed his face into my palm.I felt the hot drops falling onto the back of my hand.The untouchable heir who was always composed and in control was crying like a child who had lost everything.I lost my sister. He lost the woman he loved.We were both left behind in a world without Hailey.After I was discharged, I took a leave of absence from school.I couldn't face campus. Every corner reminded me of Hailey stepping in to protect me.I turned Brandon over to the police for fraud.His parents came begging me to drop the ch

  • I Stole My Sister's Life for Ten Years, and She Never Woke Up   Chapter 9

    During Ethan's hospital stay, I never left his side.I dug out the clothes Hailey had kept in the back of the closet.Bold red dresses. Fitted leather jackets.I learned to put on the kind of striking makeup she wore, learned to lift my chin the way she did, learned to speak with her lazy, commanding tone.For two weeks, I stubbornly played her part beside him."Ethan, take your medicine." I pushed the cup toward him, imitating Hailey's no-nonsense voice.Ethan looked at me, his gaze distant for a moment, then he obeyed with a gentle nod."Okay. Whatever Hailey says."That's what we were: one of us performing, the other pretending to believe.Inside this dream called "Hailey," we let ourselves sink together. Neither of us wanted to wake up. Neither of us dared to touch the cruel truth.Until two weeks later, when Ethan was discharged and we returned to campus.Reality popped the illusion at last.That afternoon, we ran into Brandon and Vivian by the campus lake.Brandon had an unleashe

  • I Stole My Sister's Life for Ten Years, and She Never Woke Up   Chapter 8

    The ambulance arrived quickly and rushed Ethan to the hospital.I sat outside the emergency room, shaking all over.If anything happened to Ethan, I would never forgive myself.Then, from somewhere deep inside my mind, came a faint sigh."Sophie, stop crying."It was Hailey!I nearly jumped out of my seat."Hailey! You're back! Where did you go?"Hailey's voice was so faint it could have been mist."Sophie, I don't have much time left.""The truth is, I've been trying to bring you and Ethan together."I couldn't understand."Why? You're the one who loves him."Hailey let out a soft, tired laugh."Because I'm about to disappear, silly. When I'm gone, who's going to protect you? Ethan is someone worth trusting. He can look after you for me."Tears poured down my face."I don't want him to look after me! I want you! Please don't go!"Hailey's voice grew fainter with every word."Sophie, you need to learn to grow up on your own. A piece of trash like Brandon isn't worth missing. Ethan is t

  • I Stole My Sister's Life for Ten Years, and She Never Woke Up   Chapter 7

    I lay on the treatment bed, gasping for air, drenched in cold sweat.My mind slowly cleared, but there was nothing except exhaustion. No other voice.No sound from Hailey. No sign that she had awakened.I was still here.That timid, unloved Sophie was still stubbornly clinging to this body."Why..."I stared at the ceiling, tears sliding silently down my temples.Dr. Carter looked at me, his expression pained."It failed. Hailey's consciousness has completely sealed itself off. She's refusing to wake up. Even if you destroy yourself, it won't bring her back!"Failed.I couldn't even die. I couldn't even disappear.I didn't even have the right to give this body back.A crushing wave of grief slammed into me, so heavy I couldn't breathe.I tore the remaining sensor patches off my skin and stumbled out of the bed."Sophie! Where are you going? You're too weak for this!" Dr. Carter shouted behind me.I pressed my hands over my ears, shaking my head, and ran out of the clinic in blind despa

  • I Stole My Sister's Life for Ten Years, and She Never Woke Up   Chapter 6

    "Go ahead, Brandon. Call the police.""While you're at it, tell them how you've scammed over a hundred thousand dollars out of me in the last two years. That's more than enough for a fraud conviction."Dead silence on the other end."You... you're making that up! You gave me that money willingly!""I have every transfer receipt and every screenshot of our conversations. You think 'willingly' is going to hold up?"I hung up and blocked him on everything.Hailey chuckled softly inside my head."Not bad. You're finally using your brain."Her voice was so weak it cut through me."Hailey, stop talking. Just rest."I had to save her.I could not let her disappear because of me.If I was the one who'd been created, then I was the one who should return to nothing.I threw myself into research, devouring everything I could find online about personality integration and dissolution in dissociative identity disorder.Every study pointed to the same conclusion: when the alternate personality willin

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