Chapter 2

Dad made the final call.

Since I was apparently so ungrateful and picky, I would be responsible for every meal from now on, and no one was allowed to help me.

The mood at the table turned awkward.

Mom quickly tried to smooth things over. "Your dad doesn't really mean it like that. He just wants to try your cooking."

I lowered my eyes and nodded. "Okay."

When I went back to my room, the small bed was a complete mess.

It wasn't hard to imagine what had happened there the night before.

The sight of the stained sheets made my stomach turn.

I went to find Evan.

"You two made that mess. Clean it up."

Evan leaned lazily against the doorframe without moving. A faint, knowing smile tugged at his lips.

"Maren, so you did come to talk to me about last night.

"Must've been hard holding out since last night."

I turned away. "That's none of your business."

"Don't think I don't know what you were trying to pull by drugging me..."

He clearly didn't like my attitude. His expression turned cold.

"What? You chickened out at the last second, so you sent Sienna in to clean up your mess?"

The drug had actually been Sienna's doing.

She had only meant to use it on me, but somehow Evan had been drugged too. In my previous life, that was how the two of us had ended up sleeping together.

But in my previous life, no matter how hard I tried to explain, Evan never listened.

I gave him a cold, mocking smile.

"I thought you'd be thrilled that I sent Sienna to you. Funny. I didn't realize you considered yourself a mess."

Anger flashed across Evan's face.

"Do you have any idea how long Sienna wanted to save her first time for her wedding night? Because of your selfish stunt, she had to go against her own principles!"

His voice turned vicious.

"Maren, you should've just stayed missing. Better yet, you should've died out there. Why did you even come back?"

I had heard words just as cruel from him countless times in my previous life.

I thought they wouldn't hurt anymore. But they still cut straight through the softest part of me.

"I'll leave, Evan. Don't worry."

I turned away before he could see the tears burning in my eyes.

And I never noticed the way he looked like he wanted to say something more.

That evening, I was in the kitchen chopping meat when a huge, aggressive dog suddenly charged in.

I jumped in fright. The knife slipped and cut my index finger, and blood quickly ran down my hand.

Mom, Dad, and Evan all knew I was terrified of dogs.

The barking was loud enough to hear from the living room, yet they were still out there chatting with Sienna about some new TV show.

The dog caught the scent of blood and started toward me.

I screamed and swung the knife wildly in front of me.

Evan finally rushed in, his voice urgent. "Stop! Don't hurt Sienna's dog!"

I looked at Evan, fighting to keep my voice from shaking, and bit out each word.

"Get the dog out of here."

I tightened my grip on the knife.

"One more second, and I swear I'll turn it into dinner."

Sienna looked terrified by the sight of me.

At dinner, she claimed she was too upset to eat, gave me a wounded look, and went upstairs.

Dad glared at me and slammed his silverware down.

"All I asked you to do was make dinner. Did you really have to cause such a scene?

"I'm too angry to eat."

Mom looked worried too.

"Sienna has always been sensitive and prone to overthinking because she knows she's adopted. Now Maren's back, and she's already talking about turning Sienna's dog into dinner. Of course she's upset. I should go comfort her."

Before leaving, Evan glanced at me, his tone mocking.

"Maren, you're taking this way too far.

"These attention-seeking stunts are only going to make everyone dislike you more."

The dining room fell silent.

I stared at the table full of food as it slowly went cold.

Every dish was something Mom, Dad, or Evan had once loved.

Ignoring the throbbing pain in my hand, I finished my own plate. Then I dumped everything else in the trash.

At one in the morning, my fever had gotten worse, so I went downstairs to look for medicine.

Through my hazy vision, I spotted Evan.

He had one hand pressed to his stomach, his brow furrowed. Apparently, skipping dinner had made his stomach problems flare up again.

"Maren, so that's why you dumped all the food. You were waiting for this, weren't you?"

Evan noticed the medicine kit in my hand and let out a mocking laugh.

"What? You think your fake concern is going to move me and make me fall for you again?"