Chapter 2

"Rachel, what are you doing here?" Bryan looked at her in pleasant surprise.

Rachel flicked his forehead. "I promised I'd be here for your 25th birthday. Did you really think I'd miss it?"

Joyce patted her on the shoulder. "You've suffered a lot these past three years. If you hadn't staged your death back then, Raymond would've never let Bry off the hook."

Rachel sighed. "Had he not been so extreme, I wouldn't have done it. My heart breaks for him every year when I see him kneel in front of my grave for hours. Let's give it another two years. Once he's gotten used to Bryan's presence, I'll tell him the truth so he doesn't have to remain trapped in the past."

A loud ringing filled my brain as a bone-deep chill surged through every fiber of my being.

Ever since Rachel passed away, the audio recording she left behind became a nightmare that haunted me for years. Every year on the anniversary of her death, I would kneel at her grave for hours, begging her to visit me in my dreams. Yet, she never did.

I had always thought it was because Rachel refused to forgive me. Thus, she wouldn't even visit me in my dreams.

Little did I know, she was still alive. In that case, what was I supposed to make of the excruciating guilt and self-blame that had tormented me day and night for the past three years? What about Dad's cold looks and Mom's vicious curses?

"Ray has been pretty well-behaved lately," Mom said softly. "Maybe we shouldn't send the debt collectors after him this month."

Dad immediately knitted his brows in disapproval. "Ray's calculating and ruthless. If Joyce hadn't hired people to pose as loan sharks and hound him for repayment every month, forcing him to focus all his energy on earning money, Bry would never have a moment of peace."

Rachel nodded in agreement. "He's right. We can't give him an inch. So long as he's broke, he won't be able to stir up trouble."

My fingers dug into the window ledge so hard my fingernails nearly bent backward.

Following her passing, the astronomical high-interest loan she left behind landed squarely on my shoulders. I had liquidated all the assets under my name, but they were merely a drop in the bucket.

To pay it off, I took on the most difficult clients, tackled the most grueling projects, and worked myself to the bone day and night. Countless times, I drank until my stomach bled and was rushed to the emergency room, yet all of this was merely an elaborate act they had put on to make sure Bryan could live a carefree life.

I lifted my gaze and took in my own reflection in the window pane.

I looked drawn and worn out. Bryan, on the other hand, was radiant and polished. Even the very strands of his hair were glowing.

Every single cent I had worked my ass off to pay back in the last three years suddenly felt like a knife twisting inside me, tearing me apart with unbearable pain. A wave of suffocation washed over my chest. My legs gave out slightly, and as I stumbled, my hand accidentally knocked over a vase nearby.

The very next second, a deafening shatter rang out, and all eyes darted in my direction. The moment they saw me, their smiles froze.

Joyce was the first to rush out, seizing my wrist. A flash of panic flickered in her eyes. "What are you doing here, Ray?"

I flung her hand away and walked straight into the restaurant.

Mom sprang to her feet and instinctively stepped in front of Bryan, her eyes filled with wariness. "What do you think you're doing?"

Without sparing her a glance, I walked right up to the person I'd longed to see for three years. I stared at her blankly, and before I knew it, my tears fell onto the back of my hand, ice-cold and biting. "Why did you lie to me, Rachel?"

Rachel eyed me with a complicated expression. "I'm sorry. Bry saved my life. I couldn't stand by and watch you destroy him, so I..."

"What about me? Did I deserve to have my life destroyed for the last three years?"

Mom seized my arm and tried to reason with me. "Ray, your sister only did it for your own good. Besides, haven't you two managed to live peacefully these past two years?"

Dad sighed. "We're getting old. We can't handle all this drama anymore. Why don't you just turn a blind eye and let it go? Life will be easier for everyone then."

I drank in the sight before me. Joyce angled her body to shield Bryan behind her, while Mom and Dad stood between Rachel and me, as if I was some kind of monster they needed to protect themselves from.

The last spark of warmth inside my heart finally went out. I slowly suppressed all my emotions and responded flatly, "Alright. I won't cause any more trouble."