CHAPTER 1

Katherine's Pov

Ring!! Ring!!! My phone rang incessantly on the bed, making me jerk awake. I stared at the caller ID, it was Joan.

“What the heck is wrong with this guy? I told him I wasn't ready for a relationship yet.” I murmured angrily, turning off my phone and going to take a shower. My brother was critically ill. How would I have the chance to get into a relationship?

I got dressed up very quickly and headed to the hospital, not paying any mind to the woman on the chair. I rushed to the hospital to see the doctor and ask how my brother was doing. However, the news I got made me remember just how difficult his sickness was.

“He'll die in a few days if you don't pay up for the surgery, it's been almost three weeks since we've been giving him free treatments, and we can't continue to do that anymore.” I was informed by the attending doctor.

“What? Free treatments? What are you talking about, I've been paying for his treatments, it's only the money for the surgery that I have been looking around for. Doctor, there must be some kind of mistake…” I said but the doctor cut me off.

“Miss Katherine, if you think we are lying, you can follow me to check the records. Your mother used to work here before she died and that's the reason why I have been treating your brother without accepting payment. But for the surgery, I am not the one that's going to perform the surgery on him or else, I would have known how to help you. However, there's nothing I can do.”

I stumbled, the world spinning around me. How was it possible? I had always paid for his treatments duly, never missing one. How could it be that… Oh. That money that I handed over every week, where had it gone?! How could…

“I… I don’t understand.” I whispered, feeling my knees weaken beneath me. The doctor’s words echoed in my mind, but there was one thing I knew for sure, I needed to get answers and I knew exactly where to get them.

“I need to go, I'll be back in a bit.” I muttered abruptly, cutting off whatever else the doctor was saying. I turned on my heel and ran, my feet pounding against the cold hospital floors. Bursting through the entrance doors, I didn’t stop, I ran down the street, the wind whipping against my face as I pushed myself faster and faster.

How could this happen? I'd worked so hard in order to save that money and pay it all, I had taken extra shifts, dropped out of school and sacrificed so much to ensure that my brother had a chance at survival and this is how I found out that none of the money went to me? My legs burned but I didn't stop running, my breaths came out in harsh pants, and tears blurred my vision. No, no, I wouldn’t cry, not now.

After what felt like an eternity, I finally reached the small house I shared with my father, stepmother and stepsister, I stumbled up the steps, barely able to catch my breath and my hands shook as I gripped the doorknob and flung the door open. There she was, sitting comfortably in the living room as if she didn't have a care in the world, she glanced at me and a scowl appeared on her pale lips.

“What's the fuss all about? Don't you have manners, how many times have I told you not to fling the door open like that?” She asked lazily, popping a grape into her mouth.

I stood there, panting and trembling with barely controlled rage, “Where is it?” I demanded, my voice shaking, “Where is the money I’ve been giving you every week for my brother’s treatment?”

She didn’t respond right away. Instead, she raised an eyebrow and slowly reached for another piece of fruit, “What are you talking about?” She asked casually, her tone was annoyingly calm.

“Don't play dumb with me!” I yelled, my voice cracking from the strain, “You know exactly what I'm talking about. The money I gave you for my brother's treatments, to help me pay them to the doctor, where is it!”

My stepmother let out a soft, almost mocking laughter, “Oh that?” She said, waving her hands dismissively, “Why are you getting so worked up over that, Katherine? As for the money, I used it.” She glanced up at me, a bored look on her face.

“What?”

“There was an entrance exam f*e for my daughter's new school, it was quite expensive you know.She said nonchalantly, as if we were talking about something so trivial like buying groceries, “Your father never left anything for her so I had to do with what I had left, but you don't need to worry about that, I'll pay you back in due time. Your brother only has to spend a little more time in the hospital.”

It felt like the ground had crumbled beneath me, I stared at her, disbelief and horror coursing through me, “You what?” I whispered.

“I used it for my daughter’s university entrance exam.” She repeated, sounding almost amused by my reaction, “After all, she deserves a good education, doesn’t she? It’s not like your brother would have survived much longer anyway. The boy’s as good as dead.”

Something inside me snapped. I lunged forward, grabbing the fruit bowl from her hands and throwing it across the room. It shattered against the wall, pieces of porcelain and fruit flying in every direction, “You took my money?” I screamed, my voice breaking with fury and anguish, “The money that was meant to save his life? You used it for that?”

“Calm down, Katherine,” She said coolly, “You’re being dramatic. It’s not like I used it for something useless.”

“You selfish, heartless…” I choked on my words, tears of rage burning in my eyes, “You know how much he means to me! You knew I was working myself to the bone to save him, and you, you just…” My voice broke, and I felt the tears spill over, my vision blurring.

“He’s just dead weight.” She continued, completely unfazed, “There’s no point wasting money on someone who’s only going to drag us down. But my daughter? She has a future and she’s worth investing in, more so than that deadweight brother of yours.”

I didn't even know how it happened, I didn't know when I stepped forward, grabbing her by the hair and hitting her face on the edge of the couch. She screamed in pain, but I didn't stop, I raised her head with her hair again, this time, hitting it on the ground and the sound of something breaking echoed in the sitting room.

“H… help me!” She screamed as I continued to hit her, “She'll kill me! She's going to kill me! Help me!” In my haze of anger, I was suddenly pushed away from her, the back of my head hitting the glass table. I groaned as black spots filled my vision, and it didn't stop at that, my head suddenly turned to the side and a shot of pain went through my body. My eyes cleared instantly and I stared in shock at the person who just slapped me, my father.

“Katherine! What the heck are you trying to do right now?! Are you insane?!”