Chapter 1: A Family That Breeds Despair

"Fana, dear, just put down the down payment for your brother's house, won't you? He's at that age now. He needs to get married." Mother Vesper lay on the white hospital bed, her face slightly pale, but her spirits were remarkably high when facing her daughter, Fana.

Fana's expression did not change, though a few strands of slightly messy hair made her look a bit flustered. Even so, it did not diminish her beauty.

She was a stunningly gorgeous woman, the kind of beauty that simply was not the demure, proper-housewife type.

She had an oval face, eyes like autumn water, brows like distant mountains brushed with ink, a delicate nose that looked as if a craftsman had carved it bit by bit from jade, and naturally upturned lips in a soft pink. Her perfect, rounded cupid's bow made anyone want to press their mouth against those lips at first sight.

She was like a siren, a woman impossible to forget.

"Mom, since you're sick, just focus on getting better. Loris is useless anyway, so I'll cover the hospital bills alone." Despite the smile on Fana's face, her words were anything but kind.

Mother Vesper's face flushed red at that. Whether from anger or embarrassment for her son, it was hard to tell.

"I'm telling you to chip in for your brother's house! He's getting married on Founder's Day, and he needs a place! Don't change the subject. I'm your mother, and you paying for me is the least you can do!"

"Paying your hospital bills is the least I can do, but buying Loris a house to marry some girl? How is that my responsibility?" Fana did not back down an inch.

This kind of thing had happened countless times since she turned eighteen. Her mother always found some excuse to squeeze money out of her for her brother.

Out of family loyalty, Fana had been supporting that deadbeat for almost five or six years.

Now she was tired. She did not want to do it anymore.

The moment Father Vesper walked in, he saw mother and daughter arguing. He quickly set down the thermos and shoved his daughter aside.

"Fana, can't you just be reasonable for once?!" His face screamed that it was all her fault, and it chilled Fana to the bone. "Your mother is sick. Can't you just go along with her?"

Something in those words snapped a nerve in Fana. She suddenly flared up. "If I go along with you, then who goes along with me? Have you ever cared about me?"

"Why the hell should I buy Loris a house just because he's getting married?! Is he my son or what?!" Fana was furious, fire blazing in her beautiful eyes. "You only ever think about him. What about me? I'm not married either. I'm at that age too!"

"Didn't I set you up with plenty of good prospects? You're the one who turned them all down and embarrassed me in front of everyone!" Mother Vesper's eyes were burning with anger too.

Despite looking young, with fair, glowing milk-white skin that made her seem like she was in her early twenties, Fana was actually twenty-eight.

She was beautiful and had plenty of suitors, but she had no say in her own life.

Ever since her sophomore year in college, Mother Vesper had been arranging blind dates for her. But the men she picked were always wealthy old men over fifty.

Fana gave a bitter, hollow smile. "Loris gets money thrown at him to marry a young girl. But for me? You dig up men old enough to be my stepfather, trying to sell me off. Good for you. You're really a wonderful mother!"

Mother Vesper felt that today's Fana was off, but she did not have time to dwell on it, because her daughter's words were practically killing her with rage.

"You ungrateful brat! Are your words rotting in your mouth?!" Mother Vesper was so furious she wanted to beat her daughter to death.

"I set you up with those men for your own good! Older men know how to take care of a woman, and with them being that old, just outlive them and you'll collect the inheritance!"

Mother Vesper thought she was being absolutely brilliant. This way, her daughter would get a fortune legitimately, and afterward she could help her son out more too.

Fana stared at her, her face etched with resentment and despair.

What kind of mother wishes for her son-in-law to die early? Her mother only saw her as a tool to trade for money.

"Stop it!" Fana shut her eyes, biting her lip.

The tears pooling in her eyes were forced back instantly. When she opened them again, she was the strong, independent girl again.

"I'll say it one more time. I'm not giving you a single cent. Your medical bills? I'll pay them every day!" With that, Fana walked away without looking back.

She could not stay any longer. If she did, she was afraid she would break down.

She rushed out. Mother Vesper was screaming like a lunatic in the bed, while Father Vesper charged out to stop her, only to run straight into his son.

"Loris, hurry up and catch your sister!" Father Vesper said urgently.

Loris puffed out his sausage-like lips and said dismissively, "Why should I chase her? She owes us that money, and she'll pay it no matter what! Otherwise, I'll go to her company and find her!"

As he spoke, a sinister glint flashed in Loris's eyes.

He was jealous of his sister, and he hated her.

It was as if his beautiful, clever sister had snatched away all the good genes from their parents.

She was gorgeous, the school goddess, while he was the bottom-tier loser in class. She was a top student who got into a prestigious university and a major international corporation, while he barely scraped by with a trade college degree, could not even hack it as an insurance agent, and ended up stuck at home running the family's card parlor, playing cards all day.

But Loris flashed a disgusting grin. So what if she was impressive?

He was the only son in the family, so his parents would always look out for him.

Everything she had would one day be his.

Fana did not see any of that. She walked toward the exit in a daze, but before she could reach the door, a hand in a white sleeve caught her arm.

"Huh?" Fana jumped in fright, but when she turned around and saw who it was, she quickly forced a smile. "Dr. Corvin, it's you…"

"Miss Vesper, you finally came." Dr. Corvin was young, wearing gold-rimmed glasses that made him look refined.

Fana turned her head away, her smile growing more awkward. She did not want to talk to him.

But Dr. Corvin was not about to let her go. "Miss Vesper, even though you firmly refused treatment last time, if this condition goes untreated, it really will kill you."

"Your uterine fibroids have turned cancerous, but there is still a chance if you undergo surgery now…" He looked at her earnestly and continued. "Miss Vesper, you're so young, so beautiful. You shouldn't give up."

"Stop it!" Fana's face grew paler, almost more glaringly white than the hospital's stark walls.

"I have something urgent. Let's talk about this some other time." She did not even dare meet Dr. Corvin's eyes, and after speaking, she turned and ran off.

Dr. Corvin watched her retreating figure and could only sigh and shake his head.

"So young, why be so stubborn…"

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Letting myself go, I've given up on myself. Maybe it's just fate…