Chapter 2

I had said, "Mom, Dad, women can take care of themselves these days. Besides, wealthy families care about education too."

Those words had made Dad hesitate. He knew better than anyone the perks of a respectable job in this day and age.

Grandma, who was already against the idea, immediately threw her arms around Rachael, coddling her. "Did you hear that? Selena said education is the only way out. Don't you dare ruin my granddaughter's life!"

At that time, Mom had given me a dark, unreadable look, silently cursing me for sticking my nose where it didn't belong.

And while Grandma had spoken up for me, every single word she said was a reminder that this was my idea. If anything went wrong in the future, the blame would fall entirely on me.

With half the family opposed, the idea of making Rachel drop out of school was put on hold. I was genuinely happy for her, and I secretly handed over all my savings to her.

"Rachael, you have to get out of this place. Make something of yourself!"

But instead of studying, she ended up falling for a deadbeat hooligan.

By the time we found out, Rachael was already pregnant. Unable to face the public humiliation, Mom and Dad rushed through a wedding and married her off.

The guy had no job and lived off his parents. He wasn't a college student at all, just a thug drifting around the area where they met.

Rachael threw a few fits when she realized she'd been deceived, but it only earned her brutal beatings.

Living miles away, we couldn't protect her. She endured two years of that abuse until she couldn't take it anymore and ran back home.

As Mom held her precious daughter, her eyes burned with a hatred so intense it felt like it could pierce right through me. "This is all your fault, you jinx! If we hadn't listened to you, Rachael would be living the high life right now!"

Dad kicked me to the ground without a shred of hesitation. "You just want to ruin her life, don't you? You just can't stand to see your sister happy!"

"You wicked girl! My poor Rachael!" Grandma wailed at the top of her lungs, but her tears weren't for me. Her heart ached for Rachael, and she had completely forgotten that she had opposed the idea as well.

The blame lay solely on me.

Ignoring the throbbing pain, I banged my head against the floor over and over, begging for forgiveness. I didn't dare say a single negative word about Rachael.

Even though I knew that this was the consequence of her own failure to study, I had to take the blame, or Mom and Dad would literally beat me to death.

Seeing me submit so easily only fueled Mom's rage. She took my compliance as a guilty confession. She and Dad tied me up in the woodshed, shoved a rag into my mouth, and beat me up.

Grandma, too frail to do much, just struck me repeatedly with a broom.

The nightmare didn't end until nightfall.

As I lay on the dirt floor, barely catching my breath, Rachael walked in under the moonlight. The knife in her hand reflected a chilling gleam.

Before I could react, she drove the blade into me.

As my eyes widened in bitter disbelief, her final curse echoed in my ears. "It's all your fault, you jinx. You ruined my life."

When my blood splattered across her face, I saw Rachael clearly for the very first time. Her expression was utterly monstrous.

"What are you standing around daydreaming for? Just because you said a few nice words doesn't mean you get out of cooking, you lazy brat."

Mom's kick to my backside snapped me out of my thoughts. She scoffed at my hesitation.

I nodded obediently, hurrying into the kitchen.

Now that the family was in full agreement, they would be discussing how to pull Rachael out of school.

It was better that I wasn't there anyway. The more I knew, the sooner I'd die.

Because I had been given a second chance, I felt exceptionally cheerful. I even walked over to the market to buy a nice cut of meat.

Since Rachael was dropping out, I didn't need to save money for her anymore. Besides, she was a total ungrateful leech. I'd rather throw my money down the drain than give her another dime.

The neighborhood ladies noticed my good mood along the way and called out to greet me, asking how Rachael was doing in school.

She had been the village's bright hope for college. But now, that road was completely blocked.

I looked up, feigning an innocent, timid curiosity. "Mrs. Murray, what kind of people are the Hesters, exactly?"

Village women love nothing more than gossip. Swapping rumors about who was doing what was their favorite way to pass the time.

Hearing my question, Mrs. Murray quickly leaned in closer and pulled me over to the side.