Chapter 2

When Shawn opened his eyes again, he was in a hospital.

A nurse was changing his dressing.

She saw that he was awake and breathed a sigh of relief.

“You’ve been unconscious for two days. How do you feel? Your brother passed out from shock the day he brought you here.

“Your parents and your future sister-in-law are looking after him in the room next door. Shall I get them?”

Shawn’s lashes fluttered. He shook his head.

“No. They won’t want to see me, and I don’t want to see them.”

Sympathy flickered in the nurse’s eyes as she left the room.

“They’re brothers, but the younger one lost so much blood he ended up in intensive care. His family hasn’t even asked about him.

“They’ve spent all their time looking after the older one because he had gotten a fright. They haven’t visited once in two days.”

“I heard his future sister-in-law is the CEO of Stone Group. His brother’s marrying into a wealthy family, so I suppose it’s no surprise they’ve forgotten about the younger one.

“She really does adore her fiancé, though. She’s stayed by his side, fed him his medicine and soup herself, and even brought in a retired psychologist to talk him through the shock. Gifts to cheer him up kept arriving at his room…”

The two nurses spoke quietly, but Shawn heard every word.

His expression never changed.

He was used to this.

That afternoon, the doctor asked him to come in for an examination. No one was there to help, so Shawn forced his weak body out of bed and went alone.

As he passed the room next door, he saw his parents and Wendy gathered around Ethan, fussing over him.

His father, Martin Yates, tucked in Ethan’s blanket while his mother, Caroline Yates, peeled grapes and fed them to him.

Ethan gave them a sweet smile and said gently, “Dad, Mom, you’ve been looking after me for days and haven’t gone to see Shawn.

“I’ve eaten enough. Take the rest of the soup to Shawn, will you? He’s seriously hurt. He needs to eat.”

“Oh, don’t worry about him. He’ll be fine. Your mother spent a long time making that soup. It would be wasted on him.”

Martin refused without a moment’s thought. Caroline nodded in agreement.

Wendy smoothed Ethan’s bangs, her eyes full of tenderness.

“Ethan, the doctor said you fainted because you were so worried. Shawn has always been cold. He doesn’t care about you as his brother, and he even tried to steal your fiancée. Why are you still worrying about him?”

Shawn gave a bitter smile when he heard her cold judgment.

He had been allergic to seafood since birth and couldn’t eat any of it. But Ethan loved fish, shrimp, and crab, so their family served seafood at every meal.

Shawn could only eat vegetables and plain oatmeal. Martin and Caroline still scolded him for being picky.

In front of others, Ethan acted like a caring older brother. Whenever they were alone, he mocked Shawn relentlessly and sometimes hit and kicked him.

Then Ethan would go crying to Martin and Caroline and claim Shawn had attacked him.

Martin and Caroline never asked Shawn what happened. They made him kneel outside in the rain all night.

After that, Shawn kept his distance from Ethan and gave him whatever he wanted.

In his previous life, Wendy was the only person Shawn had fought for.

And look where that got him.

This time, he only wanted to live his own life. He would stop fighting for things, trying to win, and loving her.

Shawn finished his examination alone, then took his preion to collect his medicine.

The pharmacy was in another building, beyond a garden.

As he passed the fountain, someone blocked his path.

He looked up and saw Ethan.

“Well, you’re out of bed already. You can’t have been hurt that badly. Listen to me: Mom and Dad are on my side.

“You can tell Wendy you were the one who stayed with her all those years and that you’re the one she really fell for. It won’t make a difference. Save your breath!”

Shawn met the taunt calmly.

“Don’t worry. From now on, I won’t love Wendy. You can have everything you want.”

Ethan was used to Shawn giving in, and his smug look deepened.

“Huh? You think I need you to give me anything? I’ve gotten everything I wanted since we were kids. You only get what I throw away. You’ll never beat me!”