Chapter 4

That day, I went home to grab a change of clothes. By the time I returned to the hospital, the room was already packed.

Claire stood by the bed, holding Evan’s hand, her face full of concern as she looked at Derek.

“Derek, you’re finally awake! These past few days, it’s all thanks to Evan staying up day and night to take care of you. Look at him, he’s even lost weight!”

As she spoke, she shot me a sideways glance, smugness practically spilling from her eyes.

I was genuinely impressed and in disbelief, but I had to admire the audacity.

When it came to digging her son into trouble, she was practically a master.

The next second, Derek’s face darkened.

He kicked Evan to the ground without hesitation.

“You little bastard. This is how you’ve been taking care of me?”

Claire’s expression shattered in an instant.

“Derek, what are you talking about?”

Derek didn’t even bother looking at her. His voice was ice-cold.

“You’ve raised quite the son. He’s practically walking all over me. Keep spoiling him like this, and he won’t get a single cent from the Lewis family.”

Before he could finish, his gaze swept to the back of the crowd to where I stood.

His voice softened immediately, almost dripping with warmth.

“Yuna’s back? Come here, let me take a look. My girl’s gotten even prettier.

“That’s on me. I should’ve picked you up from the airport. Are you tired from school? Do you have enough money? Has anyone been giving you trouble?”

Watching his expression change so quickly, Claire’s lips trembled with anger.

“Dad, you’re way too biased toward her!” Evan muttered, clearly unhappy.

Derek didn’t waste a word; he kicked him again.

“Did I tell you to speak? You dared to spike my water with mustard, rub that menthol crap on me, and play horror movie in the middle of the night? Got some nerve, don’t you? I think you’re asking for it.”

Evan froze on the spot, completely stunned.

Claire whipped her head toward me and shrieked, her voice laced with venom.

“That’s not true! Derek, you’ve got it wrong. Yuna did all of that!”

“Yuna?” Derek let out a low laugh, like he’d just heard a joke.

“Didn’t you just have Charles report to me that she’s been working on a closed project in the neighboring city and only got back today?”

Claire choked, her chest tightening as if she might have a heart attack on the spot.

The moment she got the call that Derek had woken up, she rushed over with Evan.

By sheer coincidence, I hadn’t been there at the time.

She figured she might as well go all in, push Evan forward as the devoted son keeping vigil, and claim all the credit for herself.

To avoid being exposed, she even got Charles to back her up, insisting I had “just landed.”

What she didn’t expect was that I wouldn’t play by the rules at all.

Now that it had backfired, she had no choice but to swallow it.

The moment I stepped out of the room, Claire came at me in her heels, grabbing my arm.

“Stop right there! You little brat, how dare you pin your own mess on Evan.”

I shook her off, a smile still on my face.

“Pin it on him? Weren’t you trying to steal the credit for taking care of Dad?”

Claire choked on her words, then flared up in anger.

“You’re a girl. Why are you fighting your brother? You should be thinking about marrying young and bringing in resources!”

Evan chimed in from the side, “Exactly, sis. I think that cripple from the Rowell family suits you just fine. Their status isn’t any lower than ours.”

I let out a cold laugh.

“Sure. Go bring it up to Dad. As long as he agrees, I’ll get married immediately.”

Over the years, Derek had doted on me like the apple of his eye, guarding me like something precious.

In middle school, when a boy handed me a love letter, he was transferred out the very next day.

In high school, when a senior asked me to dance, he was quickly “sponsored” to study abroad.

Every day, his assistant sent him updates on my whereabouts like clockwork.

Any little change reached him first.

Marry me off to someone disabled? I didn’t believe Derek would ever allow it.

But what I didn’t expect was that on the day he was discharged, he publicly announced my engagement to the Rowell family.

“The Lewis family heiress will be marrying into the Rowell family. Her dowry will be twenty percent of Lewis Group shares.”

When I heard the news, my fingers stiffened, my heart clenched tight, missing a beat.