Chapter 2

The next day, I received a package from the cemetery center. It was a biometric vitals-monitoring bracelet.

They told me the device would automatically send out my location within two hours of death, and someone would come to collect my body.

How thoughtful.

I suddenly thought back to that day six years ago.

It was my engagement banquet with Vera.

She said she had prepared a surprise for me.

I waited at the venue, nervous yet excited.

It was only as the sun began to set that I received a call from an unknown number.

They said the car Sean and Vera were in had plunged off a cliff. It was a total wreck, and there were no survivors. The only thing they managed to recover was a ring engraved with ‘MG’.

I collapsed on the spot. My world shattered before me.

My mother cried herself into a hysteria, screaming at me.

“It’s all your fault! You killed them. They died because they were preparing a surprise for you!”

Even the guests pointed at me and whispered.

The rain that day was so heavy that it seemed to soak through my entire being.

Now, they were telling me all of that grief and all those tears had just been a performance staged for me alone.

No wonder the family still cooked all of Sean’s favorite spicy dishes even though he was supposedly gone.

No wonder my mother never once went to visit his grave all these years.

…

It did not matter anymore.

Every last cent I had left was paid to the cemetery center.

I could only stay there and finish my final painting before I left.

I was not afraid of death at all anymore. In fact, I felt relieved.

The next morning, I was preparing to go out when Sean stopped me.

“Miles, Vera and I both want you to make a bowl of pasta for us. You’ve always been good at taking care of people since you were young.”

He held Vera in his arms. His eyes were full of provocation.

He was completely different from yesterday.

Vera leaned into him and looked at me.

“Sean wants it. Just make it. I’m pregnant, so it’s inconvenient for me to cook.”

My mother nodded as well. Her tone was as though this were the most natural request in the world.

“Go on. Make it soft and well-cooked. Don’t add too much sugar to the sauce. Sean doesn’t like sweet food. You’ve always been good at taking care of people. Something this small shouldn’t be hard for you.”

I stood there, not moving.

Sean looked a little awkward, then said helplessly, “Are you still mad at me, Miles? I know I was wrong. I shouldn’t have been with Vera, but I really love her. If you don’t want to make it, I don’t want to eat it either. Don’t force yourself.”

He let out a soft sigh, acting like he was the one who was wronged.

Vera’s expression immediately darkened as she looked at me.

“Miles, it’s just a bowl of pasta. Do you really need to act like this? Sean is younger than you. Can’t you just let him be?”

My father put down his newspaper and frowned.

“Just do what you’re told. Why are you dragging your feet? We’re a family. Why make such a big deal out of everything?”

Family?

That word was unbearably sharp.

I slowly lifted my eyes and scanned the four familiar yet unfamiliar faces in front of me.

It felt like they were part of a movie I did not belong in.

I was an outsider.

“Fine. I’ll make it.”

I turned around and walked into the kitchen.

I treated that bowl of pasta as repayment for my parents raising me for all these years.

Halfway through the meal, Sean suddenly rushed into the bathroom and vomited violently.

I froze for a moment.

Everyone gathered around him.

He said in a weak voice, “It’s nothing. Miles has nothing to do with this. It’s probably just my weak stomach.”

However, the more he said that, the more everyone believed it was my fault.

Vera frowned at me. Her voice was full of disappointment.

“Miles, you weren’t like this before.

“How did you become so cruel? You can’t even tolerate your own brother now?”

I looked down at the burns forming on my hand. However, the pain was sharper in my heart than on my skin.

My father trembled with anger. “Lock him up! Put him in the storage room so he can reflect on himself. How did the Garrett family end up raising someone like this?”

My mother did not object. She just turned away and heaved a sigh. “You should really think about what you did. Stop being so stubborn.”

Vera hesitated for a moment, but she still helped my father shove me into the utility room.

The door locked with a loud bang.

No one wanted to hear my explanation.

The cramped, dark space was suffocating and hot.

I had no water or food for a full day and night.

My old illness completely flared up. My chest twisted in pain. It was so intense that I could not stop myself from rolling on the floor.

Cold sweat soaked through my clothes, and my consciousness grew hazy.

With my last bit of strength, I hit the door again and again.

“Open the door… It hurts…

“Vera… Mom… I need my medicine…”