Chapter 2

Mom's eyes lit up again as she slowly turned toward Erica, who immediately backed away in alarm.

"Don't even think about it!" Erica shrieked. "You were the ones who ruined my life in the first place! I finally feel normal again. If you dare reverse the exchange, I'll end my life right now!"

With that, she spun around and ran for the window. It was her usual tactic. Whenever things didn't go her way, she threatened to end her life, and it worked every time.

The second Erica threatened to put an end to her own life, Mom gave in to whatever she wanted.

When she said it hurt her to see me healthy and whole, Mom broke my leg and kept me in a wheelchair for six months.

When Erica said she wanted to get into a good university, Mom didn't hesitate to make me hand over my SAT scores to her.

Later, they even forced me to trade identities with a death row inmate just because Erica wanted money to study abroad.

And now, it was happening again.

Mom lunged forward and grabbed Erica tightly, even though she hadn't managed to open the window yet.

"Okay! I promise we won't reverse it! We won't, alright?" Mom said desperately.

Only then did Erica calm down.

Mom, however, was livid. After locking the window, she stormed toward me and slapped me hard.

"This is all your fault, you brat! I bet you did this on purpose! You can't stand seeing your sister and me happy, can you? Now that I've turned into this hideous freak, you're loving every second of it, right?"

A burning pain spread across my cheek. I felt her nails rake across the skin near my eye, drawing blood, and before I knew it, tears streamed down my face.

Clutching my cheek, I said miserably, "I didn't do anything! I don't even know why this happened. It's all because of this system! If you hate it that much, I'll just disconnect it right now!"

"Don't you dare!"

Mom instantly panicked and raised her hand again as if she were about to hit me. "You just don't want to switch back with me in three years, right? You're a monster! How did I even give birth to someone as vicious as you?"

That was practically her catchphrase. If only Erica had been her only child…

If I'd had a choice, I wouldn't have wanted her as my mother either.

"I just think that if this system makes you hate me this much, keeping it around will only make things worse."

Then, I raised my voice. "I'll disconnect it right now!"

"No!" Mom roared, loud enough to make the whole house shake.

Afraid I might actually do it, she softened her tone as she went on, "I don't hate you. I was just upset earlier. You gave Erica a second chance at life. I should be thanking you. Why would I hate you?"

"Really?"

I looked at Mom hesitantly, unsure whether to believe her. "So, you're not blaming me? And you won't hit me anymore, starve me, or keep me from going to school?"

Mom was trembling with rage, yet she still forced a smile and replied through clenched teeth, "Of course not."

Only then did I nod. "Okay. Then I won't disconnect it yet."

At that, Mom finally let out a sigh of relief.

However, Erica wasn't satisfied. That night, she came into my room to warn me not to reverse the exchange under any circumstances.

I pretended to hesitate. "But… Mom's already miserable enough. Her face is ruined, and she can barely see or hear."

Erica immediately grew anxious.

"This is what you both owe me! You deserve every bit of it! Besides, she's old. So what if she's a little disabled? People laughed at me for over ten years. Now, it's finally her turn!"

She squeezed my face hard, her voice turning vicious as she added, "And if you dare reverse it, I'll burn your face too! Then you'll know exactly what I went through."

Terrified, I nodded weakly.

Erica let out a snort before asking about the conditions of the exchange. Only after I told her that the two people involved had to be face-to-face and close enough to each other did she finally seem reassured enough to leave.