Still In Love With You

It wasn't like I hadn't tried telling my family about the curse.

A month ago, the pack witch, Alina Lopez, told me that the curse was extremely deadly, with no way of lifting it. I would be coughing up blood and dying in a month.

The first thing I did was to return home to see my family.

As soon as I walked in, I saw my older brother, Kent Greene, happily holding up a beautiful new dress against Natali Fisher.

"Dad, Mom, look at the dress Kent bought for me—isn't it beautiful?" Natali twirled around with the dress and looked over to Mom and Dad.

They were looking pleased and delighted as they sat on the couch.

"Of course! You're our daughter—you'd look beautiful wearing anything! We'll buy you anything you like!" Mom and Dad replied as they happily nodded in agreement.

The smiles on their faces—ones I hadn't seen in so long—made me pause at the entrance.

"Thank you, Mom, Dad! I know you love me the most!" Natali sweetly purred as she ran to the couch and squeezed in between them.

Her face lit up with a sweet smile as she wrapped one arm around Mom and the other around Dad.

There was a soft look on Dad's face as he patted Natali's head. "You're always so thoughtful, unlike Emma—"

The room fell silent in an instant.

Upset, Mom covered her mouth as she choked, "If only Anna were still alive."

"Don't be sad, Mom! You still have Dad, Kent, and me! I'll love you in her place!" Natali immediately hugged her.

Kent nodded. He was about to step forward to comfort Mom, who was grieving, when he suddenly saw me and froze.

He frowned and asked coldly, "What are you doing here, Emma?"

I pursed my lips in silence. Indeed, I shouldn't have been here.

A year ago, Anna Green, my older sister who loved me dearly, fell to her death from a sheer cliff in order to save me.

Grief and sadness enveloped my family after her death. They blamed me for her death—and they despised me for it.

It wasn't until Natali—an orphan who greatly resembled Anna—showed up, that they finally began to walk out of their despair and reclaim their joy.

After adopting her, they poured all their love and affection for Anna into her.

No one paid any attention to me, nor would they notice where I was going.

They desperately needed Natali, who could provide comfort to them—instead of me. That was because my name and existence would only remind them of their unhappy past.

I looked at Kent's displeased gaze and at Mom and Dad, who were frowning. I then lowered my gaze.

I was wrong.

I shouldn't have tried to tell them that I went into the forbidden forest. I was desperate to find any chance for Anna to survive—any chance for us to return to happier times, no matter how slim.

I definitely shouldn't have tried telling them that I was cursed with a deadly spell the moment I stepped into the forest—with only one month left to live.

Perhaps this was all for the better. They might feel happier knowing that I would die in a month.