Chapter 2

Jean froze where she stood, her eyes darting back and forth between my ashen face and the property title in Michael's hand.

"Michael... wasn't that apartment supposed to be the one Dad saved for my university studies?"

Her voice was small, her body instinctively shrinking backward.

"And Dad bought it himself..."

"Shut up!"

Michael suddenly exploded, jabbing a finger straight at her face.

"You little b*stard nobody wanted! You and your dead mother are nothing but parasites!

"This apartment is mine. I'll give it to whoever I want. Since when does an outsider like you get to speak here?"

"Michael!" I barked. "Watch your mouth!"

"Oh, so what if I said it? She eats my food, spends my money, and now she wants a share of my apartment too? Dream on!"

Natalie sat beside him, not only making no attempt to stop him, but shooting Jean a look full of disgust.

"You damn girl, why are you interrupting adults talking? Go back to your room! Honestly, no sense at all. Can't you see your brother's in a good mood? What a curse."

I looked at Natalie's expressionless, ugly face, and for the first time, I felt nothing at all.

No anger. No disappointment. Nothing left.

"I'm not going back."

But this time, Jean was unusually stubborn. She walked over to my side and clutched tightly at my sleeve. Tears swirled in her eyes, her whole body trembling.

"Dad, that's your money. Why should he get it? He's a grown man already. Why is he taking my tuition money?

"I want to go to university..."

"University? My ass!" Michael snapped instantly.

He shot to his feet and grabbed the steaming bowl of chicken soup that had just been placed on the table.

"Oh, so you want an education? Fine. Let me help clear out that brain of yours!"

Before anyone could react, he hurled the entire bowl straight at her.

"Watch out!"

I did not even have time to think. I spun around and pulled Jean tightly into my arms, using my back to shield her from the scalding soup.

Crash!

Boiling broth and oil splashed across my back, running down my neck and soaking through my clothes. The skin instantly blistered from the heat.

A muffled groan escaped my throat as searing pain tore through my back.

"Ah!"

Jean had not been burned, but the sudden violence terrified her so badly that she let out a scream before freezing completely in shock.

Ignoring the pain behind me, I slowly turned to look at Michael.

For the first time in my life, I genuinely wanted to kill him.

Natalie rushed over immediately, but not to check whether I was hurt.

Instead, she grabbed Michael anxiously and looked him over from head to toe, hurriedly wiping oil stains from his sleeve with tissues.

"Michael, are you okay? Did you burn your hand?"

"Oh no, if oil stains this new jacket, it'll be impossible to clean! This thing cost over two thousand!"

Only after confirming her precious son was fine did she turn around and point at me furiously.

"Gerald! Look at the daughter you raised!

"She actually dared talk back to her brother!

"She pushed Michael this far. If my son had gotten burned, I'd never let this go!"

At that moment, the burns on my back no longer hurt.

Once your heart dies, physical pain means nothing.

I gently pushed aside the speechless, trembling Jean, slowly took off the jacket still dripping with greasy broth, and tossed it onto the floor.

"Natalie, that bowl of soup... you threw it well."

Something in my expression startled her. She instinctively stepped back, guilt flashing across her face for just a second before she straightened herself again.

"Stop pretending to be pitiful!

"I'm telling you, this isn't over!

"Since everything's already out in the open, Michael still needs two hundred thousand for the wedding expenses. And the renovation costs too. You can cover all of it while you're at it."

Michael smirked from the side and chimed in smugly.

"Oh, and the car too. Hazel's got her eye on a car. The down payment alone is at least one hundred fifty thousand.

"As long as the money's there, I'll let today's little incident slide."