Chapter 2 No Love Left for Me

Jake looked miserable. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but I wasn't interested in hearing it.

The System had promised me a much better life in the next world, with parents who loved each other dearly and the perfect older brother who was practically perfect. I would finally have a real family, instead of one where I had to beg for even the tiniest bit of affection.

The thought of finally having a family who loved me made me so excited I could barely contain myself.

I took a deep breath and sprinted toward the nearby man-made lake.

"Emma! Where the hell are you going?"

Jake's footsteps pounded behind me as he shouted, "Emma! No one's blaming you anymore! Olivia even agreed to give you another chance! Stop pushing your luck and—"

Before he could finish, I leaped into the lake without a second thought, breaking through the thin layer of ice near the shore.

At long last, I was getting out of this hell hole.

I was thrilled to be starting a new life, but before I could savor the moment, someone grabbed me around the waist. The world spun, and the next thing I knew, we were tumbling onto the grass.

A loud splash came from behind us.

I sat up and turned around, only to find Jake struggling in the freezing water.

He couldn't swim.

He was coughing and gasping for air, his face already turning blue as he desperately tried to keep his head above water. I stayed put, watching him struggle in silence.

People along the shore started shouting in panic, and eventually someone jumped in and pulled him out.

Wrapped in a blanket, Jake was shivering uncontrollably. Even with everyone crowding around him, he couldn't seem to take his eyes off me.

He'd always looked at me with suspicion and contempt, but this time, his eyes held pain and heartbreak.

I wondered what he was so upset about. Then, I shook my head with a bitter smile.

When the Morgan family first found me at fifteen, things had actually been pretty good for a while.

Olivia had insisted that she'd taken the life that rightfully belonged to me and that she wanted to give me back my place in the family. She packed her bags, took Jude Porter, the younger brother I'd raised in my adoptive family, with her, and moved out. She was so determined to leave that she even deleted the entire Morgan family's phone numbers.

For the next year, I finally got to experience what it was like to have a family.

My mother cooked my favorite meals herself, and my father would cancel business dinners just to come home and eat with me. Jake even picked me up from school every afternoon.

Our family dinners were often awkward and quiet, and Jake always seemed distracted whenever he drove me home, but I didn't mind.

I'd spent fifteen years without a real family.

Even those brief moments of warmth meant everything to me. I cherished every bit of attention they gave me, holding on to it as tightly as I could.

Back then, I genuinely believed I'd finally found a place where I belonged.

But a year later, Olivia came back with Jude.

She'd lost so much weight that she barely looked like herself. She was constantly nervous, flinching at the slightest movement, as though she feared everything around her.

Just like that, everything changed.

My mother started preparing meals according to Olivia's preferences. No matter how late my father got home, he always made time to check on her before bed.

As for Jake, he stopped picking me up from school altogether.

Then, the accusations started.

Olivia accused me of cutting up her clothes, and Jake believed her without even asking what had happened. As punishment, he emptied my closet and threw every piece of clothing I owned into the backyard pond.

Another time, she accused me of stealing her necklace.

Jake looked at me with disgust and demanded, "Give Olivia her necklace back. Don't make me search your room."

The necklace eventually turned up in a hidden compartment of Olivia's own jewelry box.

She just stuck out her tongue and giggled. "Oops! I totally forgot I put it there!"

That was it—no apology or explanation. Nobody seemed to care that I'd been accused of stealing or how humiliating it was.

Then, Olivia accused me of spreading rumors about her at school. Again, Jake didn't bother to hear my side of the story. He simply told the family driver to stop picking me up.

It was always the same story.

She didn't even have to make up convincing lies. No matter how ridiculous her accusations were, everyone believed her, and I always got punished.

Every time it happened, it hurt just as much as the time before.

I tried explaining myself over and over, but nothing I said ever made a difference. They'd already decided who they wanted to believe.

All their love, trust, and loyalty belonged to Olivia.

And now, after everything he'd put me through, Jake looked at me like I'd just broken his heart.

I couldn't help but wonder why he seemed so upset.