Chapter 4

Brianna's POV

I chuckled, though it sounded more like a sob. "What, did you think that was harsh? I haven't even started!"

I pointed at Katalin, gritting my teeth so hard that it felt like they might shatter. "I sponsored her for three years and brought her out of the countryside the moment she graduated from high school. I introduced her to my family, my friends, and my boyfriend, and how did she repay me? By shamelessly fucking with—"

Before I could finish speaking, I was slapped across the face.

My head snapped to the side. The dull ache slowly spread from my cheek to the base of my ear.

For a moment, all I could hear was the ringing in my ears. I turned my head in utter disbelief.

Dad's face flushed crimson, and his hand was still hanging in the air. He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving with rage.

All of a sudden, I remembered how, when I was a kid and fell off my bicycle while learning to ride, he had been so heartbroken that he cried.

I lowered my gaze and noticed that his hand was trembling too, but his voice was cold. "Can't you see, Brianna? Hugo and Kat are genuinely in love. They only kept it from you out of consideration for your health!"

I locked eyes with Hugo. I wanted to ask him. I wanted to hear the truth from his own lips.

Yet, all I saw was him carefully wrapping his arms around Katalin and gently covering her ears with his hands.

Kieran frowned and sighed. "That's enough, Brianna. Hugo will still treat you the way he always has, for the sake of your health."

Vivian closed the distance between us, her tone softening. "Why don't you just forget about what happened today, Brianna? Come on, I'll take you home."

Their words were as light as feathers, yet as they rained down upon me, they tore my heart to shreds. It hurt. It hurt so damn much.

That voice in my head surfaced again.

My gaze landed on the knife on the table. It was the knife they had just used to cut Hugo and Katalin's wedding cake.

I picked it up and gripped it tightly in my hand, pointing the tip of the blade at Katalin.

Everyone's expression changed again. This time, it was sheer terror.

"What do you think you're doing, Bri? Hurry up and put the knife down!" As soon as the words fell, someone kicked my knife-wielding arm with all their might.

The searing pain sent black spots across my vision. I collapsed onto the ground, my wrist bent at an unnatural angle.

Vivian's voice was especially shrill. "Brianna's condition has deteriorated. She just pointed a knife at Kat. Now, she won't just hurt herself; she'll hurt other people too!" With that, she grabbed me by the collar and dragged me backward.

My wrist scraped against the ground, and the pain made me break out in a cold sweat.

Hugo's voice was ice-cold. "Tie her up before she has another episode."

In the past, he had never said I was sick. He used to tell me he was the one who had done something wrong, causing me to feel insecure. Yet, now, the way he looked at me was no different from how one looks at a mental patient.

Worried that Vivian couldn't handle me on her own, Kieran came over and pinned my legs to the ground. The coarse hemp rope wound around me again and again. My eyes were bloodshot as I thrashed wildly.

Vivian rushed into the house, brought out a basin of ice water, and poured it over my head. "Snap out of it, Brianna! Get a grip on yourself."

Just then, a cool breeze swept past, and the wet fabric clinging to my skin made me shiver.

Katalin approached me with a blanket, her face filled with sympathy. I watched her with a stoic face as the corners of her lips curved into a smile. Then, she suddenly lost her footing and fell to the ground.

Curses and screams instantly blurred together in my ears. I was forcefully shoved. My chair overturned, and my forehead slammed into a protruding stone in the yard.

Warm liquid trickled into my eyes. The last thing I saw was everyone rushing out of the yard with Katalin in their arms.

No one noticed that the overturned chair had knocked over the candle on the table. The candle set the tablecloth on fire, and the flames rapidly spread along the spilled liquor.

…

Third-Person POV

Two hours later, the group returned from the hospital. As soon as they stepped out of the car, they saw soaring flames and thick, black smoke billowing from the neighborhood.

When the security guard spotted them, he rushed over. "You're the ones renting Residence 6, right? It just caught fire. You'd better go take a look!"

Recalling that Brianna was tied up in the courtyard, all of them blanched.