Chapter 4

It became chaotic at home since Henry jumped, and I was ignored during the chaos.

My forehead was covered in cold sweat as I stood outside the emergency room. The insides of my stomach clenched with pain, and the back of my waist hurt so much that I could hardly stand. I leaned against the wall and waited until daybreak, even though I was not needed or even wanted.

When Toby got out of surgery, he glanced at me. "Are you happy now, you malicious woman?! You should just die for causing so much harm to everyone around you!"

I did not reply. Instead, I nodded. "You can believe whatever you want."

Their watch over me tightened over the next few days. Someone was always with me wherever I went.

Henry was admitted to the VIP room at the hospital with a serious leg injury. Stacy stayed by his bed and cried while he comforted her instead. Despite my parents saying that nothing bad would happen again, they glared at me like I would be causing problems soon.

…

Three days later, Dad handed me an agreement with the subject, 'Family Safety Commitment Agreement'.

I read a few lines on the agreement, and eventually I just stood frozen on the spot.

The agreement stated that I was not allowed to agitate Stacy, threaten her, or hurt her and her baby. If I broke any of these rules, they would cut ties with me and reserve the right to forcefully admit me to a mental hospital.

After I was done reading the agreement, I asked softly, "So, the person that you're most guarded with is me?"

Mom stood at the side with tears still in her eyes. "We don't have a choice, Tessa. Stacy is pregnant, and Henry was admitted to the hospital. Our family can't take any more blows."

I looked at her. "What about me? Have any of you ever asked how I feel about everything?"

She avoided my eyes. "All of us are worried about what you'll do in your current condition."

Dad said grimly, "Just sign the agreement. It'd be better for everybody. If you refuse to sign it, there will be no place for you here in this family."

I lowered my head to stare at the agreement. It did not matter if I signed it or not because I was not planning on staying. I picked up a pen and signed my name on the last page.

Mom was clearly relieved, and Dad looked like he had finally settled a difficult problem.

Unfortunately for me, signing those papers was just the beginning. The next morning, Toby entered the house with two men in white uniforms. He did not even look at me when he said, "Get an evaluation."

I took a step back. "What do you mean?"

Mom did not even dare look up at me. "Tessa, you're in pretty bad shape recently. You should stay at the hospital for a while."

I asked, "What hospital is this?"

No one answered. The two men in white grabbed me by each arm, and I saw the words 'Mental Health Center' on the medical report. I struggled hard to escape their grips. "I'm not going. Let me go!"

Toby finally looked up at me. "Look at yourself. You should be going through treatment. What else do you want? Do you really want us to wait until you cause harm to Stacy?"

I looked at him. "I'm your sister."

Toby's lips moved, but he said nothing in the end.

I turned to look at my parents.

Dad's expression was grim, while Mom kept crying as she said, "I'm begging you, Tessa. Just stay there for a while. You can come back when you get better."

I laughed until tears fell from my eyes. They wanted me back, but only if they sent me away first and made sure I stayed silent while Stacy focused on her pregnancy.

When I got dragged into the car, all of our neighbors were watching. Someone said in a low voice that the eldest daughter of the Ellis family had gone crazy again, while others sighed and lamented how scary depression was.

No one knew that I was not really crazy, but my family insisted on admitting me to the Mental Health Center anyway. When the doors closed behind me, I knew it would be difficult for me to get out of there.

For the first few days, I tried to explain my situation, but no one believed me. All the documents to admit me were in place, and it was my parents and older brother who did the paperwork. In this place, the words of the patient's family were more believable than the patient.

When I refused to take my pills, they forced them down my throat. When I curled up in a ball in bed from the excruciating pain, it was recorded as emotional distress. When I said I had a headache, they gave me additional sedatives.

I was groggy during the day, and when I woke up at night, all I tasted was bitterness in my mouth.

My body became increasingly weak. I would go out of breath after taking a few steps and throw up whatever I ate. My pillow was covered with my hair.

I tried to tell the doctor that there was something really wrong with my health, but all the young doctor did was listen. When he flipped to the last page where my family had signed off on my admittance, he told me to cooperate with the treatment.

That was when I finally understood that being here meant that every time I said I was in pain, it was treated as another bout of mental illness.

I had no idea how long I had been here when my parents came to visit. There was a glass barrier between us in the visiting area. Mom cried while telling me that they would take me home soon as long as I was obedient.

All I did was stare blankly out the window with a pale face.

That night, I was in so much pain that I could not stop shivering. I could feel that I was dying. When the nurse entered my room to take my blood pressure, she looked horrified. I soon heard the sound of carts getting pushed and flurried footsteps.

My consciousness was slipping away by the time I was pushed into the emergency room. My last clear thought was of a memory from long ago.

I wanted to live. I wanted to marry Henry and have a family of my own. I wanted to be loved, but that was considered a luxury in my life.

After that, I had no idea what happened.

By the time Dad, Mom, Toby, and Henry arrived at the hospital, it was morning. Toby looked grim, but he forced himself to stay calm.

The door opened just as they arrived at the surgery room. The doctor took off his mask and said, "I'm sorry. The patient died this morning at 5:40 am."