Chapter 3

Dad finally managed to force out a few words. "Lottie was only six years old back then."

Mom hurriedly nodded. "She was probably just scared and didn't dare come out. And that laugh... she might not have been laughing at you."

I wasn't angry at all. They were just too kind. Even after seeing Charlotte lie with their own eyes, they still couldn't bring themselves to think badly of her.

Dr. Folston looked at me. "Your parents misunderstood you and hurt you so badly, but not only do you not hate them, you're even making excuses for them now. Why?"

I froze for a moment. "Because they love me more than anything."

After I fainted at 12, Mom stayed awake watching over me for three whole days, while Dad put all his work aside and stayed by my hospital bed, repeatedly asking the doctors why I refused to eat.

Then, Charlotte cried and accused me of doing it on purpose. She said I'd deliberately fainted on her birthday so that our parents would scold her, that I was deliberately getting back at her.

For the first time, Dad lost his temper with her. "Evie's hospitalized, and all you can think about is yourself?"

Charlotte ran out crying, but Mom didn't go after her. Instead, she sat by my bed and fed me soup.

That was the first time they'd ever let Charlotte leave without chasing after her. I'd never forget that day. I was still groggy, but for the first time, I felt warm all over.

From then on, whenever I ate a little less, Mom would grow anxious. If I went a day without eating, she'd keep asking me about it. If I went two days, she'd stay by my side and cry. By the third day, Dad would even skip Charlotte's parent-teacher meeting to take me to the hospital.

When I was 14, Charlotte entered a dance competition. Mom and Dad had both promised they would go and watch.

Before we left, I ate half a sandwich. Then, all of a sudden, my stomach churned violently.

I rushed to the bathroom and threw up everything I'd just eaten.

Mom immediately took off her coat. "We're not going anymore. We're taking Evie to the hospital."

Charlotte stood by the door in her performance costume, her eyes instantly reddening. "But it's the finals today."

Dad frowned. "Evie's throwing up like this, and all you can think about is your competition?"

In the end, Charlotte went to the dance competition alone. Meanwhile, I lay in a hospital bed, holding Dad's hand in my left and Mom's in my right.

Charlotte won first prize in the competition and placed her trophy in the most prominent spot in the living room, but Mom and Dad never even looked at it. They were too busy studying my medical reports.

I ended up becoming the most precious child in the family, so naturally, I loved them the most, too.

Dr. Folston suddenly asked, "If they really love you more than anything, why do you have to be sick to receive all their attention?"

The smile on my face stiffened. "What do you mean?"

Dr. Folston took my hand and asked in return, "When you were healthy, what did they ever give up for your sake?"

I opened my mouth, but my mind went completely blank.

Mom suddenly burst into tears. "Please stop asking her. She can't take the stress."

I hurriedly nodded. "See? My mom cares about me so much. She can't even bear to let me hear a single harsh word."

Dr. Folston studied me for a long time before finally deciding not to press further.

She reopened my medical file. "The patient, Evelyn Lancaster, has repeatedly said that she vomits whenever she eats more than seven ounces. But the human stomach can't precisely detect seven ounces."

She turned to Mom. "That number wasn't something she came up with herself."

Mom recoiled sharply.

But I smiled and said, "Mom set that limit. She even bought the kitchen scale for me herself—the one she used to weigh every meal I ate."