Chapter 2

"Selena, you're finally awake! This is all my fault. I clearly knew that you couldn't take shellfish, yet I still had you eat it. But things were pretty urgent, and I honestly had no other choice. Now that you're awake, get ready and come with me for a bit."

I pushed him away, a guarded look in my eyes. "Why?"

The terrible rasp in my voice caused his brow to furrow slightly. "Candace, she… After she got home last night, she slit her wrist. Luckily, she was discovered in time and didn't succeed in ending her own life.

"She said it was because you hesitated last night when she asked for your long hair to make a wig. Then you ended up hospitalized after eating that lobster. She feels that her very existence is making you suffer, and she didn't want you to experience what she once went through."

Peter slowly raised his head to look at me. He couldn't hide the disappointment in his eyes.

"Selena, you really let us all down last night."

His words stabbed deep into my heart.

For eight years, Candace had put on the suicide act countless times. Every time she cut her wrists, she would be discovered just in time and rescued.

At first, I had thought it was real too. Now, I realized that it had all been a trick to take everything that was mine.

Peter took out the hair that had been cut off last night and shoved it into my hand.

"Come on. You need to take this to Candace yourself. Tell her you worked the night shift the day before and weren't in your right mind. Tell her that that was why your reaction was delayed."

He had barely finished speaking when Dad and Mom rushed into the room.

"Alright, that's enough! What's taking so long? Hurry up! Candace has been waiting for a while now."

Mom dragged me out of bed and yanked the hospital gown off me. "Better not let Candace know that you're hospitalized."

She pulled so roughly that the IV needle snapped off inside my vein. Pain shot through me, instantly causing my eyes to redden.

"Mom, wait…"

My voice was thick with tears. Blood dripped down my fingers and onto the floor.

Nonetheless, Mom didn't even pause in her tracks.

"Room 506 is upstairs. There are too many people waiting for the elevators, so we'll take the stairs."

"Mom, I'm supposed to still be on an IV drip…"

"You can continue after we return. A little delay won't make a difference."

In no time, Mom and Dad had forced me to climb the stairs from the first floor all the way to the fifth. The whole time, Peter followed behind us, not saying a word.

A few minutes later, we arrived at Candace's room.

Her complexion was rosy, and the wound on her wrist had already closed up even without applying anything to it.

"Quick, apologize properly to your younger sister. Tell her that you're more than willing to give her your hair and that you voluntarily ate that lobster yourself."

I stopped moving and mustered all the strength I had to tear my arms from their hold.

"No, I refuse. The hair is mine, and I definitely didn't willingly eat that lobster!"

Mom slapped me across the face with a sharp crack.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Don't you want Candace to get better? As her older sister, how could you be so selfish? Don't tell me you enjoy it when she has an episode? Hurry up and go! If anything happens to Candace, you can forget about coming home with us!"

Mom was beyond anxious and furious.

As for Peter, he simply stared at me. Not once did he speak up for me.

With sheer force of will, I dragged myself toward the elevator and pressed the "down" button.

Dad and Mom kept tugging at me, but I bit my lip and remained firm. I absolutely refused to go over.

"Mom, Lena… what are you guys doing?"

Everyone froze.

Candace, however, seemed oblivious as she made her way over to me and took the cut hair from me.

"Lena, I knew that you didn't mean it yesterday. As if you would be unwilling to gift me your hair, right?"

She gazed at me with an innocent smile, though I saw the smugness that lurked in her eyes.

Everyone turned to me, their expressions twisted in anxiety.

I shook my head. "No. This is my hair, and I don't plan on gifting it to anybody!"

A smirk crossed Candace's face when she heard that, but it was gone in an instant.