Chapter 2

"Dom, do you think Dexter won't eat it because he hates me?" Derek suddenly asked, lowering his eyes and sounding aggrieved.

"Dexter Richmond!" Dominic yelled, slamming his fist on the table. "Eat that fucking shrimp, you ungrateful bastard! You will accept everything Derek gives you in this household, even if you have to get down on your knees to beg for it!"

"Dom, that's not how you speak to your brother," Mom said, finally looking up. However, she simply chided him lightly like that before turning to me. "Hurry up and eat it, Dex. Don't make Dom mad. Derek's just being kind to you."

I picked up my fork and stabbed it into the peeled shrimp.

"Yes, Mom."

I put the shrimp in my mouth and chewed it for a while before swallowing.

It tasted very sweet and delicious, but it also tasted like death.

Less than three minutes later, I felt my throat constricting, and rashes also broke out on my skin. It got harder and harder for me to breathe, as though someone had wrapped their hands around my throat.

I began to choke, unable to stop myself from crying out.

"Shut up!" Dominic yelled, glaring at me in disgust. "Shut up and eat your dinner instead of making those horrible sounds like an animal! Don't you know any table manners at all?"

I immediately clapped a hand over my mouth as tightly as I could. If Dominic told me to shut up, then I had to make sure that I made absolutely no sound at all.

My throat kept swelling, making it harder and harder to breathe. My face turned purple as cold sweat streamed down my forehead.

However, I remained tightly seated with my mouth firmly over my mouth, not daring to make a sound.

Eventually, the fork in my other hand clattered to the ground, and I collapsed onto the carpeted floor with a heavy thud.

"Dexter!" Mom cried out in horror.

Derek got a fright and shot to his feet at once. "What's happened to Dexter?"

Dominic frowned and came over to me, kicking me in the calf. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Get up!"

I didn't move. I couldn't even move a muscle anymore.

My dad, Calvin Richmond, finally realized something was wrong and rushed over to turn me onto my back. He froze in shock when he saw my face had turned purple.

"It's an allergy! He's going into an anaphylactic shock! Call the ambulance! Hurry!"

Everyone was flustered. When I was finally wheeled into the ambulance, my eyes were still wide open as I stared unblinkingly at Dominic, my hand still tightly covering my mouth.

Dominic's face was pale. His hands wouldn't stop shaking either. Seeing me still covering my mouth, he suddenly remembered yelling at me to shut up.

I remained at the hospital for a few more days before waking up. My body was somehow just too tough and refused to die.

When I woke up, I realized that only Derek and Dominic were in the ward.

Derek was sobbing, tears streaming down his face.

"I'm sorry, Dom… I forgot that Dexter was allergic to seafood… I really didn't mean to do it…"

Dominic wiped away his tears, feeling absolutely sorry for Derek. "It's not your fault, Derek. You were just too kind. Dexter was just being a dumbass. It's all his fault for not saying a thing about his allergy. Apparently, that mouth of his is just purely for decoration."

When he turned around and saw that I'd woken up, the look in his eyes immediately turned to one of disgust.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you, Dexter Richmond?" he snapped, pointing a finger in my face. "You did this on purpose to frame Derek for it and make Mom and Dad think that he hated you and wanted you dead! How could you be such an evil, ungrateful brat?"

I yanked off the oxygen mask, my voice as hoarse as though sandpaper had gone through it. "Dominic told me to eat it. So I ate it. Dominic told me to shut up. So I did."

His breath stuck in his throat. He opened his mouth like he was going to retort, but when he saw that my eyes were about as calm as death, he suddenly felt a bout of fear coursing through him.

"You… You're just impossible! You're a lunatic!"

He grabbed Derek and led him out of the ward. "Let's go, Derek. There's no need to care about this lunatic anymore."

The atmosphere at home changed after going back. Mom and Dad felt a little sorry for me, but that was about it. Rather, they were more worried about Derek, afraid that this incident would traumatize him instead.

To be fair, Mom gave me a smartwatch as a present. It was supposed to be a birthday gift for Derek.

"I picked this out for you, Dex. Do you like it?" Mom asked, carefully putting it on my wrist.

I liked it. This was the first gift I'd ever received from anyone in my life.

Derek stood next to me, saying enviously, "It looks so nice on you, Dexter. It suits you so well. It's a pity that I don't have it though… But I guess it's fine as long as you're happy."