Chapter 2

I closed my eyes and waited for the Grim Reaper to take me away. Suddenly, I heard the sounds of a commotion coming from behind me.

"Cameron!"

The next second, I was grabbed by a powerful force.

Mom's cries echoed in my ears. Her entire upper body was hanging over the edge of the balcony as she held onto me for dear life.

"Pull him up! Grab him and pull him up, Jason!" she screamed.

Dad darted toward us. With the two of them working together, they managed to yank me back onto the balcony. I landed on my back on the hard surface.

"Cameron… Are you alright, Cameron?"

Mom was deathly pale as she crawled to me and kneeled by my side. Her arm was hanging unnaturally by her side, but the first thing that she did was touch my shoulders and my face.

"Are you hurt?" she asked. "Say something… Don't scare me…"

My mind went blank as I stared at her tear-streaked face. A thought suddenly flashed through my mind—perhaps Mom still loved me.

A sudden sigh resounded next to us.

"Why did you feel the need to resort to something so drastic, Cam?" Hayden asked. "If you think of me as an eyesore, you can just tell me that you don't want me to be around when you, Mom, and Dad ring in the New Year.

"Why did you have to scare Mom and Dad by threatening to end your own life? Look! Mom even dislocated her arm just to save you!"

Dad finally lost his temper. Pain exploded across my cheek before I could even get a word in.

Dad didn't hold back when he slapped me hard across my face. The sound echoed through the living room.

"Do you have some loose screws in your head?" he roared. "Hayden's your brother! The New Year is days away! What the hell are you trying to accomplish by causing such a commotion?"

Dad's chest heaved, making it clear that he was furious. "Even if you want to kill yourself, you should know to choose a better time! If anything happens to you now, who's going to take Hayden's pla—"

"Jason!" Mom snapped as she whipped her head around to glare at him.

The rest of Dad's words died on his tongue.

"He's just spouting nonsense in a fit of anger," Mom immediately explained. "Also, Cameron just experienced something terrifying. Stop giving him a hard time!"

Mom looked both panicked and guilty as she ushered me into the car. As Dad drove us to the hospital, the spark of hope that had ignited in my heart for a brief moment was extinguished by a bucket of freezing water.

Mom only saved me because Hayden wouldn't have a scapegoat anymore if I was dead. They only treated me well for Hayden's sake.

My thoughts began to spiral the moment the realization was planted in my mind. I suddenly recalled many incidents that had happened in my past lives.

When I was younger, I came down with the flu and a high fever. Mom was so scared that she immediately rushed me to the hospital and kept vigil by my bedside for three days. But in reality, she just didn't want Hayden to get infected with my illness because he had a competition coming up. She didn't want his performance to be affected.

After I graduated from university, my advisor assigned me to join an internship program at a top-tier hospital, Sandler Hospital.

Dad patted my shoulder and said, "You'll have a really tough time if you work at Sandler Hospital. We don't hope for you to achieve spectacular results. We just want you to be healthy and happy. Don't put yourself through the wringer by working there."

I remember thinking that Mom and Dad treated me so well at the time. Only later did I find out that only one of all the interns had a chance of being promoted to a full-time employee. If I had joined the internship program, Hayden's chances of securing that promotion would have been zero.

I couldn't even remember how I felt every time I discovered Mom's and Dad's blatant favoritism for Hayden anymore. I had gotten used to turning a blind eye to their actions. After all, that was the only way I could maintain the facade that I was part of a happy family.

But I couldn't pretend anymore. I looked up at Dad, chuckling lightly before finishing his sentence.

"You're right. I picked the wrong time to take my own life. My kidney wouldn't be fresh if I died too early. No one will take the fall for Hayden if I die too early too. Am I right, Dad?"