Chapter 4 The Day I Lost My Grandmother

And the reason he had been willing to touch me was absurdly simple: my sister had posted on social media, 'I miss the sea buckthorn juice my little sister used to make for me when we were kids.'

He had seized on that as a bargaining chip, forcing me to fly thousands of miles away to the northwestern Hannal Desert.

Every day, he monitored me through video calls and forced me to wash my hands more than a dozen times before ordering me to pick the thorn-covered sea buckthorn with my bare hands.

He said the tools were dirty, so I was not allowed to use them.

The tiny thorns pierced my fingertips. The wounds were too small to see, but the pain went straight to the bone.

I picked sea buckthorn for seven days. By the end, both my hands were covered in tiny spots of blood, and I had barely managed to fill a small jar.

Tristan personally took it overseas and presented it to my sister like a precious treasure.

Sometimes, I really envied my sister.

I had fallen for Tristan first, yet somewhere along the way, he fell in love with my sister instead…

I refused to think about it any further. I crouched downstairs from my sister's apartment and waited there for the entire night.

That night, I broke down again and again.

In a moment of overwhelming emotion, I texted him. 'Tristan, I hope you'll keep your word this time. Please pay seven days of Grandma's medical expenses. I'm begging you.'

I hesitated for a long time.

Then, overwhelmed by the urge to simply let everything fall apart, I finally sent the question I had buried in my heart for years. 'Tristan, I've never had the courage to ask you this. I was the one who had a crush on you back then, who wrote you love letters, who donated my bone marrow to you. So why have you always only had eyes for my sister?'

The message disappeared into silence.

After a long while, I could feel his impatience and disgust even through the screen.

"You'll tell any lie imaginable just to get what you want, won't you, Jefferson? It was Regina who stayed by my hospital bed day and night back then. Every member of my family can testify to that! Stop these disgusting tricks of yours.

"I'm warning you. Apologize to Regina properly and bring her back. If you try anything again, or do anything to upset Regina, neither you nor your grandmother will get a single penny!"

As I stared at those merciless words on the screen, the last faint glimmer of hope inside me finally went out.

After standing there helplessly in the pouring rain for an entire night, Regina reluctantly agreed to return home with me.

…

When we landed at the international airport, Tristan had already been waiting for us for quite some time.

Regina glanced at me disdainfully, then raised her eyebrows triumphantly. "See that, Sylvia? No matter when or where, the man you married only ever cares about me. You're the only one that old hag treats like a treasure."

I said nothing.

My mind was filled with one thought—my grandmother's medical expenses for the next few days were finally taken care of. Soon, I would be able to take her away from here.

Regina naturally opened the rear passenger door and climbed inside.

Tristan glanced at me. His lips moved as though he wanted to say something, but she suddenly called softly, "Tristan, I feel so dizzy."

He immediately walked around to the back of the car and ultimately only ordered me to drive.

I was just about to obey, but the hospital called.

"Ms. Jefferson? I'm very sorry… We did everything we could."

My mind went completely blank.

My legs gave out, and I collapsed heavily onto the ground, unable to believe what I had just heard.

"The patient's emergency treatment was delayed because of the outstanding medical expenses. She passed away ten minutes ago. We're very sorry for your loss."

I jerked my head up.

My eyes were bloodshot as I stared straight at Tristan. My voice broke apart as the words came spilling out.

"Why… Tristan! Why? You knew I was bringing Regina back today! Why didn't you pay the money? Just because you kept breaking your promises over and over, my grandma didn't make it! She's gone!"

The rear passenger door suddenly flung open, and Tristan stepped out, looking down at me as though I had lost my mind.

His brows were tightly furrowed, his face filled with nothing but suspicion and impatience.

"Gone? Sylvia Jefferson, even if you're jealous and throwing a tantrum, you shouldn't curse the family member who raised you from childhood!"