Chapter 2

Early the next morning, I carried the belongings I'd packed down the stairs. I was going to leave eventually anyway. Rather than let Eliza get her hands on my things, I'd rather burn them all.

The front door opened, and the four of them happened to return just then.

Eliza was draped over Andrew's back, looking weak and listless.

"Sophia! What are you trying to do now?" Mom frowned when she saw the suitcase I was holding. "Are you still upset about what happened yesterday?"

I headed for the door without speaking.

Owen immediately stepped in front of me. "You've crossed the line now, Sophia! Are you seriously going to run away from home over something so trivial?"

He struggled to contain his impatience. "Ellie had a little to drink yesterday and ended up in the hospital fighting for her life. We barely managed to pull her back from the brink of death. Can you please stop making a scene at a time like this?"

I looked up at the brother who had once treasured me above all else. "Just because she needed emergency treatment, I'm not allowed to do what I want?"

Owen took a deep breath and pointed at the handheld game console on the couch. "Is this what you want to do? Pretend to be sick in front of us, stay up all night playing video games, then wait until we get home so you can make a show of walking out on us?"

I looked toward where he was pointing and recognized the game console. The housekeeper had brought it out of Eliza's room while tidying up her room yesterday.

"That's not mine," I said.

Mom walked over, tossed the console aside, and sighed in exasperation. "If it isn't yours, whose is it? Ellie is sick, and she's in so much pain she can't even sleep. She certainly wouldn't be in the mood to play with this.

"Sophia, even if you insist on competing with Ellie, can you at least not do it right now? If something really happened to her because of you, do you think we wouldn't hate you for it?"

Her words cut into my heart like a scalpel. The pain left me unable to utter a single word.

All these years, no matter how much I tried to explain myself, they had always believed Eliza over me. I tried to go around Owen and leave, but Andrew grabbed my wrist.

"Sophia, I need to talk to you."

He pulled me out into the garden. As the evening breeze swept over me, the familiar pain surged through my body, leaving me shivering with cold.

"It's true that I should have discussed marrying Ellie with you beforehand. I can apologize for that." His tone was placating. "But this is her dying wish. You should be a little more understanding.

"Oh, and she also said she wanted to wear a wedding gown handmade by a family member, so I gave her the one you made."

I looked at the dark circles beneath his eyes from staying up all night to care for her, and my heart clenched even harder in pain.

"You knew perfectly well I made that wedding gown to wear when I marry you."

Andrew frowned in annoyance. "It's just a wedding gown. Are you really going to make an issue out of this? I'll just buy you a new one later.

"You know she's had a much tougher life than you, Sophia. She's even sick now. Must you keep picking on her like that? You weren't like this in the past!"

In the past?

In the past, when I'd injured my ankle halfway through a running competition and begged Andrew to take me to the hospital, he'd simply tossed me some painkillers. He'd said I was acting like a spoiled princess and told me to learn from Eliza's resilience.

Looking at his cold, stern expression, I felt nothing but utter exhaustion.

"Andrew, let's call off our engagement."

He froze for a moment, and his expression darkened even further. "You just won't quit kicking up a fuss, huh? Keep this up, and I swear I'm going to stop wasting my time on you!"

Andrew released me and marched off.

Standing alone in the cold wind, I called the medical center. "Dr. Fleming, I've made my decision. I'm willing to donate my corneas."

There was a brief silence on the other end. "Sophia, are you absolutely sure you've thought this through? Given your current condition, if you don't undergo surgery immediately, you may not survive more than a few days. This is a serious decision to make. Have you discussed this with your family?"

The familiar pain made me curl inward instinctively. I forced myself to keep my voice from trembling.

"No need. Even if I told them, they'd probably just think I was lying."

My doctor, Isaac Fleming, sighed. "Alright. In that case, I'll come and pick you up tomorrow afternoon."

After ending the call, I went back inside. I was just in time to see Andrew carrying a bowl of creamy mushroom soup over to Eliza.

"I made this myself. I made sure to follow every step of the tutorial video I watched. Give it a taste," he said, his voice impossibly gentle.

I remembered all the times I'd begged him to cook for me. He'd refused even to peel an apple for me. He'd said he was too busy with work and that cooking was a waste of time.

As it turned out, he didn't care about wasting his time after all. He simply didn't want to waste it on me.

"Sophia."

When she saw me, Eliza stood up, cradling the bowl in both hands.

"Andrew made this creamy mushroom soup for me himself. I remember it's your favorite, too. Would you like to try some?"

"No."

I walked past them toward my room, the familiar pain beginning to spread through my body again.

"Sophia, wait."