Chapter 4

Seth didn't wait for my response.

After he spoke, he shoved past me with his elbow and headed into the hospital.

My back slammed hard against a door handle, sending a sharp wave of pain through my torso.

My vision went black, and I collapsed onto the floor.

Of the four of them, only Julian turned back at the noise. "Nora?!"

Julian made a move to step toward me, but Seth grabbed his arm.

"Ignore her," Seth said. "The more attention you give her, the bigger the performance she puts on.

"Once she gets tired of playing the victim," he added, "she'll crawl back to the hotel on her own."

Julian hesitated for a second. In the end, he turned and followed them inside.

If Julian had looked at me for just one more second, he would have seen the blood pooling on the ground, spilling continuously from my lips.

Watching their backs disappear into the hospital, I let out a bitter, lifeless laugh.

The last tiny ember of hope in my heart shattered completely.

Paramedics loaded me onto a stretcher and wheeled me into the emergency room.

We passed right by the four of them gathered around Lily, carefully applying a bandage to her ankle.

During surgery, the hospital ran low on my blood type. The doctor grabbed my chart and dialed their numbers.

"Hello? Are you the parents of Nora Hayes?" the doctor asked, repeating the question urgently. "The patient needs an emergency blood transfusion right now..."

On the other end, the phone was laid on a table, completely ignored. Cheerful chatter filtered through the speaker.

"Oh sweetie, how are you going to shop with your hurt ankle?"

"Don't worry, Mrs. Hayes, I'll carry Lily."

"No, I'll carry her! I'm her brother, she definitely wants me to carry her!"

That chatter was the last thing I heard before I lost consciousness.

In the end, a kind stranger donated blood on the spot and saved my life.

I paid off all my medical bills using the scholarship money I had saved from graduation.

I also sent thank-you plaques to the medical staff and the strangers who had helped me along the way.

Once everything was settled, I opened the chat window on my phone. My fingers hovered over the screen for a long time.

I typed and erased, typed and erased.

[Let's break up or I changed my university choice, I'm going north.]

In the end, I couldn't bring myself to send the message.

It wasn't because I couldn't bear to say goodbye.

It was because after years of being ignored and forgotten, I knew what would happen.

Sending those messages would only lead to another round of self-humiliation.

I quietly left the family group chat and blocked all their numbers.

Then, I boarded a high-speed train heading north, completely alone.

...

It wasn't until the morning of Lily and Seth's college orientation that my family finally came looking for me.

They pushed open the door to my hotel room.

Mom's voice was unusually gentle.

"Nora, even if you hate crowds, today is orientation day. Hurry up and get ready, we're leaving soon."

Julian fumbled along the wall for the light switch.

"Stop hiding in the dark, Nora Hayes. I thought about it, and I'm sorry I forgot your seafood allergy the other day. Is that why you've been sulking?"

Dad chimed in. "This girl holds such a grudge. We're family, there's no need to throw a fit over something so small."

Receiving no response, Seth walked in impatiently and flicked the light switch.

"Nora Hayes, I bought you food. Get up and eat.

"Lily is already packed," Seth added. "If you don't hurry, we will head to campus without you!"

His words died the moment the lights flooded the room.

In the next second, every single face in the room became drained of color.