Chapter 2

"He's all grown but still so immature," said my dad.

My hand on the banister paused for a moment, then I turned and went back to my room as if nothing had happened.

From the moment I was reborn, I decided to give up on their love for me. But my dad's words still stung.

…

I had been ignoring Edward. It was rare to get a second chance in life, and I didn't want to waste it on people like them.

As long as I studied hard, I would have the means to leave this family behind.

I would no longer get in the way of their happy family of four.

I was solving some questions in my room when someone knocked on the door.

Outside, Edward's voice came through, deliberately lowered.

"Nicholas Sterling, don't think nothing will happen just because you hide in your room like a coward. Your parents will be mine sooner or later. I'll get you kicked out. Just you wait."

I acted as if I didn't hear his arrogant rant.

In this life, I had no interest in fighting with him.

But a moment later, I heard Edward crying outside the door.

"Jul, is Nick still mad at me? I brought him something to drink, but he told me to get lost. I shouldn't have touched that figurine. I know I don't deserve any of this.

"Maybe I should just go back to the orphanage. You've all been so kind to me. I'll repay you someday. I just hope Nick can forgive me once I'm gone."

Mom came over to comfort him. "It's not your fault. We've spoiled Nick too much."

"Nick's got such a bad temper now. I'll talk to him about it later. You're part of us now, so don't say things like that. It hurts us," Juliana Sterling, my sister, chimed in.

Annoyed by the noise, I opened the door. "Can you stop acting outside of my room? It's disgusting."

Edward panicked and started apologizing, "I'm sorry, Nick. I didn't mean it. I'll pack my stuff and go back to the orphanage right now. Please don't be mad at me. I'm sorry."

Juliana frowned and started scolding me, "Nick, your temper's seriously getting out of control. It was just a figurine. Do you really have to keep holding a grudge?"

Mom looked at me as well. "That's enough, Nick. Even if you're upset, there's a limit. Besides, you broke the figurine yourself. Ed has nothing to do with it."

I gripped the doorknob tightly. "I'll say this one more time—he broke the figurine. Not me!"

Just then, Dad came up the stairs and shouted at me, "Nicholas, stop blaming everything on Ed. If you did something wrong, take accountability! What would Ed get for lying to us? Don't blame him just because he's easy to pick on! Ed is your brother from now on, so cut the attitude!

"I didn't make a big deal out of this before, out of consideration for your feelings. Apologize to Ed right now!"

I looked at my parents, who were standing against me.

Juliana had her arm around Edward's shoulders, whispering comfort to him. They were really like a real family, while I was just some outsider living under their roof.

It was absurd. My parents chose to believe an outsider instead of me, their own child.

Not only did they not defend me, but they pressured me to apologize to the person who set me up.

Even Juliana, who used to dote on me, was now Edward's sister.

Catching a glimpse of Edward's slightly upturned mouth, I didn't want to hear another word from Dad and slammed the door shut.

No matter how Dad pounded on it or shouted for me to apologize, I ignored him.

I leaned against the door, trying to calm myself down.

I could still faintly hear them coddling Edward outside.

This life was no different from the last one.

Even though I wasn't making things hard for Edward like I had done in the past, they still believed I was bullying him.