Chapter 5

Immediately, everyone started calling me cold-hearted. Amid their curses, I noticed Julianne's smug and provocative look.

Ever since she moved into our house, I had repeatedly fallen victim to her supposed "gentle kindness". She was someone who could be ruthless, even with herself. It reminded me of the time she had framed me by grabbing my hand and forcing me to push her down the stairs. It resulted in her spending over a month in the hospital due to her severe injuries.

After I spoke, she gave a pitiful yet sweet smile, and with the knife in her hand, she cut her throat.

If it hadn't been for Irvin's quick reflexes kicking in, leading to him grabbing the knife before she could do any real damage, she might have bled out right there. Sometimes, I almost admired her for how far she was willing to go.

Despite Irvin's quick actions preventing Julianne from bleeding to death, the knife still left a deep cut. It wasn't life-threatening, but even a small injury was enough to make Irvin teared up, filled with concern for her.

He rushed her to the hospital, and his cold, disappointed glare was all aimed at me.

It was a stark contrast to how he treated me—when I was the one injured, he wouldn't even bring me a glass of water, yet he rushed to take care of her like she was his entire world. The pain in my chest was unbearable.

"How could I have a sister as vicious as you?" Jeremy's voice was filled with disappointment and hurt. "If anything happens to Lianne, I swear I won't forgive you!"

With that, he stormed off, following Irvin.

Everyone else quickly followed suit. As they left, they deliberately shoved past me—some even pushed me hard enough to make me stumble. I dodged most of them, but the last one shoved me so forcefully that I almost fell.

Luckily, I managed to backpedal and collapse onto a nearby sofa before I hit the ground. If I had fallen, my body full of metal braces and pins would have shattered.

I had been too eager to get rid of the rotten relationship and ended up rushing. From now on, no matter what, I should always prioritize protecting my body.

The VIP lounge sofa was soft, but the pain in my body made it almost unbearable to stay there for long. I lay there for a while, trying to recover, but the exhaustion made it impossible to move.

Eventually, I forced myself to take a cab home, though the pain from the collision made it difficult to sleep. I ended up taking several sleeping pills before finally drifting off into a deep slumber.

I woke up to a bucket of cold water being splashed on me. My eyes snapped open, and I saw my parents' furious faces.

For a moment, I was confused, unsure what day it was or if I was even dreaming. I hadn't seen my parents this angry in ages, and I couldn't tell if they were real or if I was just imagining things.

Then, Mom threw another bucket of cold water at me, shouting, "Millicent, how can you still sleep after everything you've done?

"How could I have given birth to such a venomous creature like you? You pushed Julianne to the point of death! If you want to die so badly, why don't you just do it yourself!"

Millicent Quill was the name my parents gave me after they adopted Julianne. They said I was the older sister and should always remember to put Julianne first, no matter what.

From then on, I was to go by the name she chose. I didn't want it. I fought against it with all my strength.

I couldn't understand why I had to give up everything for her because I was a few days older than Julianne. My parents were giving everything to her—Jeremy, the rooms, my toys, even my opportunity to go to college or win awards.

I wasn't even allowed to keep my own name. But no matter how much I fought, it was pointless.

In my desperation, I even considered ending my life. I walked out into the deep sea, hoping that my death would make my parents regret their choices, hoping it would be my final stand.

Yet, when I ended up in the emergency room, and they called my parents, they were too busy celebrating Julianne's birthday to even come to sign the consent forms. They even told me that if I wanted to die, I should just go ahead.

That was when I realized that nothing I did would ever matter to them.

Later, when I was old enough to change my name, I did just that. I changed it to "Emilia Quill". A new name to start over my new life.

"You're such a vicious creature!" Mom shouted. "I should've killed you when you were born!"

Her hatred was so intense that it made me wonder if, given the chance, she would truly have killed me at birth without hesitation.

I wiped the water off my face and said with a smile, "Mom, it's not too late."

She froze, confused. "What do you mean, 'it's not too late?'"

"I mean, you can kill me now. Don't worry. I'll write a letter of forgiveness for you, and Dad can make it look like I had some kind of mental breakdown. You won't even go to jail."

Even though I wanted to keep living, if she were so determined to end my life, I wouldn't fight it. I would just return my life to her.

Mom was so angry that she couldn't find the words to respond. Finally, she snapped, "Why didn't you just die when you fell off that cliff?"

I gave a bitter laugh. "Yeah, why didn't I die when I fell? It would have made everyone so much happier."

Everyone would have been relieved if I were gone. Mom stared at me, unsure how to respond. Maybe she couldn't think of anything to say, or maybe hearing the hopelessness in my voice brought out some form of motherly instinct within her.

After a long pause, her anger deflated, and she sighed. "But, Millicent, no matter what, you can't say things like that. You can't tell Julianne to die. You know how soft-hearted she is, and if you keep saying that, she really will try to kill herself."

She added, "You're her older sister. How can you not care about her feelings?"

I looked at her, wanting to scream, "Why can't you care about me? I almost died when I fell from that cliff and spent over three months in the hospital! Why didn't you care about me? Why didn't you visit me even once?"

Nonetheless, no matter how badly I wanted to say those words, I kept quiet. Because saying them wouldn't change anything.

Dad, who never had much patience for me, said sharply, "Enough with the pity party. Get up, clean yourself up, and come with us to apologize to Lianne at the hospital! And since you think Lianne and Irvin make a good couple, then hurry up and divorce him."

He continued, "You've been standing in the way for years, and he still doesn't love you. You need to face reality."

Before I could respond, Dad went on, "You fell from that cliff and nearly drowned in that freezing water. We don't even know if you can still bear him children. So, stop messing up other people's lives."

Mom chimed in, "Exactly. If you really love Irvin, then let him go. Let him be happy."

I looked at my parents, and I finally realized. They knew how badly I was hurt. They didn't think I was just throwing a tantrum.

They just didn't care because I wasn't worth their time. I couldn't stop myself from laughing bitterly. "Fine. I'll let them go. Let them be happy."