Chapter 5

Just like that, after New Year's, Chloe didn't act up for several days.

Mom and Dad were happy. When they occasionally talked about me, the topic was often:

"If we'd known Chloe would be normal once Stella left, we should have sent her away sooner."

In the whole family, only Leo still thought of me.

He often sent me messages on SnapChat, asking if I'd eaten, slept, or if I was having a good time.

But "I" replied very coolly, usually no more than three words.

Leo thought I was just having too much fun and didn't think much of it.

Until the week before New Year's Eve, Chloe threw out all my belongings and turned my room into a dog's room.

Leo came home from work and saw workers dismantling my bed and nailing dog toys to the walls.

His face instantly darkened, his voice icy.

"Who told you to do this?!"

The workers jumped in fright. Chloe spoke from behind him.

"I did. Stella isn't coming back anyway, so there's no point in keeping this room."

When Leo turned around, his eyes flashed with strong displeasure.

"I said I was going to pick Stella up after New Year's. How could you just take matters into your own hands and turn her room into a..."

"Took matters into my own hands?"

Chloe's voice rose several octaves.

"What? Isn't this my house? Just because I'm redecorating, I'm 'taking matters into my own hands'?"

Leo was barely restraining his fury.

"At least tell me! There are no empty rooms left. Where do you expect Stella to stay?"

"Stella, Stella! Is Stella the only one you care about?!"

Chloe's chest heaved with rage, her emotions instantly collapsing.

"I'm your real sister! Do I even exist to you?!"

"What's all this commotion?"

Mom and Dad, hearing the commotion, rushed out. Seeing the tension between Chloe and Leo, they started sweating with anxiety.

Chloe grabbed her hair, screaming wildly.

"I told you I don't like her! Why do you keep bringing her up in front of me?!"

"Do you want to drive me to my death to be happy? Huh? You'd be thrilled if I died right now, wouldn't you?!"

Mom's face went white with fear. She quickly grabbed Chloe's hand and snapped at Leo.

"What did you say now?!"

Leo was exhausted and helpless, his voice hoarse.

"She turned Stella's room into a dog's room, and I just said..."

"Can't you just make things easy for me?!"

Before Leo could finish, Mom roared.

"Stella has sent you so many messages saying she's not coming back, can't you understand?! For a room, you're upsetting Chloe like this. What kind of brother are you?!"

Leo froze, slowly pressed his lips together, and remained silent.

And Chloe, as if she'd caught a trigger word, shook off Mom's hand and lunged towards the wall.

"I don't want to live! Let me die! He'll be happy if I die, won't he?!"

Mom was thrown to the ground. Luckily, Dad reacted quickly and grabbed Chloe.

The house was in chaos. The workers didn't know whether to continue or stop, standing awkwardly with their tools.

Chloe was crying hysterically, constantly shouting that she wanted to die, to be free.

Mom suddenly stood up from the floor, rushed to Leo, and slapped him twice!

Leo's head snapped to the side, his fair face rapidly swelling and turning red.

I gasped, covering my mouth, unable to believe Mom, who was always so gentle, now glared at him with red eyes and screamed:

"I'm warning you, Leo! If you dare mention Stella in this house again, I'll disown you!"

"We weren't bad to Stella all these years. She said she wasn't coming home, we didn't abandon her!"

"If anything happens to Chloe because of you and Stella, I'll haunt both of you even after I'm dead!"

Those words were too harsh.

Leo's eyelashes trembled slightly, his eyes slowly turning red.

His jawline tightened, and after a long moment, he spoke with a hint of sarcasm.

"Fine, I'll never mention Stella's name in this house again."

Saying this, he turned and walked into his bedroom, slamming his door shut.

Dad and Mom were busy comforting Chloe, completely missing that Leo's mood was off too.

I floated into his bedroom, just in time to see him pull out his phone and text me.

"Stella, I'll come pick you up tomorrow."

His eyes were bloodshot, as if about to bleed. Growing up, I'd never seen him look so utterly broken.

But the reply was ruthless:

[No need. I'm not coming back. I have a new brother now.]

Leo's pupils constricted, and he completely panicked.

[What about the watch I gave you? You promised you'd always wear it!]

If the watch was on, he could find me by its location.

But my reply made him clutch his phone in an instant.

[Threw it away. What's the point of keeping something useless?]