Chapter 4

Later that evening, Noah Vance returned home.

He wasn't my parents' biological child; they had adopted him when he was young, and Chloe and I grew up calling him our brother.

I used to dream of having an older brother who would stand in front of me and protect me from the world.

And Noah really was everything I had imagined a great brother could be—except his protection was reserved exclusively for Chloe. Toward me, the intruder who suddenly showed up to siphon away Chloe's affection, he harbored nothing but cold hostility.

From the moment Noah walked into the house, he didn't spare me a single glance. He wore his disdain openly on his face.

How had I been so blind back then?

Even when he treated me like dirt, I was constantly desperate for his attention and validation. I worried about his health and spent my own money buying him gifts.

I used to envy Chloe. I was jealous that she had the unconditional love of the entire family.

Yet now that all those emotions had been stripped away, their behavior looked painfully forced and utterly exhausting.

My stomach let out a faint growl.

Noticing that I hadn't jumped up to greet him like usual, Noah actually gave me a second look.

"Hey. Take your stuff back. I don't want it."

He tossed a beautifully wrapped gift bag onto the counter.

I recognized it. It was the birthday present I had prepared for him.

A custom engraved silver pendant I had personally polished and carved by hand.

I had given him so many gifts before, and every single one was handed back to me in front of everyone.

He and Chloe both relished the process of trampling my dignity into the dirt.

"Okay," I said, barely looking at him.

The staff brought out late-night snacks, but I had no appetite.

A whole spread of seafood.

Not a single dish I could touch without going into anaphylactic shock.

Just looking at the plates made the deep bruises on my body ache with phantom pain.

Noah, on the other hand, was stunned.

Usually, I would beg him with teary eyes to keep the gift. Resigning myself so easily this time—was I playing some new psychological trick to get everyone's attention?

"Noah, what did Seven get you?" Chloe asked sweetly, though her hands moved faster, already tearing open the ribbon. "Oh wow, what a gorgeous pendant! Seven must have spent so much time on this. Come on, Noah, just keep it."

Noah tightened his jaw.

Keep it?

Accepting it would mean accepting her presence.

She was the very reason Chloe felt insecure, the reason Chloe had cried herself to sleep countless nights.

"I'm never accepting anything from her. Take it back," he commanded, his voice cold and final.

My stomach cramped with hunger. Facing a table of food that would kill me, I just wanted to leave and grab a burger down the street.

The moment I pushed my chair back, Noah thought I was trying to run away from confrontation. He lunged forward and grabbed my wrist. "I told you to take your trash with you."

Chloe leaned back, wearing an amused, expectant smirk.

According to the usual script, I was supposed to burst into tears right about now.

"Throw it out then."

"What?" Noah froze.

Seeing that no one was moving, I reached over, plucked the engraved silver pendant out of the box, and tossed it straight into the trash can.

"I said, if nobody wants it, throw it away. I'm going out."

The entire room fell dead silent.

This version of me was completely alien to them.

Ignoring their stares, I headed straight for the door.

An unsettling feeling twisted inside Noah's chest. Watching my thin, retreating back disappear into the night, he felt as if something fragile and fundamental had quietly slipped out of his control.

Chloe shot a quick glance at Noah, her fingers gripping her fork so tightly that her knuckles turned white.