Aidan and my father looked at me with unreadable expressions.
"Susan, who are you meeting in seven days?"
From the look on their faces, I realized they hadn't heard everything clearly. As their earlier words echoed in my mind, the pain I'd been struggling to suppress now swept through my entire body.
Noticing my pained expression, Aidan abandoned his earlier questioning and hurriedly helped me sit up. "Did the pain from your wounds wake you? Don't worry, I've been right here with you. It's all our fault for not saving you sooner."
His eyes reddened as he shouted toward the door, "Why aren't you in here yet? Didn't I tell you to prepare painkillers? Why aren't they working?"
My father, heartbroken, sat by my bedside, holding my hand as tears streamed down uncontrollably. His expression darkened as he gritted his teeth. "Susan, rest assured. I won't let those who hurt you get away with it! Even if it means going to prison, I'll make sure they suffer!"
After that, he gently stroked my head, his eyes brimming with love. Then, he spoke again. "Susan, your brother has already arranged for the world's best doctors to come. They'll arrive tomorrow morning. These quacks at the hospital aren't fit to treat you!"
"Don't worry, even if it means sacrificing the entire Sherman Family, I will cure you and ensure you live a carefree life."
I stared numbly at the pain etched on my father's and brother's faces. If they truly loved me, how could they have done those things to me? The doctor clearly said my fertility could be preserved, but they insisted on delaying.
The thought made me laugh bitterly as I stared straight at my father. "Dad, will I really get better? Why won't you let the doctors here operate on me first?"
"Susan, you will definitely get better. How could these quacks possibly treat you? I feared they'd only worsen your injuries by touching your wounds."
He lowered his eyes, hiding the expression in them. Of course, he knew that if my wounds weren't treated until tomorrow, not even the best doctors in the world would be able to save me.
To ensure his illegitimate daughter could marry my fiancé, my father—who had once stayed by my side as I grew up and promised to love me forever—had betrayed me. And my own brother, whom I had grown up with, had also abandoned me for that same illegitimate daughter.
Realizing this, I looked at the two people in front of me with bitter sorrow and said nothing more. When my expression cut into their hearts like blades, they unable to restrain themselves and reached out to me as if to soothe my scars.
Unfortunately, their hands stopped as the phone rang.
"Dad, I've tried on several wedding dresses and still can't decide. Can you and Aidan come help me choose?" Sally's coquettish voice rang out from the other end.
Even though my father covered the phone in time, I could still hear it clearly because of the distance.
Those men exchanged glances, studying my expression. When they saw I remained utterly calm, they breathed a sigh of relief.
At that moment, the doctor came to treat my wounds and said with pity, "Miss Susan, please bear with it, this might sting."
A moment later, searing pain from the wound surged through my body. The anesthesia did not affect me whatsoever; I could feel every bit of the pain with excruciating clarity. And all of it had been inflicted by the very people closest to me.
I gritted my teeth and dug my nails into my palms until they bled.
Aidan's eyes reddened as he watched what was happening. My father, pretending he couldn't bear it, turned and left with the phone in his hand. Soon after, my brother also turned his head away and walked out of the room.
Their expressions of heartbreak were so convincing, but I knew what they were really doing.
Sure enough, ten minutes later, Sally sent me a video. In it, my father beamed as he helped her into her wedding gown, completely disregarding his role as an elder. Meanwhile, Aidan was fastening a dark green necklace around her neck.
My eyes widened in disbelief. That necklace was my mother's keepsake!
I wanted to rush over right then and snatch my mother's necklace back, but what followed in the video only deepened my hatred.
"Dad, Susan is so badly injured. She has surgery tomorrow. Why don't you stay with her? As for my wedding, it's fine if you can't make it. I can manage alone. I just wonder if the Ladner Family will accept me."
Sally, dressed in her wedding gown, looked desolate as she spoke. Of course, Aidan and my father immediately began to comfort her.
"Don't worry, Susan can manage alone. We'd just be waiting outside during her surgery anyway. It's better to attend your wedding," my brother stammered nervously.
My father's face darkened as he solemnly promised, "Be at ease, I'll be there tomorrow to support you. This is your most important day. Even if Susan finds out, she'll understand."
A flicker of secret delight crossed Sally's eyes at their assurances. Then, they began discussing every detail of the upcoming wedding. Those ceremonies, those gifts, those surprises, all things they had once promised to me.
Yet here I was, lying alone in agony on the hospital bed, while they gave everything meant for me to Sally. I clenched my fists and began to pick apart my feelings for my family, piece by piece.
After Sally went in to change into her wedding gown, my brother hesitated before speaking, "Dad, Susan's condition is so critical now. Should we still release those videos from the scene tomorrow? I fear she might not be able to handle it."
My father paused for a moment, his gaze shifting toward Sally in the dressing room. At that time, his resolve suddenly hardened. "Release them! Not just online, show them at Sally's wedding ceremony. Only then can I completely crush the Ladners' ambitions."
With that, he pulled out his phone again. "I'll ensure the doctors treat Susan properly. You must keep this news hidden, at least for the next few days. She mustn't know, nor must she disrupt Sally's wedding."
Aidan nodded with unwavering resolve at his order.
I replayed the video ten times over, then lay back on the bed in a daze.
The kindness that my father and brother had shown me before was genuine. Now, they were truly giving all of that kindness to Sally, while I had become the enemy standing in the way of her happiness.
