The day before the graduate school admission results were announced, my younger brother, Colson, was kidnapped by thugs.
In a desperate attempt to save him, I was dragged into the mountains by a group of gangsters.
By the time my older brother arrived, my legs were twisted at a horrifying angle, and blood poured uncontrollably from my lower body.
He was frantic, his face pale with terror, as he rushed me to the hospital, pleading with the best surgeon to save me.
Colson, his eyes red with anguish, swore that every single person who had hurt me would pay the price.
But as I lay weak and barely conscious in the hospital bed, hushed voices outside the door sent a chill through my body.
"Brother, did we go too far? Faking everything in front of Sister just to secure Valerie’s spot in graduate school... How will she ever get married after this?"
Marco let out a sigh before replying in a low voice. "What choice do we have? There’s only one admission slot this time. If you want to blame someone, blame Elaina for being too outstanding, always overshadowing Valerie. Ever since Aunt Sabina married into our family, Valerie has been desperate to prove she’s not a burden. She’s been studying day and night for this opportunity—I won’t let anyone stand in her way."
"As for Elaina, once she recovers, she’ll go straight to work at the company. I’ll make sure no one humiliates her over this. And if she can’t get married in the future... then I’ll stay by her side forever."
Tears slipped down my cheeks like shattered pearls.
The brother who once cherished me, the younger sibling who clung to me as if he couldn’t live without me—neither of them had ever truly held me in their hearts.
If that’s how it was... then I didn't need them either.
—
At that moment, the doctor rushed over, holding a surgical consent form.
"The patient is in critical condition. She has a ruptured corpus luteum and needs immediate suturing. Please sign the consent form."
Without hesitation, Marco tore the form to shreds. "Wait until tomorrow."
The doctor was stunned and hurriedly said, "If she undergoes surgery now, we can still save her uterus. But if we wait any longer, she might become permanently incontinent!"
"She’ll spend her life in diapers!" he added.
Upon hearing that, Colson hesitated. "Brother... maybe we should let her have the surgery now? Do you really want to see her become filthy and broken?"
"So what if I don’t? We’re one step away from success—I won’t allow anything to go wrong now!" Marco hissed.
"Besides, only if Elaina is completely ruined will she finally give up on her graduate school dream and obediently work at the company."
Hearing this, Colson stopped protesting and told the doctor to wait for their instructions.
Lying in bed, my body trembled uncontrollably.
It never crossed my mind that the very gangsters who had torn me apart... were sent by the person who once cherished me most.
As a child, Marco never let me suffer the slightest grievance. After our mother passed away, and our father remarried, I was no longer his priority.
But my brother—he used to travel fifty kilometers back home every day just to have dinner with me, to tuck me in at night.
Back then, if I got the tiniest scrape, he would feel so guilty he’d punch the walls.
And now...
He orchestrated my downfall. Tarnished my name.
Even the younger brother I had raised with my own hands had become his accomplice.
Despair crashed over me like a tidal wave. I clutched my head and sobbed uncontrollably.
Hearing my cries, the door burst open.
"Elaina!"
"Sister!"
Seeing me break down, my older brother rushed forward, wrapping me tightly in his arms, his hands gently stroking my back.
"It’s over now, Elaina. Don’t be afraid. I'm here."
Beside him, my younger brother cautiously wiped the tears from my face.
"Sis, don’t worry. I’ve had all those bastards arrested. No one will ever hurt you again!"
