When I opened my eyes, the first face I saw wasn’t Keith’s, nor my brothers’, but Cara’s.
She sat at the edge of my bed, her hands folded neatly on her lap, wearing that same fake smile she always wore when she wanted to be believed.
“Shh,” she whispered, brushing a strand of hair from my forehead as if she were the gentle sister I never had. “Don’t move, Caroline. You’ve been through so much.”
For a moment, disorientation blurred reality. Fever still pulsed in my veins, weakness tugging at my limbs. But then I remembered. The river. The betrayal. Her laughter outside that church. And the sight of Keith’s hand in hers.
“I…” Her voice trembled, practiced, like a performance. “I’m sorry about everything. I didn’t mean it to turn out this way. I even told them to still give you some of the inheritance. If only you’d shared with us from the start, none of this would’ve happened.”
I couldn’t help it. A bitter, ugly laugh tore out of my throat, scraping my chest raw. “Stop pretending.” My lips curled into a sneer. “You think I’ll believe this sudden act of compassion? Go away, Cara. I’d rather choke on my own blood than listen to another one of your lies.”
Because I remembered. Back then, Cara had done everything she could to make Father hate me—spreading rumors, twisting my words, painting me as the selfish, ungrateful daughter. But Father had always been fair. He saw through her games, and no matter how hard she tried, he never turned his back on me.
It was Leon and Martin who had picked up her venom instead. They were the ones who resented me, who whispered that I didn’t deserve what Father gave. To them, the inheritance was proof of favoritism, proof that I had somehow stolen what should have been Cara’s. They hated me for it. Cara had made me their enemy, and they let her.
For a moment, her eyes narrowed, the mask slipping. Then, she chuckled. “Oh, sister. Always so cold. So bitter. Should I leave, then? Is that what you want?” Her tone shifted into a whisper meant to wound. “But I’m not leaving. I’m here now. Back where I belong. Keith has always been mine. You know that, don’t you?”
The words pierced me like knives. Of course, I knew. I had always known. They were lovers once, before she ran away with another man, abandoning Keith and the family.
“Then why did you leave him, huh?” I shot back, my voice sharp despite the weakness weighing me down. “Why run away with some man if Keith was truly yours? You cheated on him, Cara. And when that man cheated on you, you came crawling back. Don’t twist this to make yourself look like the victim.”
Her face flushed crimson with rage. With a snarl, she yanked a handful of my hair, jerking my head back until my scalp burned. The old me would’ve stayed silent, swallowed it, endured like I always had. But not this time. Something inside me snapped.
With all the strength I could muster, I shoved her. Hard.
Her body stumbled back, hitting the edge of the kitchen counter where a pot of boiling soup had been left. In a split second, it tipped. The scalding liquid poured down her side, splashing across her hip.
Cara screamed. A shrill, piercing sound that echoed through the walls.
Within moments, Keith and my brothers rushed in.
“What happened?” Keith shouted, rushing to Cara, who was writhing in pain. Leon and Martin immediately grabbed her, panicked, trying to soothe her while calling for a doctor.
“She pushed me!” Cara sobbed, her voice breaking. “She did this to me!”
Their eyes swung toward me, fury igniting like wildfire.
“You monster!” Leon bellowed.
“She’s your sister, and you’d do this?” Martin added, his face twisted in disgust.
I opened my mouth to defend myself, but Keith was already striding toward me, his face thunderous. “What did you do, Caroline?!”
“It was an accident!” I shouted back. “She pulled my hair, she attacked me—”
But before I could finish, he grabbed the same pot, still steaming with remnants of the soup, and flung it toward me. The boiling liquid splashed across my side, burning my skin. I screamed, the agony white-hot, blinding.
“Keith!” I sobbed, clutching at the searing pain on my body. But his eyes were filled with nothing but cold fury.
While Cara was carried away to the hospital, I was left writhing alone on the floor. My tears mixed with the sting of the burns, my voice hoarse from screaming. No one stayed for me. Not one hand reached out to help.
Hours later, when the pain dulled enough to move, I dragged myself up. My reflection in the mirror showed me blistered, red, and broken. But something in me hardened.
I wasn’t going to stay here. Not anymore.
The next day, with my wounds bandaged, I began packing my things. Clothes were shoved into bags, photographs ripped apart, memories burned in the fireplace until nothing but ash remained. Each flame devoured a piece of my past, and with every crackle, I felt lighter. Forgotten, yes. Betrayed, yes. But not destroyed.
The door slammed open. Keith stood there, his eyes wild with anger. “What are you doing?”
I didn’t even flinch. I held a box of belongings in my arms and met his gaze. “Nothing. Just burning things. After all, Cara is what you want, isn’t she? I’m nothing.”
His jaw clenched. “And why are you packing? Did I tell you to leave?”
I smiled, bitter and sharp. “I’m going on a vacation. Can’t I? Or do I need your permission even to breathe?”
“Don’t fool me,” Keith growled, stalking closer until his shadow swallowed the small space between us. His voice was sharp, his eyes colder than stone. “You don’t even have money! Is this because of some guy? Are you cheating on me, Caroline?”
