I was once the golden girl, born into wealth and privilege. But overnight, my world crumbled. One accident turned me into a pariah, the family disgrace. The man I loved for eight years, my shining beacon, came to hate me with every fiber of his being. He said I was the cause of it all—the reason for every tragedy. Before I died, he stood over me and asked, “Do you still love me?” I shook my head. “Never again.” Three years later, I came back. I had waited three long years for this moment. In the passenger seat of the car, my brother, Sean Miller, let out a cold snort, breaking the heavy silence. “Drop the pitiful act. That look on your face is disgusting.” He turned, glaring at me with contempt. “You stole Cassidy’s life for years. What you owe her can’t be repaid this easily.” In the past, I would have fought back. I would’ve given him a piece of my mind. But now, I only looked at my reflection in the car window—a pale, gaunt face stared back at me, with hollow cheeks and dull, lifeless eyes. There was no trace of the proud, glamorous princess I once was. Three years of living under someone else’s roof had taught me how to swallow my pride. I nodded quietly. “Okay.” Sometimes, lowering your head is the only way to survive. I was no longer the spoiled, entitled girl of the Miller family. As long as I could leave that hellhole behind, I would do whatever they wanted. The car pulled into the parking lot of an exclusive country club. “Come with me,” Sean ordered. He didn’t give me room to refuse. As I got out of the car, I caught the look of disgust in his eyes—sharp, clear, and unmistakable. Inside the private suite, my heart froze for a moment. Our eyes met. There he was—Lucas Hart. The man I had loved for eight years. For eight long years, I had trailed behind him, desperate for his attention. At the time, I wanted the whole world to know: I, Nora Miller, would never marry anyone but Lucas Hart! But he never once responded. Everyone knew he couldn’t stand people who were clingy and shameless. Three years had passed, and now he looked even colder, sharper—his presence radiating an icy aura. “What are you doing here?” It was obvious Lucas had no desire to see me. “Hey, Lucas, who’s this?” a friend of his asked, clearly intrigued. I lowered my head, wishing I could disappear. “Wait, isn’t this that girl? The one who used to chase Lucas around like a stray dog? The Miller heiress?” The scandal back then had been the talk of the town, so it wasn’t surprising that someone recognized me. “What’s the deal? Lucas is engaged to Cassidy now. Are you still haunting him?” “Exactly. Have you even looked at yourself in a mirror? What part of you could possibly compare to Cassidy?” Their taunts were merciless, each one cutting deeper than the last. My hands, hidden inside my sleeves, clenched tightly into fists. I kept telling myself: Endure it. Just endure it. I forced myself to speak, my voice trembling but steady. “Back then, I was the one who wouldn’t let go. I caused you so much trouble, Lucas. I won’t bother you anymore. Please, just let me go.” Lucas seemed taken aback by my words, but only for a second. His surprise quickly turned into something colder, sharper. “You’re back?” he asked, his tone as icy as ever. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Yes.” “Why?” I hesitated, twisting my fingers nervously before answering with as much sincerity as I could muster. “Lucas, I promise I won’t appear in your life again. I won’t bother Cassidy, either.” “Remember those words,” he said, his gaze like frost, sending chills down to my fingertips. I forced a brittle smile. “Congratulations to you both…” “Get out!” Before I could finish, he cut me off, his voice sharp and unforgiving. He didn’t even want to look at me. Sean stood to the side, arms crossed, enjoying the humiliation I was being put through. It was clear he was satisfied. I understood in that moment: this man who once adored me, who once called me his precious little sister, now lived to see me suffer. I walked back to the Miller estate. The road felt endless, and by the time I reached the house, the sky had already turned dark. Autumn winds bit through my thin sleeves, chilling me to the bone. When I finally arrived at the gates, my limbs were numb from the cold. The grand, tightly shut doors stood before me, keeping the warmth inside firmly out of reach. I stood there, alone, with nowhere to go. 3 Cassidy broke her leg. It wasn’t my fault. But no one believed me. Not even Lucas Hart. Three years ago, he used a DNA test to send me back to my biological father in a run-down countryside town. I don’t even know how I survived those three years. My father was a gambling addict who owed more money than I could count. Debt collectors showed up constantly, tearing the house apart and taking anything of value. The weight of it all fell entirely on me. Whenever my father drank, he’d beat me senseless and call me a worthless piece of trash. I had no choice but to work myself to the bone, trying to scrape together enough money to keep us afloat. One day, the debt collectors came back, this time with a knife pressed to my throat. They told me I had ten days to pay them back. If I couldn’t, they’d sell me to a nightclub. I begged them on my knees, pleading for more time. Eventually, they gave me a month. But there was no time to breathe. The moment they left, my father stormed in with a leather belt in his hand. The belt lashed across my back, cutting into my skin like a blade. No matter how much I screamed and begged, he didn’t stop. “Tomorrow, you’ll sell yourself on the streets and start making money for me!” I knew if I didn’t escape, my life would be over. In the dead of night, while my father was passed out drunk, I forced myself to stand. Shaking, I dialed the number that had been buried in my memory for years. I swallowed my pride, abandoned every shred of dignity I had left, and begged him to help me escape. “This is your home. Where else do you think you can go?” His cold, detached words hit me like a bucket of ice water poured over my head. I didn’t dare provoke him further. He had a hundred ways to make my life miserable, and I no longer had the strength to fight back. I just wanted to survive. I didn’t dare hope for anything more. Fragments of memory and reality blurred together in my mind. I couldn’t tell if I was dreaming or if I was already dead. I wanted to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt heavy, as though they were weighed down with lead. Then, I collapsed, my consciousness slipping away. I had a dream. In that dream, I was still Nora Miller, the carefree, pampered daughter of the Miller family. I lived a life of luxury, untouched by pain or hardship. Cassidy’s accident had never happened. Lucas Hart didn’t hate me. If only none of it had ever happened… A sharp tug yanked me out of my dream and back into the cold reality. Someone grabbed me roughly, dragging me off the ground. “Nora, get up! Quit pretending! Who are you trying to fool with this pathetic act? I know exactly what you’re up to!” I forced my heavy eyelids open and saw Sean Miller’s twisted face glaring down at me. In my dazed state, I instinctively tried to defend myself. “I’m not—” “Let her in!” came my stepmother’s shrill voice from inside the house. “People will think we’re mistreating her otherwise!” Sean shoved me forward, and the housekeeper, Mrs. Lewis, rushed to catch me. Her worried expression was the only kindness I’d seen in that house. “Thank you,” I whispered, my voice weak. The moment the words left my mouth, my knees buckled, and I nearly stumbled into the door handle. I don’t even remember how I made it to my room. The next thing I knew, it was the following evening, and I was burning up with fever. Mrs. Lewis had secretly given me medicine, but it wasn’t helping. Sean stood nearby, his face twisted in disgust. “Quit acting like you’re on death’s door. You caught a little cold—it’s not that serious!” 4 Yeah, so what if I spent an entire autumn night freezing outside? How did my body end up this weak? For three years, I’ve never had a single day where I was warm or full. I worked myself to the bone every day, taking on any job I could to earn scraps of money. And when I got home, I had to face my father—a man who could lash out and beat me without warning. If I got sick, I couldn’t afford medicine, and I definitely couldn’t risk missing work because of it. That’s how I ended up like this—permanently worn down, broken. Fevers have become a normal part of my life. But losing consciousness like this? That’s new. I went to the hospital. Sitting on a plastic chair in the hallway, I stared at the report in my hands for what felt like hours. Reality always seems to hit the hardest when I’m already at my weakest. Finally, I forced myself to stand and leave. As I stepped toward the exit, the elevator doors opened, and Cassidy walked out, holding Lucas Hart’s arm. Her prosthetic leg was so realistic it was indistinguishable from the other. Her face radiated happiness, her smile glowing like sunshine. Lucas looked down at her with a tenderness so soft it felt like a knife slicing through me. “Nora?” Cassidy’s voice was filled with surprise. “What are you doing here? Are you sick?” She sounded genuinely concerned, but I knew better than to believe it. Hearing her words, Lucas turned his icy gaze toward me. The warmth in his eyes froze over in an instant. I instinctively lowered my head, avoiding his stare. “I’m sorry,” I stammered, my voice shaking. “I didn’t mean to run into you. I—I’ll leave right now.” My words spilled out in a panicked rush, barely coherent. I didn’t even wait for a response—I fled. Ran as fast as my legs would carry me. I was terrified that if I stayed one second longer, Lucas would decide to send me back to my father. Back to that living hell. This hospital? I wouldn’t be coming here again. When I reached the hospital entrance, I saw Sean leaning casually against a car, arms crossed. What was he doing here? Why did it matter? It’s not like he was waiting for me. I turned my head and headed for the bus stop without a second thought. “Nora.” Sean stepped in front of me, blocking my path. I blinked at him, confused. “Get in the car,” he said flatly. Was he… waiting for me? But why? Since when had Sean ever been so kind? 5 Just as I expected. He was here to accuse me. “Nora, Lucas and Cassidy are engaged. Stop clinging to your ridiculous fantasies!” “I’m not!” For the first time since I came back, I raised my voice to defend myself. “Then why are you here?” Sean said, his expression dripping with smug certainty, as though he could see through me completely. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning!” “I don’t know how you found out they’d be at this hospital today, but let me warn you—next month is their wedding. If anything happens to Cassidy again, you won’t get off so easily!” His chest heaved with anger, as though I were some unforgivable criminal. But what had I done wrong? Was it a crime to fall in love with Lucas Hart? I had already promised to stay away from him. What more did they want from me? I’d said it a thousand times—Cassidy’s accident had nothing to do with me. No one believed me. Everyone thought I was the one who hurt her. My hands clenched around the crumpled medical report. The sharp edges of the folded paper pressed into my palm like needles, cutting into my skin. Would they only be happy if I died? When I didn’t respond, Sean assumed I was still holding onto some foolish hope. His accusations turned even nastier. “Nora, are you seriously this pathetic? Why Lucas? Of all the men in the world, why him? Are you that desperate?” “Enough!” I shouted, my breath uneven. “I already told you, I won’t bother him anymore. I meant it!” “You’d better not,” he sneered. Then his gaze shifted to the crumpled paper in my hand. “What’s this?” Before I could stop him, he grabbed the report from me with ease. But the next second, he glanced at it briefly and tossed it straight into the trash can by the side of the road. “It’s just a fever. You’re not dying or anything. Stop being so dramatic.” I stared at him, trembling with rage. “Sean, I honestly wish you were dead.”
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