Adam West and Patrick West’s assistant, Audrey Crawford, suffered from aplastic anemia. To ensure that she had a blood supply available in the future, the two brothers had me, who had the same blood type as Audrey, donate blood to her for a week. After a week, Audrey brought a glass of orange juice to me. I slapped it out of her hand and insisted on leaving West Mansion. Adam and Patrick did not stop me. “Is it really that serious? Just drinking a glass of orange juice,” they asked. ***** I did not look back as I walked out of West Mansion. After a week of continuous blood donations, my steps became unstable the moment I left the house. Behind me, Patrick remarked, “You’re such a good actress. How much blood did you donate?” I understood at that moment that I was utterly weak. I stood still, holding onto a tree nearby. Adam said, “Considering you donated blood for Audrey, you can still turn back. If you do, we won’t hold it against you for knocking over Audrey’s orange juice.” But he seemed to have forgotten that I was allergic to orange juice. When my parents went to Briden to start a business, they were worried about me being unable to take care of my health. Thus, they sent me to live with Gary West, my father’s old friend. Once, I had some orange juice and got allergic all over. Adam held me and rushed me to the hospital immediately. Patrick had banned any oranges from the house ever since then. When I was hospitalized, others joked that I had two young boyfriends. But Patrick explained seriously, “Charlotte is a princess. A princess should have knights and princes by her side.” Adam nodded in agreement. As time went on, I became more reluctant to leave Seabay, unwilling to go to a place without Patrick and Adam. But now, seeing the two of them gently comforting Audrey, I bit down the discomfort and took a taxi. In the car, I touched the needle marks and bruises on my arm from the blood donation. I checked the calendar on my phone and then called my mother. “Mom, I want to go to Briden. Does our marriage contract with the Wilson family still stand?” It was time to let go of everything in Seabay. The childhood promises with my playmates could no longer be taken seriously.
After leaving West Mansion, I had nowhere else to go, so I returned to my old house. But Adam, Patrick, and Audrey still came to visit. Audrey wanted to thank me. I sneered inwardly. The maid at West Mansion had already informed her that I was allergic to orange juice, but she still handed me a glass of it. Now she wanted to thank me? When Audrey saw me, she shrank back like a frightened rabbit. Patrick frowned and scolded, “Charlotte, that’s enough. Stop scaring Audrey with that long face.” If this were the past, he would have pulled out my favorite dessert like magic, grinning and saying, “Lotte is magnanimous. Don’t mind this, okay?” But now, it seemed like he hadn’t even noticed my pale face from giving so much blood. “Audrey is here to apologize, Charlotte. Don’t hold a grudge against her. Don’t be so ungrateful and rude,” Patrick said. I coldly looked at Patrick and said, “Please leave my house.” Patrick’s expression instantly changed. He didn’t expect me, the usually obedient and understanding Charlotte, to act so cold. “It’s all my fault, Lotte. If you’re upset, take it out on me. Don’t take it out on Patrick,” Audrey said, her eyes misty with tears. It seemed like she had suffered some great injustice. But who was the one truly wronged? When I had a fever, Adam made me cook for Audrey. On a trip to the mountains, Adam and Patrick left me alone on a lonely mountain road to pick Audrey up from work. When Audrey fainted at work, Adam and Patrick forced me to donate blood for three days, just to ensure Audrey would have blood available in the future in case she fainted again. I had paid back my debt to the West family with seven days of scorching hot blood. From now on, there would be no more debt. With that thought, I dragged my weakened body to open the drawer beside my bed. Inside was the bracelet Adam had bought for me after winning his first case. He had said I was his lucky star. There were also the many heartfelt drawings that Patrick had made of my face. I threw all these things, which I had once cherished, into a bag at my feet, one by one. Each of them, just like Adam and Patrick, would disappear from my world. Patrick widened his eyes in disbelief and said, “Charlotte, have you gone mad? These are my drawings for you!” Adam pushed up his glasses and disapprovingly said, “Charlotte, can you stop acting like a child?” Patrick muttered in complaint, “Unbelievable! She threw my drawings out like trash.” I pushed Audrey, who was standing in the doorway, and threw everything outside. They were about to come forward to pick it all up when Audrey’s soft voice interrupted. “My ankle, I think I sprained it.” Adam and Patrick’s eyes immediately fixed on the delicate girl, whose voice was filled with pain. I and all the memories we once shared were now selectively ignored by them. I curled my lips into a self-deprecating smile. It shouldn’t have been me who was trapped in the past. They anxiously asked Audrey about her injury, and Audrey, feigning pain, said softly, “Don’t blame Lotte. She didn’t mean to push me.” Upon hearing this, Patrick clenched his fists. He looked at me, displeased, and shouted, “Charlotte, apologize to Audrey immediately.” I stood frozen in place, my nails digging into my palm, blood seeping from the punctures. Seeing that I wouldn’t apologize, Adam kicked the bag I had just packed down the stairs. “Charlotte, I’ll sue you for intentional injury!” So this was the sharp-tongued, ruthless lawyer I once knew. I never imagined that one day, this cold, heartless side of him would be directed at me. I laughed and replied, “Sure, go ahead and sue me.”
I turned and walked away, unwilling to get entangled with them any longer. “Charlotte, where are you going?” Patrick’s voice, tinged with anxiety, came from behind me. I didn’t look back and replied, “Mrs. West said she missed me yesterday.” When I arrived at West Mansion, Scarlett West was startled by my pale face. “Patrick is always careless, but why didn’t Adam even send you here?” Scarlett had always kept me close since I was a child. She used to tease Patrick and Adam, saying, “Let’s see who can marry Charlotte.” But now, I no longer had that shy anticipation of the past. I calmly replied, “They’re busy. It’s normal for them to have their own things to deal with.” Scarlett furrowed her brows and gently touched my pale face. “Did those two scoundrels bully you? I’ll teach them a lesson for you!” I shook my head and smiled, “Mrs. West, there’s no need for that. I’ll be settling in with my parents soon.” Scarlett hugged my shoulders, sighing helplessly. “Charlotte, I don’t know what happened, but for you to have made the decision to leave, it must be those two bastards’ fault.” I leaned my head against her shoulder, drawing warmth from it. “Don’t tell Patrick or Adam. The jokes we made when we were young should never have been taken seriously.” Scarlett took a deep breath, looking at me with a helpless expression. “I’ll keep it a secret. But don’t forget to tell me before you leave.” At that moment, Patrick and Audrey entered, hand in hand, with confused expressions. “Who’s leaving? Where are they going?” I glanced briefly at their intertwined hands and lowered my head in silence. Scarlett looked at them with an unamused expression. “Charlotte’s going on a trip in a few days. By the way, don’t just bring anyone home.” She patted my hand. “Charlotte, I’ll go get some fruit. Just sit here; this is your home.” Patrick, who had been a bit anxious, visibly relaxed. “You said before that you wanted to see the aurora. When did you make the plans?” Adam loosened his tie and added, “Why didn’t you call Patrick and me along? We can bring Audrey too.” Noticing I wasn’t saying anything, Audrey whined and shook Patrick’s arm, her expression playful. “Lotte doesn’t like me, so don’t make things difficult for her.” She attempted to link arms with me, but I quickly pulled away, disgusted by her little trick. Audrey stumbled forward due to the force of her movement. There was a thick rug on the floor, yet she pretended to be delicate, clutching her leg and curling up on the ground. “Charlotte, you dare bully Audrey in our place?” I was violently shoved by Patrick, and my lower back hit the corner of the table. A sharp pain shot through my body. Cold sweat dripped from my forehead as I trembled uncontrollably. But Adam looked at me with disgust. “Stop pretending. You injured Audrey and now act like the victim.” I rubbed my ear, unable to believe what I was hearing. The two guys, who were always so perceptive, couldn’t even see through Audrey’s clumsy act. Their eyes and hearts had long since sided with Audrey. When they loved someone, they’d instinctively protect that person. Patrick hurriedly surrounded Audrey, anxiously asking if she was in pain. Adam picked Audrey up and rushed toward the door. As they passed me, Adam, without caring that I was unsteady on my feet from the collision, coldly said, “Don’t think about hurting Audrey again.” I met Audrey’s mocking gaze and laughed through clenched teeth. The one who was truly hurt was me. But thankfully, we would never have a next time. Leaving as soon as possible was the best decision I had ever made. After getting my back treated at the hospital, I returned to West Mansion to pick up my forgotten passport. But the lock, which had been set with my birthday as the password, prompted an error. As Adam carried Audrey out of the car with a pained expression, I was curled up in a corner. Patrick sneered with a gloomy expression, “You came back again to play the pitiful act? Audrey’s kind-hearted and forgave you. If you want to stay here, stop thinking of bullying her.” Once my protectors, Patrick and Adam now warned me for someone else. Seeing me look at them coldly, Patrick’s eyes flickered with a hint of unease. “Charlotte, why are you looking at me like that? If you want to come back, just say it.” Audrey playfully patted Patrick’s arm and said, “Patrick, don’t be so harsh. You’re scaring Lotte. “By the way, Lotte, I twisted my ankle. Patrick asked me to stay here for a while. You won’t mind, will you? I’ve ordered a cake from the dessert shop you own. Let’s have a nice gathering.” Adam nodded and raised his chin toward me. “Charlotte, go get the cake. Audrey is trying to make amends with you. Don’t be so petty.” The cake Audrey had specially ordered was indeed enormous. The fondant little girl on top was surrounded by two boys. Ironically, the little girl’s curly hair looked just like Audrey’s. I stared at the cake for a while, a faint smile on my lips, but my heart felt completely still. I no longer felt any sadness from Patrick and Adam’s favoritism toward Audrey. Instead, I found myself wishing for the three of them to always remain happy together and never disturb my life again. I held the large cake and walked toward the cold storage door, but Audrey appeared with a smile on her face. “Lotte, you used to get along so well with Patrick and Adam, didn’t you?” Noticing the smugness in the corners of her eyes, I tried to leave. But Audrey raised an eyebrow and shoved me back into the cold storage. She slammed the door shut, and I could only watch the cake shatter into pieces on the floor. Patrick and Adam rushed in, and upon seeing the cream-covered floor and Audrey still crying, their faces grew even angrier. The temperature in the cold storage felt like ice arrows and could pierce through me. I trembled uncontrollably, trying to gather warmth by hugging my body. I once fell into a lake while ice skating, and since then, I couldn’t stand the cold. During that illness, Patrick had stayed by my bedside and cared for me day and night. Adam had found a famous doctor to treat me. They knew I couldn’t get cold, but now, not a single one of them cared that I was still locked in the cold storage. Adam’s voice, filled with suppressed anger, came through. “Charlotte, this is too much! This cake was designed by Audrey with great care.” Patrick, busy comforting the crying Audrey, didn’t have time to care about me. I was so frozen that I could barely speak. My body shook uncontrollably. I took a deep breath, and my teeth bit into my lip until it bled, just to make myself speak, “It’s really cold in here. Let me out.” Adam’s indifferent voice came from outside. “Apologize to Audrey first, or you can stay in there!” My lips had turned purple from the cold, and my throat felt like it was pierced by icy blades. Every breath I took was painfully sharp. How ridiculous. I had to beg to be freed from this place. And the ones who put me here were the two people I once thought I would spend the rest of my life with. The one I should apologize to was myself. I should have left when Audrey first appeared. I shouldn’t have continued hoping that Patrick and Adam would ever stand by me when they kept favoring her. I looked at the decorative piece in the corner, covered with satin. I suddenly pulled it away. Inside was an ice sculpture of Audrey, painstakingly carved by Patrick himself. I sneered, and despite my trembling hands, I threw the sculpture to the ground. The crisp sound of shattering echoed through the room. The door was hurriedly opened, and Patrick rushed in with a frantic expression. “Charlotte, what the hell are you doing? Do you have any idea what this is? I made this for Audrey!” I forced myself to suppress the trembling and ran upstairs, hastily throwing my documents into my bag. In a daze, I saw myself in the kitchen, experimenting with desserts. Patrick playfully smeared cream on my face, and Adam helplessly wiped it off. “I’ll deal with Patrick for you later. He made our princess look like a messy kitten.” But when I rubbed my eyes, all I saw were them glaring at me with anger. “You’re trying to scare us into thinking you’ll leave, huh? If you have the guts, just never come back!” Indeed, I would never return. I looked at the flight reminder for the next day on my phone. With no tears falling, my heart was already in utter turmoil.
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