A fire broke out in the neighborhood. My father, Riley Hawkins, a firefighter, rushed in and gave the last available breathing mask to my younger brother, Asher Hawkins. Meanwhile, my mother, Elara Hawkins, a doctor, was frantically trying to help, her face streaked with tears. But she didn’t even glance at me, already faint from inhaling smoke, while she was checking on Asher, who seemed perfectly fine. One of the onlookers couldn’t hold back. “How can you be so unfair?” What they didn’t know was that in my past life, when Elara chose to save me first, she didn’t comfort Asher. He held a grudge and claimed that was the reason he fell into depression. He even deliberately skipped his SATs to get back at me. Elara and Riley blamed me for ruining his future. They forced me to pay for it. They lied, claiming I had an affair with a counselor, and pressured me to drop out of college. To pay for Asher’s medical bills, they sold me off to an old man in the countryside to have his child. The abuse was unbearable, and I eventually died in despair. But this time, I didn’t scream or argue. I quietly agreed to every unreasonable demand they made. Then, they came, crying and begging me to come back home, promising they would never favor Asher again. But this time, I didn’t want their love anymore. ***** The fire was raging, and the sound of crying children and elderly people filled the air. It had been two hours since the fire started, and the flames were about to break through the final barriers. Asher was shaking with fear, his eyes wide with terror. I, on the other hand, remained calm. Following the instructions, we gathered in the temporarily safe area, waiting for the firefighters to arrive. A firefighter looked troubled. “Captain, we’re one breathing mask short…” At that moment, only Asher and I still didn’t have a mask. The firefighter glanced at me, then at Asher. “Captain, give the mask to her. She’s covered in soot and might not make it out.” Asher, hearing this, burst into a tantrum. “Why her? It’s her fault the fire started!” When I heard that, I almost laughed. It was he who carelessly tossed a cigarette butt that set the curtains on fire, but now he was trying to pin the blame on me. But I didn’t say a word. I knew from my past life that explanations wouldn’t help. The firefighter captain was my father, Riley. Without saying anything, he grabbed the mask from the firefighter and placed it on Asher’s face. “Don’t be scared. It’s okay,” he said gently. Then he turned to me, his voice dripping with disdain. “You still think you deserve the mask? If you hadn’t thrown your brother’s cigarette butt on the curtains, none of this would’ve happened. Now you’ve put everyone in this building in danger. Are you happy now?” The blame landed squarely on my shoulders. Since even the fire captain had said it, everyone was quick to believe it. Those who had once stood up for me, upset with Riley’s decision to give the mask to Asher, now turned on me. Their expressions shifted in an instant. An elderly woman slapped me across the face. “If anything happens to my grandson, you’ll pay for this!” A middle-aged man in a suit waved his fist at me, his eyes bloodshot with rage. He was held back by other firefighters, but he yelled, “It’s your fault my house is burning down! Do you know how much this is costing me? This is my daughter’s life savings!” Everyone in the area suddenly blamed me for the fire and all its consequences. Asher, hiding behind Riley, snickered at me, an expression of smugness on his face. But then, he quickly changed to a pitiful look and cried, “Dad, Maeve is glaring at me.” Riley’s anger flared up instantly. He kicked me away with force, sending me stumbling. “How dare you! How could I have a daughter like you? I always knew you were jealous of him. And now that we’re sending him abroad, you’re holding a grudge…” In Riley’s eyes, I was a wicked, heartless person. But in reality, I hadn’t said a word. One hand pressed to my face, the other clutching my aching stomach, I felt dizzy and weak. Just a little longer, and it would all be over. Since they didn’t love me, I was ready to return my life to them. The firefighter who had wanted to give me the mask earlier came over and helped me to my feet, his eyes filled with apology. I simply shook my head. “Let my brother have the mask. It’s only right for me to let him.” I knew Riley never loved me. I couldn’t win against that. So, I stopped fighting.
On the way out, the fire wasn’t raging, but the smoke was thick and choking. I was struggling to breathe, my throat itching and a harsh cough escaping from me. The firefighter beside me, who had been shielding me the whole time, couldn’t stand it anymore. He tried to remove his own mask and give it to me. But Riley, who had been focused on the rescue, spun around immediately. He snapped, “You still have a mission to complete. If you put your mask on her now and delay everything else, can you really take responsibility for that?” I wanted to scream at him. Dad, you care more about the mission than my life? My head felt heavy, as if it might explode. The pain was unbearable. The firefighter’s voice cracked as he tried to calm me down, “Sweetheart, hang in there. Your mom’s waiting for you outside.” My mom, Elara, was downstairs, ready to treat us. But I just shook my head. That wasn’t my mom waiting for me. It was Asher’s. Finally, when we were out, the kind-hearted firefighter rushed to pick me up, his face pale with concern. He wanted to get me to Elara first, to treat me. But Riley just frowned. “Check Asher first! He’s younger. If there are any lasting effects, it’ll be worse! He’s about to go abroad!” Elara’s tears fell as she examined Asher again and again, holding his face, kissing him, as if he was something precious she almost lost. But there was nothing wrong with him. He was laughing at my singed eyelashes, my burnt hair, my face covered in soot. Meanwhile, my condition was worsening fast. I was on the verge of blacking out. Every breath felt like a sharp pain slicing through my chest. The firefighter was pacing in a panic, shouting, “Elara, check her first! She’s not going to make it!” But Elara just smiled, a strange look in her eyes. “You little trickster, we’re both women. Stop trying to play these games. You’re just jealous that Asher’s going abroad, trying to ruin him!” The firefighter, his voice cracking, protested, “How can you be this biased?” With the last bit of strength I had, I managed to give him a weak smile. “It’s my fault. Let my mom take care of Asher first.” In my past life, it was because of his insistence that Elara chose to treat me first. That decision led to both of us carrying the blame for ruining Asher’s future, and Riley often made things difficult for him at work. But this time, I would protect him. After that, everything went dark, and I lost consciousness.
Before Asher came into the picture, my parents loved me with all their hearts. Elara would always pick me up from school, and she’d spoil me with beautiful Barbie dolls. Riley, no matter how busy he was, would always find time to make little toys for me, and he never missed a parent-teacher meeting. But then everything changed. When I was six, that summer, Riley’s parents threatened to take their own lives if my parents didn’t give them a son to carry on the family name. Riley was caught in a corner and had to agree. Elara promised me, through her tears, “Sweetie, after your brother is born, nothing will change. We’ll still be the same.” But things did change. To take care of Asher, Elara, who used to be so protective and couldn’t even leave me for half a day, sent me to live with my grandmother, who never really liked me. My grandma, Ava Hawkins, wasn’t kind. She thought I was useless. On freezing cold mornings, she’d make me wash the whole family’s laundry. After that, I’d have to rush back to make breakfast and then hang up the clothes to dry. By the time I finished, there was no food left. My grandparents went off to work, leaving me with nothing for lunch. I’d sit, freezing, in the pigsty, holding my numb hands and thinking about Elara, my face streaked with tears. When hunger became unbearable, I’d sneak a little pig food. Meanwhile, Asher lived with Elara and Riley, spoiled and pampered. During holidays, my parents would bring my round, chubby brother to visit, and I’d feel this intense urge to hold him. Elara would roll her eyes and say, “You’d think you were born in the pigsty too!” That comment hit me like a punch in the gut. Mom, you used to call me your most precious treasure. I clung to Riley’s legs, begging him to take me home. But he just coldly replied, “You need to listen to your grandparents.” I couldn’t understand why, after I had done exactly what they asked, they still treated me so poorly. From that moment, I stopped hoping my parents would take me away. One day, Elara’s parents, Luna and Leo Smith, came to check on me. They found me feverish and delirious, mumbling, “Mom, Dad, I was wrong. Please take me home…” The doctor said if they’d been even a little later, I could’ve been brain-damaged. I had long been malnourished and was suffering from severe stomach issues. Luna and Leo’s hearts broke. After a big argument with Ava, they decided to take me in. Luna was a college professor, and Leo ran his own business. They were well-off. I thought I had finally escaped my misery and was about to start fresh. But Elara wasn’t pleased. She said, “How could you let my parents raise her? “It’s so unfair to Asher! How can she have what he doesn’t?” So, I was brought back. On the way home, I was so excited, thinking my parents had finally come back to me. But everything was different. The house was big, but there was no room for me, only a toy room and a study for Asher. I ended up sleeping in the bathroom. Asher, who didn’t do well in school, could still go abroad, while I was stuck at a university that gave me free tuition and dorm. Luna and Leo, seeing how unfair everything was, decided to send me abroad for graduate school. But Asher didn’t like that. He wanted to show me I wasn’t worthy. So, he set my bed on fire. The flames quickly spread, and it turned into a disaster. He called my parents, blaming me, saying I was jealous of his chance to study abroad and had tried to kill him on purpose. In my past life, I had to use Luna and Leo’s inheritance to force Elara to save me. But in the end, it still ended in tragedy. This time, if I survive, all I want is to erase all the painful memories tied to them. I jolted awake, disoriented, with nothing but a blank space in my mind. Reaching up to touch my head, I had this nagging feeling that I was forgetting something important. Pain shot through my body, each breath feeling like it was pierced by a thousand needles. The nurse rushed over, her face full of concern. “Don’t move! You’ve got second-degree burns on your legs. Since you were admitted, you’ve had countless infections. And your lungs, they’re badly damaged from all the smoke you inhaled. You’re going to need a lot of care.” After checking my injuries and confirming there were no serious complications, the nurse muttered, almost to herself, “I’ve never seen parents like this. Their daughter’s in critical condition, and they don’t care at all. But when a guy twice her size has a scratch, he causes a scene.” For the time being, it was Leo and Luna who had been taking care of me. When Luna heard the nurse’s words, her eyes filled with tears. “Maeve, it’s my fault… I should’ve raised her better.” Leo clenched his fists, his face turning a dark shade of red with rage. “Those two… don’t ever come asking me for a penny again!” In my past life, when Leo and Luna found out I was sold off to that old man, they rushed to save me. But in their desperation, they got into a terrible car accident on the way. I managed a weak smile. “Don’t worry, Grandma. At least I’m still alive.” I had been through worse, countless times before. “Maeve, so the act’s over now?” Suddenly, Riley’s voice thundered as he stormed into the room, followed by a group of angry neighbors and a few reporters, cameras flashing like they were ready to turn my suffering into a public spectacle. It was like they wouldn’t rest until I was dragged through the mud. Leo immediately stepped in front of him, his face pale with fury. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Maeve’s just starting to recover!” Elara sneered, throwing a pile of hospital reports onto my bed. “Really, Dad? Are you still going to protect this arsonist? I’m a doctor. I know when someone’s sick. These reports? They’re legitimate. I pulled them straight from the hospital!” Elara’s voice oozed with disdain as she went on, “You two, educated, decent people, yet look at the mess your precious granddaughter has caused. Families are being torn apart because of her. Are you still going to cover for her?” Riley joined in, pointing at me like I was the villain. “Come on. You can’t be taking sides! This ungrateful brat was jealous that we were sending her brother abroad, so she tried to kill him and take his place. Even his eyelashes got burned!” I glanced at the reports, and while they seemed fine at first glance, I quickly realized they were doctored. My injuries, my lungs and legs, had nothing to do with the organs listed in these tests. They were trying to frame me, desperate to humiliate me, no matter what. Leo was holding his chest, looking like he was about to collapse, and Luna was frantically shoving pills into his mouth. Elara, however, stood there, smiling like she had everything under control, almost enjoying the spectacle, as if she couldn’t wait to tear off my mask and expose me to the world. I could only stare, confused, and blinked. “Who are you? “I’m sorry, but… my grandparents are the only family I have left. “My parents had been gone for a long time.”
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