Chapter 3

I stayed in the hospital for two days, and neither my mother nor Carter ever showed up.

Whenever my wounds flared with inflammation, I had to clean and disinfect them myself.

I sent messages to both Carter and my mother, asking for my processor back because the national piano competition was approaching.

The moment I hit send, I saw that Carter had blocked and deleted me.

When I tried calling him, the line was perpetually busy.

Hospital beds were in high demand, with patients lining the hallways.

As soon as my stitches were stable enough, I discharged myself. My legs trembled with every step, and I slipped on the stairwell, bruising my tailbone hard against the concrete.

I gasped in pain, clutching the railing just to drag myself upright.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted near the entrance. I saw Carter rushing through the doors, carrying Sienna in his arms. Panic was written all over his face as he screamed into the lobby, "Where's a doctor?! Someone get a doctor, now!"

Seeing his desperate panic, a bitter, hollow laugh escaped my chest.

I had never seen that expression on his face before. Toward me, he only ever showed cold indifference and disgust.

I stared at him through the crowd. For a brief second, our eyes locked.

I quickly looked away and limped out into the cold air.

The moment I stepped outside, a food courier on a bicycle crashed straight into me.

He was gesticulating wildly, his mouth moving aggressively as he yelled.

I couldn't hear a single word.

A suffocating wave of helplessness crashed over me, leaving me utterly defeated.

I handed him all the cash I had to compensate for the spilled food, then headed to an ATM to withdraw money for a new processor.

I slid my card into the slot, but the screen displayed a balance of barely eighty cents.

Stunned, I thought the machine was malfunctioning, so I tried another one. But the pathetic eighty cents mocked me once again.

I checked my banking app's transaction history and saw that my mother had drained every penny of my savings.

She had spent it all on Leo's down payment and wedding photoshoot.

My energy vanished, my vision swimming with exhaustion.

I tried to hail a cab, but the driver refused to start the meter.

His mouth was moving, but I was so frantic that I just urged him to drive.

Then I realized: I didn't have a single cent left to pay him.

He opened the back door, grabbed me by the coat, and shoved me onto the sidewalk.

After that, no rideshare or cab would pick up my ride requests.

I had no choice but to walk. Pedestrians bumped into me on the crowded sidewalks. Surrounded by absolute silence, dread gnawed at my chest.

After walking for nearly five hours, I finally reached home.

Not the penthouse I shared with Carter, but the house I had grown up in for twenty years.

The entrance was decorated with ribbons and flowers, buzzing with laughter.

Looking at the banner by the door, I realized today was Leo's wedding day.

Before I could walk inside, Leo yanked me into a secluded alleyway.

He shouted a few words, then remembered I wasn't wearing my device.

He switched to rapid, irritated sign language.

"Today is my wedding! What the hell are you doing here? Don't you know you're bad luck?"

"Megan hates you. Get lost before you ruin everything!"

Looking at the young man standing before me, I felt like I was staring at a total stranger.

When we were children, my mother favored him, but Leo and I had always been close.

I always gave him the best of everything, and he even learned sign language just for me.

Everything changed the moment he started dating.

He demanded endless money from me. Even spiking Carter's drink back then was his idea.

And now, he treated me like a disease, locking me out of my own family home.

He shoved me into a cramped, windowless storage room in the back and locked the door from the outside.

I had suffered from severe claustrophobia my entire life. Terrified, my instinct drove me to call Carter.

He answered. But knowing I couldn't hear him, he hung up and sent a cold text:

"Stop calling. It upsets Sienna."

A silent shatter echoed in my chest.

Every last shred of hope I had held onto crumbled into dust.

I realized then that in this world, there was no one left who truly loved me.