Chapter 3

That day, I got into a massive fistfight with Julian. For the first time in my life, I wanted to kill someone.

But Sera threw herself in front of him, crying, begging me to leave him alone.

Rage consumed me. I yelled at her, "Do you have any idea what kind of guy Julian is?"

"The Sterlings and the Grays have been sworn enemies for decades!"

She stared back at me stubbornly. "This is my personal life, Ethan. Stay out of it."

I glared at her. "Don’t forget, you're practically my sister!"

Hearing that, Sera became even more emotional. "I am not your sister! I don’t ever want to be your sister!"

My anger flared to the absolute limit.

I didn't understand what was so good about Julian that she was so blind.

Pushing her against the wall in a fit of pure, toxic jealousy, I growled:

"Sera! You love Julian that much? Well, I’m not going to let you have him!"

"You don't want us to be family? Fine. From today on, you are going to be my girlfriend!"

"If you refuse, I’ll have my parents cut off your funding, and you can take your sick grandmother and drag yourselves back to the streets!"

Her eyes welled with tears. After a long, agonizing silence, she finally nodded.

I didn’t know what those words truly did to her.

I only knew that from that day on, she never smiled again.

Looking at her red, teary eyes, I felt a deep, gnawing guilt.

So, I tried even harder to please her.

She had a weak stomach, so I personally learned how to cook delicate meals, cutting my fingers dozens of times in the process.

She hated the smell of smoke, so I forced my father to completely quit smoking.

I thought that as time passed, we would eventually find real happiness together.

But shortly after, tragedy struck.

My parents were framed and died.

Our company was liquidated.

I was kidnapped, beaten within an inch of my life, and ended up with a metal fragment embedded in my skull.

The doctors told me I wouldn’t survive past five years unless I underwent an extremely expensive and risky surgery.

Then came the news that Sera’s grandmother was on her deathbed.

I gritted my teeth and used the very last of my hidden savings to pay for her grandmother’s emergency surgery.

To avoid dragging Sera down with me, I decided to see her one last time before leaving forever.

But when I found her, she was holding Julian’s hand.

I touched the scar on my head, let out a bitter laugh, and stumbled away into the rain, tears streaming down my face.