Chapter 4

What followed was an absolute nightmare.

Dr. Miller rushed in, immediately pumping Chloe’s stomach.

"Her life isn't in immediate danger, but she’s in a deep coma. She needs absolute rest."

My legs shaking violently, I took a step forward, desperate just to see if Chloe was okay.

Before I could get close, Julian turned around and shoved me with all his might!

I stumbled backward, slamming brutally into the wall, a sharp pain radiating through my spine.

His eyes were bloodshot, his usual composed, gentle demeanor shattered into pure fury and hatred. He roared in my face:

"Clara Hayes, how can you be so damn evil?!"

His finger shook as he pointed at me.

"I just checked the security cameras in the kitchen! You dropped that white pill into the pot with your own hands! Why the hell did you try to murder her?!"

"No... Julian, listen..."

I wanted to explain that it was an accident, but my mouth opened and closed, completely unable to form the words.

In Julian’s eyes, my hesitation was a confession.

"Who else could it be?! I saw it with my own eyes! Chloe treated you like gold—do you even have a heart?!"

"If it weren't for her, you'd still be rotting in some backwater foster home living like trash!"

"Why did you want her dead?!"

Julian pressed closer, his eyes wild.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted. He lowered his voice, his tone laced with venom.

"Last night... you were standing behind the curtain, weren't you? You saw us!"

"That was on me! I couldn't control myself! If you have hate in your heart, come after me! Chloe always saw you as her sister, she loved you!"

"You stole our future, and now you want to take her life, too?!"

I had no defense. Panicked, I yanked the pill bottle from my pocket to prove my illness.

"No, Julian! Please, let me explain—"

Before I could hold it out, Mom charged over and smacked the bottle out of my hand, sending pills flying across the floor. She pointed directly at my face, shrieking:

"Explain what?! There’s nothing to explain!"

"Get out! Get the hell out of my house! The Hayes family doesn't have a venomous monster like you for a daughter! If anything happens to Chloe, I swear to God I'll make you pay!"

Dad’s face was dark with disgust as he shoved me toward the door.

"Get out right now! We never want to see your face again!"

I was pushed out into the cold, stumbling down the steps. I looked back at the utter revulsion in Julian’s eyes, the pure hatred on my parents’ faces, and Chloe lying motionless on the bed.

I turned and walked away from the only "home" that had never truly wanted me.

Rain poured from the sky in heavy sheets.

I walked aimlessly down the deserted street, soaked to the bone.

My phone buzzed relentlessly in my pocket. Over and over again.

Numbly, I pulled it out.

It was Ashton.

"So annoying."

"Did he come to laugh at me, too?"

Summoning the last shred of strength in my arms, I hurled the phone into the overgrown bushes by the sidewalk.

Silence. Finally.

I don't know how long I walked. Suddenly, an umbrella appeared over my head, blocking the freezing deluge.

Slowly, I raised my eyes.

Through the blur of rain, I saw Ashton. His hair and leather jacket were drenched.

And to my utter disbelief... he was crying.

"Clara Hayes... if I hadn't dug through the clinic's records myself, were you going to hide this until you died?!"

"You’re sick! Why didn't you tell me? Why aren't you in a hospital getting treatment?! Walking in this storm... do you want to die?!"

I looked at him. I wanted to tell him:

"It's not that I didn't want treatment. It's that it's too late."

The moment I parted my lips—

"Cough!"

A massive wave of thick, warm blood gushed from my mouth.

My vision instantly went black, and my body collapsed like a severed puppet.

"Clara!"

Ashton panicked. Dropping the umbrella, he threw his arms forward, catching me before I hit the asphalt.

"What’s wrong with you?! Don't scare me! Wake up! I'm taking you to the ER right now!"

"Clara, look at me! Don't you dare close your eyes!"

I couldn't form words anymore.

The world spun violently. All I could see was Chloe collapsing on the floor, seizing in pain.

"I really am a curse, aren't I?"

All I could manage was a faint, broken whisper:

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

Blood kept pouring past my lips, staining his hands, his jacket, the pavement.

A wave of regret washed over me.

I should have never come back to this family.

I was never meant to wear designer dresses, speak with polished accents, or pretend to belong in high society.

"Chloe... I'm so sorry."

Ashton didn't even have time to carry me to his car. He could only hold me in the pouring rain as my shallow breaths faded into nothingness, watching the last bit of warmth drain from my skin.

When the faint murmurs stopped, his body froze. He buried his wet cheek against my neck, feeling for a pulse.

Realization shattered him.

His voice broke into a terrified, trembling whisper.

"Clara?"

No answer.

No breath.