Part 2Ashes of Regret: The Day My Brothers Realized I Was His Real Sister

I don’t know how much time passed before I woke up from the darkness.

I thought I had already returned to my original world. When I opened my eyes, the familiar face of my oldest brother, Caleb Vance, was right there.

"You’re finally awake."

His eyes were bruised with dark circles, looking like he hadn't slept well, but his tone was completely devoid of patience.

"You’re an adult. Why are you so impulsive?"

"Making such a dramatic scene over one little thing... is absolutely beneath a daughter of the Vance family..."

At the thought of still having to deal with this rotten world, I felt only a wave of exhaustion. I didn't have the slightest interest in arguing, so I simply interrupted him, my gaze vacant.

"You’re right. I’m an embarrassment. I don’t deserve to exist."

"So, just let me die."

Caleb Vance’s face instantly twisted. He instinctively lifted his hand to slap me.

But when he saw my ghostly, pale face, completely devoid of any color, that slap ultimately did not fall.

"Elara Vance! I am warning you to stop talking nonsense!"

His voice was trembling. The impatience in his eyes faded slightly, hidden beneath a sliver of panic that even he himself didn’t recognize.

"I spent so much effort pulling you out of thatSnake Pit. It wasn't so you could sit here and say ridiculous things!"

I curled my lips, revealing a completely cold, humorless smile.

Spend effort? More like he’s terrified that if I die, nobody will be left to serve as Chloe Vance's spare organ bank, and nobody will be left for her to play the pitiable, wronged victim with.

Just as I was thinking this, the hospital room door was pushed open, and my youngest brother, Gideon Vance, walked in carrying medication.

Seeing that I was awake, a flash of relief crossed his eyes, but when he spoke, his tone was still extremely aggressive.

"Since you’re awake, drink your medicine. Don't force me to have to pour it down your throat!"

He held the medicine bowl to my face. The liquid was pitch-black, emitting a bitter aroma.

I turned my head away and closed my eyes in refusal: "No need. Waste of medicine."

"You!"

Gideon Vance was so angry his hands were shaking, but he didn't force the medicine down my throat as he normally would. Instead, he placed the medicine bowl on the nightstand and reached out to check my wound.

When his fingertips touched the bandage, his movements were actually unusually gentle.

For the first time, there was a hint of the tenderness and consideration he normally reserved only for Chloe Vance.

"Sure enough, using the best medicine really does speed up the healing process quite a bit..."

He re-wrapped the bandage, giving me a vicious glare.

"You better behave yourself. If this wound opens up again, I absolutely will not stitch it up a second time!"

His words were harsh, but I clearly saw the red veins in his eyes, and the barely detectable tremble in his fingertips.

No doubt, he had stayed up many nights watching over me.

If it were the past, I would have definitely been moved by this sliver of tenderness, would have held him and cried, pouring out my grievances.

But now, I found it only ironic.

I broke free from his hand, violently yanked off the duvet, and was about to tear open the incision again.

Right now, every second I spent alive was excruciating torture. As long as I could die quickly, I didn't care about anything.

"You’re insane!"

Caleb Vance grabbed my arm in a death grip, his force so strong it nearly shattered my bones. But when I groaned in pain, he instantly loosened his grip slightly, only to scream at me, tears in his eyes: "Elara Vance, what exactly do you want to do?"

"I want to die."

My tone was flat, like I was speaking about something completely insignificant.

"Letting me die is best for everyone."

"You won't have to be torn, and Chloe Vance can securely be the princess of the Vance family."

"So, please be so kind as to let me die faster."