Part 3The Psych Ward Survival Guide for Good Girls

Dinner, unsurprisingly, consisted entirely of Chloe's favorite dishes.

Suppressing her supposed "fear," Chloe proactively placed a piece of crispy fried pork into my bowl. "Here, Harper, have some."

Pepper coating Szechuan peppercorns, and the peppercorns themselves marinated in mango juice... This piece of pork perfectly hit every single one of my severe food allergies.

Arthur gently rubbed her back. "Chloe, I raised you myself. You aren't inferior to anyone, and you don't need to suck up to anyone!"

Chloe lowered her head to eat, tears welling in her eyes.

I was genuinely confused. They gave her the best of everything. They even cooked her favorite foods every single day. Why did they always act like she was the one being wronged?

Dr. Keller always said: The kid who knows how to put on a show gets the candy.

I sat there obediently, staring at the piece of pork, swallowing hard.

Then, I asked the question that made all of their faces turn black.

"Can... can I eat this?"

Arthur: ...

Liam: ...

Chloe: (Grinding her teeth).

Seeing that no one objected, I obediently picked up my chopsticks and started shoveling food into my mouth.

I was starving. I hadn't eaten normal food in so long. In that moment, I wanted to swallow the entire table whole.

Seeing my completely unrefined, ravenous eating habits, my brothers looked disgusted.

"Harper, did they not feed you in there?" Liam asked.

I shook my head. "They did! But there wasn't any meat in the slop buckets..."

Slam!

Arthur threw his chopsticks down. "Harper, who the hell are you trying to guilt-trip?!"

"That facility is heavily funded by the Sterling family! Even if Dr. Evans had the guts, he would never dare abuse you like that!"

"If you're going to lie, at least make it believable!"

He wouldn't dare?

Arthur, have you ever seen a bed of nails? Have you ever experienced electroshock therapy? Have you ever been forced to fight stray dogs for a scrap of food?

Of course, Arthur hadn't seen any of that. But Chloe, safely tucked under his wing, smiled.

If she hadn't kept her head down, her grin would have reached her ears.

I stood there, trembling and completely lost, not daring to speak, looking at furious Arthur with wide, terrified eyes.

Liam frowned and tried to calm him down. "Arthur, Harper just got back today. Can't we just have one peaceful family dinner?"

Arthur forced his anger down, his disgust for me only growing deeper.

Liam sighed helplessly and handed me a clean pair of chopsticks. "If you're hungry, eat as much as you want."

I smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Liam."

Liam's pupils contracted.

Did his sister know how to smile?

And could she smile this beautifully?

Why hadn't he seen it once in all these years?

So... as long as he treated her a little better, she would smile this sweetly and call him her brother...

For a split second, Liam felt something squeeze his heart.

Arthur's eyes flickered too, but it didn't change his attitude toward me.