The nurse's words left Mom wide-eyed and stunned in place.

Refusing to recall the scene at the car crash, she frowned and confidently retorted, "That's impossible. He was in the same car as Finn. If Finn was discharged, how could he have been that badly injured?

"Does he think I can't see through his little act? He just wants to compete with his brother for my attention!

"I'm warning you both. Stop this ridiculous charade right now, or you'll regret it!"

Seeing that Mom refused to trust her no matter what, the nurse sighed helplessly and said, "I'm not lying to you, Dr. Whitman. If you don't trust me, go to the morgue and see for yourself."

Mom grew visibly agitated and started pacing the room with heavy, frantic steps. "You bitches! How dare you gang up to lie to me! Do you even know who you're dealing with?"

Before the nurse could respond, Mom angrily jabbed at the screen and hun

At the mention of the chance to study abroad, I froze, and my thoughts drifted back to two years prior.

I was four years older than Finn and in my senior year of university when he was in 12th grade. Knowing I couldn't rely on our parents, I studied relentlessly and was determined to leave the house.

For four years, I never slacked off and graduated at the top of my class. That all paid off when I earned a postgraduate recommended admission to a world-renowned university.

But Finn, who'd never taken academics seriously, failed his exams. He came home whining about wanting to study abroad.

Despite knowing he'd just waste the opportunity, Mom and Dad agreed without hesitation. 

That night, Mom prepared a lavish dinner for me and piled my plate high with my favorite food. "Asher, you know our finances are barely enough to support one child studying abroad. Since Finn just graduated fro

Once they got home, Finn flopped onto the couch and announced he was hungry. 

Hazel rushed into the kitchen and was eager to show off a new recipe. She never cooked, yet now, she desperately scrolled through nutritious meal plans on her phone, like Finn might feel unwell if she were any slower.

Dad handed Finn the latest luxury gaming console as a get-well-soon gift, celebrating his escape from a near-death encounter.

Mom cleaned his entire room and filled it with flowers and herbs. She claimed breathing fresh air could aid his recovery.

Finn just lay there and played video games, but every movement tugged at their hearts.

My soul, which followed them home, floated silently through the house I was once so familiar with. It'd never felt colder.

The doorbell rang, and a figure I knew all too well walked in. She was my girlfriend, Dawn Ainsley.

After entering the door, she started showing concern for Finn. "Mr. and Mrs. Auburn, I heard Finn was discharged today. I brought some supplements for him."

Finn dropped his game controller and gave her a shy smile. "Oh, thank you, Dawn. You didn't have to go through all that trouble. I'm feeling much better."

She beamed at him. The cold and indifferent Dawn I'd always known now softened to a sweet, gentle lady in front of Finn.

Watching her, I felt an indescribable unfamiliarity.

Then, she asked, "Where's Asher?"

If she hadn't brought me up, I doubted any of them would have remembered I existed.

Mom's expression soured when my name was mentioned. "Why bring up that brat? He ran off after I scolded him.

"Honestly, he shall stay gone. It's better for everyone if he drops dead out there somewhere. We can finally have peace and no more of his constant drama!"

Dawn quickly nodded. "That's true. We don't want him disturbing Finn's recovery."

Hazel appeared with a bowl of steaming stew and teased, "So? Have you decided when to break up with Asher? You'd better act fast, or someone might snatch Finn away."

Dawn shyly lowered her head and muttered, "I was thinking of coming today to tell Asher face-to-face."

An unspeakable bitterness welled up in my throat. With a self-deprecating smile, I turned away and couldn't bear another moment of their presence. 

I'd long since gotten used to being unloved anyway.

After dinner, Mom started growing irritable for some reason. She went into her room and began searching through her phone.

When I peeked over her shoulder, I noticed she was looking for my number.

Then, she kept calling me, but all her calls went unanswered. She eventually threw her phone across the room and roared, "How dare he ignore my calls! Does he think anyone would actually care about him?"

I wanted to scream that I was dead. No one was ever going to pick up her calls.

Then, she resorted to calling that nurse again and asked, "What did Asher tell you? Is he still playing his little games?

"Tell him if he knows what's good for him, he'd better come home and apologize to his brother! If he does, I might still allow him back!"

The line went silent for seconds before the reply came with crushing weight. "Dr. Whitman, Asher died a week ago. The car crash ruptured his heart, but all the doctors were summoned to Finn's ward. There was no one left to operate on him…"


The nurse's words left Mom wide-eyed and stunned in place.

Refusing to recall the scene at the car crash, she frowned and confidently retorted, "That's impossible. He was in the same car as Finn. If Finn was discharged, how could he have been that badly injured?

"Does he think I can't see through his little act? He just wants to compete with his brother for my attention!

"I'm warning you both. Stop this ridiculous charade right now, or you'll regret it!"

Seeing that Mom refused to trust her no matter what, the nurse sighed helplessly and said, "I'm not lying to you, Dr. Whitman. If you don't trust me, go to the morgue and see for yourself."

Mom grew visibly agitated and started pacing the room with heavy, frantic steps. "You bitches! How dare you gang up to lie to me! Do you even know who you're dealing with?"

Before the nurse could respond, Mom angrily jabbed at the screen and hung up.

Hearing the commotion, Dad opened the door and said, "Dawn's still here. What were you shouti

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