Chapter 2

Lina shrieked in horror.

Sean held her close, opening his mouth to curse me out.

I didn't waste another second. I slammed the red panic button on the wall.

An alarm shrilled down the hallway.

In less than thirty seconds, security guards burst through the door.

"Nora, what happened?"

"These two are trespassing and harassing staff in the prep room." I pointed to the exit. "Get them out of here."

Realizing I was dead serious, Sean struggled furiously against the guards.

"Nora! You dare lay a finger on me?!"

"I'll call every uncle and aunt in the family! I'll let everyone see what kind of cold-blooded monster you really are!"

The guards twisted his arms behind his back without hesitation and forced him to his knees.

Lina froze, too terrified to move.

I looked down at them coldly.

"Go ahead. Call them."

"I don't give a damn about you anymore. Why would I care about them?"

The guards dragged them both out into the hallway. Within seconds, my phone started buzzing uncontrollably in my pocket.

The family WhatsApp group was blowing up:

*“Nora, your brother’s wedding is the biggest event of his life! What kind of stunt are you pulling?”*

*“You’re the eldest child! Mom and Dad are gone, so it’s your duty to take care of him!”*

*“Transfer that house money right now! Don’t humiliate our family in front of Lina’s parents.”*

*“You’re an unmarried woman. What do you need all that cash for anyway?”*

Since they loved guilt-tripping me so much, I decided to return the favor.

I dropped a full, certified bank statement straight into the group chat.

Every single transaction over the past seven years was listed in black and white.

Tuition, rent, living allowances, buying his car, and even the thousands of dollars I paid to settle things when he got a girl pregnant and paid for her abortion.

*“To all my relatives: You were at the party last night. You heard every word he said.”*

*“I stepped up when our parents died. Ask yourselves, did Sean have any right to speak to me like that?”*

*“My duty to him is officially over.”*

The group chat went dead silent.

Moments later, Sean’s name flashed across my screen.

"Nora, please forgive me just this once, okay? I was seriously wasted last night."

He thought I was the same pushover as before. He thought a half-assed apology would melt my heart.

The cruelty at the engagement party had shattered my illusions once and for all.

I wasn't going to lie to myself anymore.

I hung up on Sean, and before I could even set the phone down, Chloe called.

"Nora, you’re a grown woman! Why are you throwing a tantrum at Sean?"

Before I could even reply, she barked orders through the speaker:

"Cut the drama and wire me fifteen thousand dollars right now."

"I'm looking at a limited-edition Chanel bag, and if you don't send the money right this second, someone else will buy it."

Back when I worked around the clock, Sean was the one who spent time with Chloe.

It made sense that she was closer to him.

Yet hearing her boss me around like a personal servant chilled me to the bone.

"No."

I had always spoiled Chloe.

Not just because I believed a girl should be well-provided for, but because pampering her felt like healing my own deprived childhood.

My blunt refusal caught her off guard.

Then her voice turned shrill:

"Stop playing broke with me!"

"Sean told me everything! You sold that mortgage-free house for half a million dollars!"

"You won't even give me fifteen grand? Do you want all my friends over here to laugh at me?!"

When our parents died, I was buried in debt and funeral arrangements.

I hadn't noticed she was being bullied at school.

By the time I found out, the emotional damage was done.

Out of guilt, I scrimped and saved to send her overseas to study.

Chloe, however, convinced herself that being poor was the only reason she was ever bullied.

So in Europe, she posed as an ultra-rich heiress.

Her Instagram stories were filled with designer bags, vintage champagne, and yachts.

She flaunted her fake luxury on my blood and sweat.

Guilt had kept me quiet all these years.

Now, she had fully transformed into a remorseless parasite.

"I am not your personal ATM," I said calmly. "And I just froze all your secondary credit cards."

Her breath hitched.

"You have one semester left. I’ll cover your tuition until you graduate, and that is it. Don't ask me for another penny."