Chapter 5

As soon as the words left my mouth, the living room fell into dead silence.

Lily suddenly looked up at me, biting her lip tightly.

Dad's smile froze, momentarily speechless.

The gentle, sincere expression on Mrs. Jenkins's face completely vanished. She stared hard at me, saying nothing.

In that eerie and awkward atmosphere, I smiled.

My laughter was jarringly out of place.

Everyone knew the answer to that question.

All the family's assets and savings were implicitly reserved for Lily.

They wanted me to sell the house Grandma left me to save the family business that would eventually belong to Lily.

That night, I used it as an excuse to pack my bags and move out.

Before I left, Dad's figure seemed to slump significantly. He asked me,

"Chloe, you never truly forgave me, did you?"

I paused for a moment.

No, I never did.

All these years, I'd acted indifferent, trying to fit in with this family.

But all of that was just a means for me to survive.

That night, I returned to Grandma's old house.

I tidied up a bit and then crashed, falling into a deep sleep.

Perhaps because I had been so stressed these past few days, I slept like a log until 2 PM the next day.

Just after I finished eating, the doorbell rang.

It was Ethan.

He actually came to make up.

"Chloe, can we stop this cold war? You haven't spoken to me in days; I can't take it."

"Okay, okay, I admit it was my fault. I neglected you."

"How about this: after our test results come out, we'll go on a trip. I'll go anywhere you want, just you and me."

I looked at him with some surprise.

Ethan met my gaze, his ears slightly red,

"I used to think you clung to me too much, making me feel suffocated. But these past few years, with you ignoring me, I feel even worse."

I couldn't help but frown.

Ethan, lost in his own emotions, smiled and reached out to ruffle my hair,

"We promised each other we'd be together forever."

I took a step back, spreading my hands. "My dad once said that to my mom too, but he cheated on her while she was pregnant."

My words were too blunt, making Ethan flinch.

He instinctively retorted,

"But Lily is innocent; she can't help how she was born."

I stared at him for a long time.

How could I have ever liked someone like this?

I then turned and closed the door.

I wouldn't stop for unworthy people anymore.

In the following days, Dad and Mrs. Jenkins still didn't give up.

Annoyed, I directly asked in the family SnapChat group—"You need money to plug the hole, so why don't you sell all the gold jewelry at home? Why don't you sell the cars and house? You're just waiting to take advantage of me, aren't you!"

My words were too blunt and harsh.

It caused a stir in the extended family chat.

Dad, being thin-skinned, left the group that day.

Mrs. Jenkins then played the victim in the group, claiming how good she had been to me, but I had never truly accepted her.

Of course, doing so only made the relatives scold her even more.

As for Lily, the beneficiary, she remained silent.

Ethan wasn't someone who would pester endlessly.

After being treated that way last time, he also felt angry.

For a long time, he didn't appear before me again.

I was happy with the peace.

About half a month later, acceptance letters for college started arriving for my classmates.

The class SnapChat group was lively every day.

Everyone was excitedly looking forward to college life.

I also received my acceptance letter—it was from Harvard University.

I looked at the letter, my fingertips tracing the school name over and over, my eyes moist.

Ethan, who hadn't spoken to me in a long time, called me proactively,

"Are you still mad? You should have gotten your Texas College acceptance letter by now. We'll be going to college together, you know."

I raised an eyebrow and said, "Who told you I was going to Texas College with you?"