Chapter 2

After I died, my parents tried to ease their grief over losing a son by managing Ethan's education even more strictly.

But they never expected that Ethan, unable to sneak out to see the rich heiress, would harbor such resentment that he'd hire human traffickers to sell his own parents into the black market.

My elderly parents were beaten bloody, and in a twisted act, people hammered long nails all over their bodies.

Meanwhile, Ethan knelt before the bed where the New York heiress was sleeping with another man, begging her to look at him just once more.

My soul floated above, screaming in grief and rage, but powerless to do anything.

The next second, Ethan's incessant voice rang in my ears again:

"Adrian, I'm going to community college with Mia to study aviation."

"Harvard's too hard. Even if I graduate, isn't it all just to make money anyway?

Mia's the richest man's granddaughter—isn't it better to win her over early? Don't you think so?"

His eyes were full of excited gleam and what he thought was clever calculation.

When Ethan saw I wasn't responding, he immediately got annoyed.

"Adrian, do you just hate seeing me do well?"

"Your own marriage failed. You couldn't keep your rich wife—that's your problem. Why are you stopping me from climbing up the social ladder!"

My heart instantly went cold.

My ex-wife and I were childhood sweethearts who grew up together. When my family faced bankruptcy, we were forced into an arranged marriage.

But only after getting married did I learn my ex-wife had an unforgettable first love.

Only when I caught her cheating did she admit she'd been betraying me from the start.

I'll never forget the way my ex-wife and her first love humiliated me together.

Later, I used all the money I got from my ex-wife to revive the family business, finally succeeding in getting divorced the following year.

All these years, I'd worried that Ethan would be hurt by women like I was, so I gave him twice as much materially.

From childhood, Ethan wore designer brands. Piano lessons and horseback riding lessons costing hundreds of thousands—as long as Ethan said he wanted to learn, I'd sign him up without blinking.

To create a better life for us brothers, I worked like a machine, drinking at business dinners until I got a perforated ulcer and ended up in the hospital.

I never told Ethan much about any of this—I just didn't want him to feel any burden.

But I never imagined that in Ethan's eyes, all my sacrifices would be seen as the result of me being unable to keep a woman.

And my indulgence had made him so pathetic, acting like a dog in front of rich people.

Thinking of this, I looked at Ethan with a slight smile.

"You're an adult now. You can make your own decisions about major life choices. Mia treats you so well—you really shouldn't miss this opportunity!"

Ethan froze for a moment at my words, then hugged me joyfully.

"I knew it—you're the one who treats me best! Once Mia and I inherit the richest man's fortune, I'll definitely take good care of you!"

In my past life, when Ethan told me his New York heiress classmate had invited him to the same school,

I first asked how Mia had done on her exams and what university she was planning to attend.

When I learned Mia's scores could only get her into community college, my expression immediately turned cold, and I refused no matter what.

Ethan also turned against me and stormed out, slamming the door.

After finding out that Mia had bullied a male classmate and nearly drove him to jump off the school building, I couldn't sit still.

I earnestly warned Ethan that Mia had poor grades and violent tendencies—the Greene family would never choose someone like that as their heir.

But Ethan insisted: "Mia's the richest man's only biological granddaughter. The future fortune will definitely be hers!"

When persuasion failed, I had to take a hard line. I called my parents back from abroad and had them monitor Ethan 24/7, forcing him to sign the Harvard application.

But the next day, the news broke that New York heiress Mia Greene was engaged, and her fiancé was the school heartthrob who'd given up college to be with her.

The media portrayed this engagement as a poor boy's successful pursuit of love, a rags-to-riches tale of a pauper prince climbing up the social ladder.

When Ethan saw it, he went crazy and came to my office and smashed everything.

He pounded the desk and shouted at me:

"Mia's fiancé should have been me!"

To calm him down and stop him from obsessing over that woman, I doubled his allowance and spent a fortune taking him on trips all over the country.

Ethan wanted all kinds of luxury goods, and I bought them for him.

But in return, Ethan went crazy and hung me from Mia's helicopter in the suburbs.

"If you hadn't stopped me, I'd be the one who climbed into the Greene family! You ruined everything for me!"

I was suspended in the air, sliced bloody by the rotating tail rotor, and then watched myself fall into a valley, with no remains left to bury.

Only then did I realize that Ethan hated me to the bone, and his greatest wish was to be a kept man.

In this life, I won't try to save Ethan again.

If he wants to be a kept man, I'll let him lock himself together with that abusive woman forever.

There are plenty of boys who want to study. Since this brother won't work out, I'll just get a new brother.