Chapter 4 Chapter 4

Later.

When Chloe opened the door, she felt utterly exhausted, wanting nothing more than a bath and some rest. To her shock, she found herself face-to-face with a heavily made-up face on the sofa.

The sight stunned her so much that she nearly dropped her bag.

It was the first time she'd seen her since that day. Just the sight of that face made Chloe recall the image of them entwined together, and instinctively, she wanted to avoid it.

Flora was quicker, grabbing her hand. "Chloe! Stop!"

Chloe stared blankly at the face in front of her.

"Let go!" She didn't want to get entangled with her. She didn't hate her sister; she only hated herself for believing a man's sweet lies.

Chloe felt none of the heartache she expected. Flora, red with anger, shouted, "Chloe, you heartless monster! I slept with your man! I was FUCKED your man! Are you blind or deaf?"

How could she not feel pain? She had slept with her man just to make her suffer-to suffer so much that she couldn't breathe, so much that she would scream to the heavens, so much that she would wish for death. Only then would Flora feel satisfied.

But things didn't go as Flora had expected, and her frustration gnawed at her, like a thousand cats clawing at her heart.

"If you want him, he's yours from now on," Chloe said calmly, her face expressionless as if the matter had nothing to do with her.

This reaction completely crushed Flora.

"Chloe, I hate you! I hate you!" Flora broke down, sobbing. "You heartless monster, you're the one who killed Dad and ruined our family."

How could this cold and unfeeling woman be her sister?

Flora's tears streamed down her face.

Dad had favored her so much when he was alive! But how could she not shed a single tear after causing his death? Flora hated her!

The boys at school worshipped her sister like a goddess. Men who once fawned over Flora would abandon her without a second glance after seeing Chloe. She hated that!

Amos was the man Flora had set her eyes on first, but like all the others, he too, after seeing Chloe, no longer spared Flora a glance. And Chloe, so proud and indifferent, disdained any man who approached her. Yet these men would still grovel, eager to please her! She hated that!

She hated how Chloe had stolen all the attention, the glory, and the man. She hated how Chloe had killed their father, made their mother a widow, and brought their once carefree family to ruin overnight. They had to sell their house and move into a slum, and now Flora was forced to work and endure the scorn of others to survive.

And throughout all of this, her sister remained cold, seemingly unaffected. She carried on with her serene, noble facade.

Flora hated it! She hated how Chloe could feel nothing while Flora suffered so much!

She refused to believe that Chloe had no heart, that she couldn't feel pain! So, she would tear off Chloe's false mask of nobility. She wanted to see Chloe bleed from the pain!

How could Chloe remain so calm after witnessing her man in bed with her sister on Valentine's Day?

"Chloe, you're not human-you're a devil!"

Flora shoved Chloe hard and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Watching the door shake, Chloe's lips curved into a faint smile as she walked into the bathroom and submerged herself in the water.

She wasn't human. She was heartless. She was a devil.

Maybe that was true.

She knew Flora hated her. No! Not just Flora-her mother and brother did too.

Their father had been a professor at a university. On that stormy night, Chloe had been struck by a sudden high fever, feeling so ill that she cried out, "Daddy, I'm in so much pain-I'm dying..." Her words had terrified him, and he had rushed out into the rain to fetch a doctor, only to be struck down by a car.

Since then, their world had collapsed.

Their mother lost the husband who had adored her, and the three siblings lost the father who had loved them most.

In a single night, their family had fallen from the heights of happiness into the depths of despair.

Their mother became withdrawn, her gaze toward Chloe filled with sorrow. Her sister and brother grew to despise her.

How had it come to this? How had she killed the father who loved her most? If only she hadn't been so willful, if only she had endured the pain a little longer, would her father still be alive?