After I Left They All Said They Loved Me Chapter 03
The hand holding my needle couldn’t stop trembling.
Vivian clutched her chest in feigned worry:
“I just heard a semi-truck caused a massive freeway pile-up. Thank goodness Mom and Dad were lucky and escaped unharmed.”
“But they’re still at the hospital getting checked out.”
The metallic taste of blood spread in my mouth.
Caleb held my sister gently, but his tone was icy cold:
“You’re not emotionless, you’re just cold-blooded. Those are your parents, and you don’t even ask a single question about them?”
“I forgot, you’ve always been a ruthless schemer trying to complete your system.”
[Host, six days remaining on the countdown.]
Caleb left with a cold scoff.
Leaving me pushing through to the brink of passing out, until I was unexpectedly jolted awake by a bucket of cold water Caleb threw on me:
“Aren’t you even the slightest bit jealous?”
He wanted to say more, but looking at my face, he lost interest once again.
Caleb wouldn’t allow me to rest.
The moment I showed any sign of drooping my head, he would yank my hair.
I didn’t dare to fall asleep. Even later, when he stopped hovering over me, it had already become a habit.
Outside the door, Vivian patted her chest in fear: “Caleb, let me help you up. If that blade had been just an inch closer, it would have sliced your eye.”
Drops of blood from my nose fell one by one onto the fabric.
[Host, four days remaining on the countdown.]
When I finally finished the prototype of the dress.
A pair of scissors came right at it, forcefully ripping apart the results of all my long, hard work.
Vivian sobbed loudly: “I didn’t mean to! I just wanted to remove that bloodstain.”
Vivian crouched in front of me, raising a hand to wipe her own tears, but provocatively extended her fingertip instead.
She smeared her tears onto my lips.
It tasted salty, with a hint of bitterness.
“Wanting to cry but not being able to—doesn’t feel great, does it?”
Smiling, she shook her head and slammed the door shut.
Separated by a single door.
I could hear them celebrating Vivian’s birthday.
Mom’s voice drifted over: “They are twins, maybe we should all have dinner together.”
Dad scoffed coldly.
“Isn’t she an outsider placed here by the system? After torturing us for so many years, we don’t owe her anything anymore.”
“It’s Viv who is our little lucky star.”
Caleb remained quiet but was the first to start singing the Happy Birthday song.
Vivian’s tone was entirely filled with anticipation.
“I wish that from now on, your love will be reserved solely for me.”
“Can you make Evie disappear forever?”
I pressed my ear against the door panel.
Listening to every single word, only I knew the hidden hope inside my heart.
Candlelight flickered through the gap under the door.
I felt like a rat eavesdropping in the dark.
Caleb took a deep breath, tenderly stroking my sister’s hair: “You’ve been wronged in the past. Let me take care of this for you.”
“Evie can’t keep faking it and dragging us down for the rest of our lives.”
I slumped onto the floor.
I should have known this day would come, but it still hurt so much I could hardly breathe.
Yet I couldn’t produce any reaction, merely sitting on the stool with a cold expression.
They celebrated for a very long time.
So long that by the end, Caleb apologetically slid some cold canned soup and stale toast in front of me:
“We didn’t cook. This is what’s left.”
I looked right through him.
Clearly, there was still half a red velvet birthday cake left on the table, but I wouldn’t get a single bite.
Enduring the piercing alarms from the system.
I asked the very question I absolutely shouldn’t have: “Do you guys want to expose my lie by making me suffer?”
“Or did you just get tired of me? Was that it? You needed an excuse to throw me away, and now you’ve got one?”
Backyard fireworks went off outside.
Vivian screamed excitedly, her noise blending into the chaos.
Caleb couldn’t hear my voice clearly.
He furrowed his brows:
“What did you say?”
That last sliver of courage flickered out, and I weakly shook my head.
I picked up the cold food.
Watching him close the door and leave, I was the only one left in the empty, pitch-black room.
I chewed in silence; perhaps I wouldn’t even get to eat a meal like this in the future.
But did I really like living these days?
While they were suffering, wasn’t I also struggling just to stay alive?
I had a habit of keeping a diary.
And I knew that a farewell might be imminent.
But no matter what, I just couldn’t bring myself to write that final page.
I listened to the noisy celebration that didn’t belong to me, but then the door was abruptly pushed open again.
Caleb picked me up in silence.
I thought the affection we once shared was still there.
But he shoved me into the passenger seat, and a sense of dread welled up within me.
Caleb gripped the steering wheel tightly.
The GPS destination was set to Silver Lake Ridge on the outskirts of town, but my phone had been left behind at home.
