My cousin's entire skin was dark, rough, and she was tried all kinds of whitening products to no avail.

Her best friend told her that soaking in a mixture of pearl powder and milk every day for seven days would rejuvenate her skin, making it white and smooth, as if reborn.

Pearl powder is expensive, and her family came to my house to borrow money, threatening and causing a scene.

My parents, thinking it better to avoid trouble by spending money, lent them 30,000 dollars.

But I never expected my cousin would soak in the milk for 24 hours straight!

"People can't stay in water for that long, it's too much for the body to bear."

I tried to reason with her, but her parents threw me out of the house.

"Get out! I think you're just jealous that my daughter will become a beauty! You're not welcome here!"

Three days later, my cousin died from an explosive rupture in the milk bath.

Her parents blamed her tragic death on my family.

"If you hadn't lent us the money, we wouldn't have let her soak in the milk bath! If you had insisted on stopping her, my daughter wouldn't have died!"

Furious, her parents stabbed my entire family to death.

When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day when they came to our house to borrow money.

***

"Big brother, if you don't lend us money today, we're not leaving!"

Nora's sharp voice pierced my ears, pulling me back to reality.

I followed the sound and frowned at the sight of the three of them aggressively standing across from me.

The memory of the day we were stabbed to death flashed in my mind. They had the same expressions then as they do now.

"Nora, it's not that my brother doesn't want to help, but this whole idea of mixing pearl powder with milk and soaking in it for seven days to get white skin is just nonsense, a scam!"

"Over the years, you've nearly gone bankrupt trying to whiten Emma's skin. Is it really worth it?"

"Take my advice, stop this now before..."

My dad tried to persuade them, but their faces only darkened.

Maybe my dad's words hit too hard, or maybe Emma was too sensitive, but suddenly her tears started falling.

"Uncle, how could you say it's not worth it for my parents to care about me?"

"What can I do about having bad skin? Is it wrong that I want to be white and pretty?"

"As my family, if you don't want to help me, fine, but why stab me in the heart?"

The more she spoke, the harder she cried, finally throwing herself into Nora's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

Crying loudly, just like at a funeral.

I clenched my fists, ready to speak, but Jason, her father, with bloodshot eyes, stood up and grabbed my dad by the collar. He picked up the ashtray from the coffee table and swung it toward my dad.

"Jason, we've been asking politely for so long, and you refuse to lend us money. Fine. But why bully my daughter?"

"You dare make her cry, I swear I'll kill you!"

This scene was exactly the same as in my past life.

Jason had a violent temper, but he wasn't actually going to hit anyone.

He just picked up the ashtray to scare my parents.

In my previous life, my parents were so frightened by his behavior that they gave them the money, thinking it was better to avoid conflict.

This time, I wouldn't let my family repeat the same mistake!

Sure enough, my dad was scared by Jason's crazy behavior.

He held onto his collar with one hand, trying to stop Jason's hand with the ashtray with the other, his voice anxious. "Brother-in-law, don't do this, that's not what I meant. Let's just talk..."

"Talk? The one who bullies my daughter must pay!"

Jason pushed the ashtray even closer to my dad's head.

My mom rushed to intervene but was pushed aside by Jason. I quickly caught her.

Jason was taller and stronger than my dad, who was just a schoolteacher. He worked in transport, so his strength was naturally much greater.

Unable to fight back and with my mom and me at risk, my dad finally gave in. "We'll lend you the money! We can lend it!"

Jason's movements paused, but the vicious look in his eyes didn't lessen.

"How much?"

My dad choked up, glancing toward my mom.

"Brynlee, how much money do we have left?"

My mom, already in tears, blurted out without thinking, "Thir..."

Seeing that she was about to say 30,000, I quickly interrupted her, "Mom, we don't have any money left."

"Last night, I went to an underground casino hoping to try my luck, and I lost our last 30,000."

Afraid they wouldn't believe me, I pinched my thigh hard, bringing tears to my eyes from the pain.

"Not only that, but I owe them another 30,000. They're demanding I repay it within a week..."

With a shaky voice and tears at the corners of my eyes, I looked as believable as I could. Even my parents were fooled.

"Lost, lost it all?"

"And owe another 30,000?"

"Oh my God, no wonder you didn't come home last night! They didn't do anything to you, did they?"

My mom, forgetting about my dad being threatened, rushed to check me over, full of worry.

I felt a bit guilty but kept up my apologetic and helpless expression.

"Mom, I'm fine, but if I don't pay back the money within a week, I'm afraid..."

I recalled the overwhelming pain of watching my parents get stabbed in my past life, letting that emotion fuel my tears. I cried even harder than Emma had just moments ago.

My mom hugged me, crying uncontrollably, and my dad also forgot to resist.

The three of them were stunned by the scene.

Jason loosened his grip on my dad's hand a bit, glaring at me with hatred. "You, a girl, going to that kind of place to gamble? Why didn't you just gamble yourself away?" he snarled.

Nora, full of resentment, glared at me as well. "Instead of learning anything good, you only pick up the worst habits. Your parents are cursed for having you!"

"Big brother, when she was born, I told you to get rid of her and have another child. You didn't believe me. Now do you regret it?" she added.

Emma had stopped crying by now, and there was even a hint of schadenfreude in her eyes. "Gambling is one of those things where once you start, you can't stop. Cousin, you look like a good girl, but I guess you're not so innocent after all."

Her barefaced expression seemed to say, "You're in trouble now."

I laughed coldly inside, suppressing my emotions and sniffled as I explained, "It's not like that. I went for a health check-up last week and was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis."

"But we don't have enough money for treatment, so I thought I'd try my luck gambling."

The three of them were shocked when they heard this, and even my parents looked at me in disbelief.

"Pancreatitis? Something that serious, and you didn't tell us?"

My parents, who were unaware of the truth, were genuinely heartbroken, and the whole living room echoed with the sounds of our family's wailing.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the three of them standing awkwardly, looking embarrassed. They wanted to leave but were hesitant.

Ha, still not giving up, huh? I guess it was time to turn up the heat.

I gently pushed my mom away and, with sincerity and helplessness, looked at Nora and her family, full of hope.

"Aunt, you were planning to buy pearls for Emma's whitening treatment, so you must have saved up some money, right?"

"I'm your only niece, the last descendant of the Gates family. You wouldn't just let me die and let the family line end, would you?"

Nora stared at me blankly, her lips moving but eventually avoiding my gaze, not daring to meet my hopeful eyes.

"I don't have any money."

Jason quickly chimed in, full of wariness.

"We're already drowning in debt ourselves. Don't you dare come after us."

As he spoke, he even pulled Nora a step back, as if I were some kind of dangerous monster.

I wiped my tears, pretending to be heartbroken, and choked out, "Aunt, are you really going to let me die?"

"Emma can whiten her skin anytime, but I can't wait for treatment."

"If you're unwilling to lend more money, at least return the 20,000 dollars my dad lent you before."

This heavy blow made their faces turn extremely ugly.

They had come to ask for money, but now they found themselves being asked to pay it back instead.

However, I had underestimated their shamelessness, and Emma's obsession with whitening.

"Isabella! What kind of dream are you living in? Why should my whitening plan be put aside for your treatment?"

"If you don't have money, don't treat it! Who knows if your illness can even be cured? What if the money's wasted and you don't get better? Wouldn't that be a waste?"

"It's better to give the money to me for whitening. Once I'm beautiful and marry a rich man, I can take care of your parents in their old age."

Her absurd words left my parents utterly speechless.

Nora and Jason exchanged a glance, and I saw a gleam in their eyes as they both nodded in agreement.

"Emma's right. Treating illness costs so much, and you're going to die anyway, sooner or later. The treatment would just make you suffer. Why not save the money for Emma's whitening?"

"Isabella, let your cousin achieve her dreams. It's for your parents' sake, after all…"

Nora kept talking, completely oblivious to the fact that my dad's face had darkened considerably.

Finally, unable to take it any longer, my dad slapped her hard.

"Shut up! Nora, I've treated you like my own sister, tolerated you time and time again, and helped you over and over. But now you say this?"

"Isabella is your own niece. Is your heart made of stone? Is it so hard?"

Perhaps my dad had hit her harder than expected, but Nora staggered, falling to the floor.

She looked at my dad in disbelief, her eyes instantly turning red as she burst into tears.

"Big brother, you hit me?"

"You never even hit me when we were kids, but now, you're hitting me for this little bitch?"

"Did you forget what mom and dad said before they passed away? They told you to take care of me and protect me, didn't they? And you've forgotten all of that?"

At the mention of my grandparents, my dad clenched his fists even tighter.

My mom stepped forward, holding his hand, glaring coldly at Nora.

"Jason has spoiled you for decades, but ask yourself, have you really deserved his protection?"

Nora wasn't listening to any of this. She turned her head toward Jason, screaming hysterically.

"Are you just going to stand there watching? I've been slapped to the ground, and you're just standing there?"

Jason, stunned, finally snapped out of it and helped Nora up.

But at this moment, my dad's eyes were bloodshot, his arms bulging with veins. He looked anything but easy to mess with.

Jason hesitated, not daring to come forward, even hiding behind Nora.

"Nora is your real sister, Jason. We're family. How could you hit her?"