Ryan spoke softly, his tone like that of a doting younger brother.

But when he said the word “you,” his eyes locked with Emily’s, and a subtle, unmistakable intimacy lingered between them.

It was as if they had completely forgotten I was still in the room.

I clenched my palm tightly, holding back the storm of questions inside me.

Suddenly, Ryan pulled a small box from his suitcase and handed it to me.

“Ethan, I picked this out carefully before I returned to America. Have a look—do you like it? If your leg hadn’t been injured, I wouldn’t have gotten the spot to study abroad. I’ve always felt guilty about that.”

A sneer tugged at the corner of my lips.

Is that really all you feel guilty about?

While I lost ten years, you lived in comfort under the Carter family’s roof, enjoying everything that was meant for me.

Even the woman I thought was my salvation—my fiancée—set me up just to hand you the life I was supposed to have.

Now I’ve become the obstacle between the two of you.

Seeing my hesitation, Emily took the box and pushed it into my hands.

“Take it. Ryan told me he missed you the most while he was overseas.”

“Yes, Ethan,” he added with a gentle smile. “I spent a lot of time picking it out. Please open it.”

Under their eager eyes, I slowly opened the box.

Inside was a marathon registration form.

The moment I saw it, a chill spread through my chest. I turned silently and began walking upstairs.

“Ethan, stop right there!”

“Ryan gave you a thoughtful gift, and this is how you act as a brother? Not even a thank you?”

I slowly turned back, my voice biting.

“How exactly should I thank him? To sign me up for a marathon so I can run on crutches? And what kind of brother am I to him, anyway? He’s not even a Carter by blood!”

“You—!”

Emily froze, speechless, a flicker of guilt crossing her face.

“Ryan… did you mix up the gifts? Your brother—”

Before she could finish, Ryan’s eyes filled with tears.

“Ethan, you misunderstood. That wasn’t my intention. I just thought you should go out more, not stay cooped up.”

“I know you’ve never liked me, thought I stole your parents’ love… Maybe I shouldn’t have come back. I’m sorry. I’ll leave.”

He wiped his tears and reached for his suitcase.

Seeing this, Emily’s expression shifted from reluctant to furious.

She grabbed the box from my hand and hurled it at me.

The corner of the box scraped my cheek, sharp pain spreading as I collapsed to the floor, unable to get up for a moment.

Emily stood over me, her voice cutting like ice.

“Still pretending to fall? Even Cathy Earnshaw wasn’t this delicate.”

Ryan rushed over, putting on a concerned face, and tried to help me up.

“Ethan, are you okay? It was just a box, why are you—”

I pushed myself up and shook off his hand.

“Spare me your concern.”

Seeing that I still refused to play along, Emily’s tone turned frigid.

“Fill out the registration form and apologize to Ryan!”

“No,” I said firmly.

“I wasn’t asking. That’s an order!”

“Ethan, do you still want me to marry you?”

I bit my lip and met her eyes.

“If you don’t want to marry me, then don’t!”

Hearing this, Emily shoved me back down, grabbed my hand, and forcibly pressed my fingerprint onto the form.

I struggled with everything I had, but the two of them dragged me straight to the competition venue—

All I could do was shout, helplessly, as the nightmare unfolded before me.

“Emily, I won’t do it!” I shouted, feeling like a clown under everyone’s gaze and ridicule.

I gave up struggling. From daylight to nightfall, I walked—

Even when my heels were blistered and blood soaked through my socks and shoes, I didn’t stop.

Finally, facing the empty finish line, I said just one thing:

“Emily, I’m here.”

The moment those words left my mouth, I collapsed.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in bed back in the bedroom.

Emily and Ryan were already gone.

It wasn’t until the next afternoon that I finally received a message from her:

“I’ve taken Ryan back to the Carter family. They’re throwing a celebration tonight to welcome him home. Don’t be late!”

I had no intention of going.

But after the phone rang endlessly, I gave in and headed out.

The moment I stepped through the door, my parents greeted me with cold faces and disapproval.

“Ryan brought you a gift as soon as he returned yesterday. And you didn’t even return the gesture? Do you have no manners at all?”

The guests nearby joined in, shooting disdainful looks my way.

“Isn’t that the Carter family’s eldest son? He really thinks blood ties are enough to carry him through.”

“If it weren’t for the Parker family marriage, who would care about a cripple like him?”

“He’s been back for ten years and still acts like he came from some lowly background. Thankfully, the Carter family adopted Ryan—at least now, someone can hold things together. Depending on a cripple? What a joke.”

Just as the insults faded, Ryan appeared, dressed in an elegant custom-made suit.

He clutched our parents’ hands lovingly and scolded the crowd in feigned anger:

“Anyone who doesn’t respect our family isn’t welcome here.”

“And without Ethan, I wouldn’t even be part of this family. He’s already been through so much because of his injury—I won’t allow anyone to speak ill of him!”

Then, turning to me with exaggerated concern, he added,

“But Ethan, why are you so late? If the gift I gave you wasn’t enough, I’ll give you everything I’ve earned abroad. Just please, don’t push me away. Let me stay until I repay our parents’ kindness.”

Ryan always did this.

Every time, he made it seem like he was defending me—

But in the end, it only left me more humiliated.

This time was no different.

His words reignited the gossip that had just quieted.

Everyone stared at me with renewed scorn and judgment.

“Ethan, there you are. Come on in, the banquet’s about to start.”

Emily appeared beside me and grabbed my hand tightly.

Her touch looked like comfort—

But her presence only made Ryan’s narrative feel more real.

Inside the grand hall, I sat alone in a corner.

Around Ryan, people gathered, showering him with praise for his “gratitude” and early success overseas.

My parents and Emily wore proud smiles, ones they’d never once shown me—

Not even before my leg was ruined.

I had poured myself into winning that project, only to be told I was vain and lacked the composure expected of a wealthy heir.

Now, another man basked in the spotlight that should have been mine.

It was all absurd.

Just then, a call from Sophia jolted me from the suffocating scene.

I stepped away to a corner to answer.

But before I could speak, I heard Ryan’s mocking voice behind me.

“Ethan, you must be really hurting.”

“You’re the real heir of the Carter family, and yet you still lost to me, the adopted son!”

“I should thank you. If you hadn’t gone missing, I’d never have had the chance to join the Carter family—or meet Emily.”

I turned and looked at him with a blank stare.

Then I smiled coldly and said—

“Since you know you stole my life to get where you are now, this is how you treat your so-called benefactor?”

Hearing that, he dropped the act entirely.

“Benefactor? If you really wanted to be my benefactor, you should’ve never come back. For eighteen years, I was the only young master of the Carter family. You’re the one who took everything that should’ve been mine!”

“But it doesn’t matter anymore. I told you long ago—you’ll never beat me. Watching your parents and your fiancée treat you like you’re invisible... how does it feel to be abandoned by the whole world?”

“Oh, and your leg—did you really think the Carter and Parker families couldn’t afford to fix that? Back then, I just shed a few tears, and Emily replaced all your medicine out of pity. I still laugh when I remember how pathetic you looked after realizing you’d be crippled for life!”

I stared down at my useless left leg, and every insult and injustice over the years surged to the surface.

I couldn’t take it anymore—and slapped Ryan hard across the face.

In an instant, his cheek turned red and swollen.

But instead of retaliating, he smirked.

Before I could react, he collapsed from the force—right into Emily’s arms.

“Ethan, are you insane?”

“Ryan only came to keep you company because he thought you’d be lonely, and you treat him like this?”

Ryan lay weakly in her arms, covering his face and sobbing.

“Emily, I’m sorry. I just saw Ethan struggling and wanted to help. I didn’t expect him to lash out like that.”

“Don’t be mad at Ethan. After all, the Carter family raised me, and he’s still my benefactor. It’s just a slap—let’s just forget it.”

Watching him fake it again made my blood boil.

“Forget it? Why forget it?”

“Emily, how exactly did my leg become disabled? Don’t you owe me an explanation?”

Panic flashed across her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure.

“What is there to explain? Haven’t I done enough these past ten years? So many people told me not to get engaged to you, but I stayed anyway. How long are you going to hold this over my head? Is my life not enough compensation?”

“Ethan, I truly regret letting you save me!”

Saying that, she suddenly snatched a knife from a waiter’s tray and slashed at her wrist—

But he was quickly restrained by the crowd that rushed over.

“You’re heartless! Miss Parker’s been driven this far—what more do you want? You think a tiny favor gives you the right to act like this?”

“With someone like him, if Miss Parker hadn’t been so kind, who would even want him?”

I ignored their scorn and turned to Emily, speaking each word with calm precision:

“Emily, you don’t need to regret it—because I won’t marry you.”

The sneers around me grew louder.

Emily broke away from the crowd, walked up to me, and looked at me with disgust.

“Ethan, fine. As you wish, our engagement is over! But before that, you must apologize to Ryan!”

She reached out to grab me, and I stepped back quickly.

Just as she was about to catch me, a figure stepped between us.

“Sorry, I’m late, husband.”