Oscar whipped his head around, his gaze turning anxious. "Holly, what's going on?"

Holly's heart skipped a beat. In her rush to deal with the burglar, she had completely forgotten that her luggage was still in the living room.

Her hand hidden in her sleeve clenched slightly, and then she put on a calm smile and said, "Seeing you all travel made me want to get out and clear my head, so I packed my things in advance. I can leave right away after picking a destination."

Frank and Mary scowled instantly. "What are you talking about? Didn't we tell you to stay close to Stella?"

"Exactly! What if you're not around when Stella needs a blood transfusion? Remember why we gave birth to you. Pack away your stuff. You're not going anywhere!"

As Holly seemed fine, Oscar heaved a slight sigh of relief. "If you want to go anywhere next time, we'll come with you. It isn't safe to go anywhere alone, get it?"

Holly laughed inwardly. They would never be at the place she wanted to go.

…

A few days later came Stella and Holly's birthday. They were three years apart but shared the same birthday.

Yet all these years, there was always only one cake and one candle to blow out every time they celebrated their birthday.

Back then, Holly was naive enough to believe her parents when they said there was no need to buy two cakes when their birthday was on the same day. However, with their wealth, they could easily buy two cakes.

It was never about the cake. They simply never cared about her feelings, nor did they want her birthday to steal even a fraction of Stella's spotlight.

As usual, the birthday venue was decorated in Stella's favorite color—pink. There were pink roses, pink balloons, and a pink cake.

Everyone had prepared gifts only for Stella.

Under everyone's attention, Stella stood in the center of the spotlight, receiving all the birthday wishes meant for her.

"Happy birthday, Stella!"

Stella unwrapped her gifts with a bright smile, her eyes sparkling happily.

Meanwhile, Holly stood in a corner, like she didn't belong there at all.

"Huh? Mr. Moss, why did you prepare two boxes as my present?"

Surprised, Stella held up the gift boxes and gave them a little shake in front of Oscar.

Everyone watched curiously, but he took one box and handed it to Holly.

"This is for you."

Stella's expression darkened at once, but after personally opening both gifts, her smile quickly returned.

Oscar had gifted her a priceless necklace designed by a renowned jeweler, while Holly's gift was merely the free item that came with it.

Everyone chuckled softly.

"Oh, a free item. It suits her."

Yes, Holly herself was nothing more than Stella's extra, so Oscar's gift was painfully fitting.

Holly said nothing, but when everyone wasn't looking, she tossed the gift into the trash can quietly.

As the party came to an end, Stella suddenly offered to drive everyone home, as she had just gotten her driving license. Right after saying that, she hurried to the garage excitedly.

Frank, Mary, and Colin naturally indulged her wish. Thus, they waited by the door for her to drive the car up.

Holly stood at the very back, staring at her own feet. She was busy calculating how many more days it would take to finalize the island purchase and when she could finally leave.

She was completely unaware of the car behind her that was coming closer with each passing moment.

Brakes screeched, and she was instantly thrown to the ground.

As her consciousness began to fade, she heard Stella feign panicked cries. Darkness soon consumed her completely.

…

When Holly woke up, she was already at the hospital.

As the adrenaline faded, the pain hit her all at once. She struggled to open her eyes and found herself lying on a hospital bed in the operating room.

Her body felt weightless, as if she were about to drift out of herself and float into the air.

Was she feeling this way because she was about to die?

The pain was unbearable. Holly shut her eyes weakly, allowing darkness to consume her vision slowly.

Outside, the doctor was talking to the Websters.

"Please make a decision soon. The patient is losing a lot of blood and needs a transfusion, or her life is at risk. The hospital's blood supply is low for now. Your other daughter has the same blood type. Why isn't she donating?"

The Websters blurted out immediately, "No! Stella can't donate her blood!"

Holly's consciousness was fading, and the voices around her grew faint.

In the final moment before losing awareness, she heard Oscar's voice, cold and decisive.

"Stella can't donate her blood!"

Even in her wildest dreams, Holly never imagined that after giving so much of her blood to Stella over the years, not a single person would think to use Stella's to save her when her life was on the line.

Moreover, it was all Stella's fault that she got hit!

She had thought she saw everyone clearly by now and that no matter how they hurt her, it would never upset her.

Yet, as she heard their cold words, the pain struck her like a thousand arrows through her heart.

The unbearable pain that struck caused her to lose consciousness completely.

It wasn't until three days later that Holly regained consciousness. This time, she felt more exhausted than ever before.

The first person she saw after opening her eyes was none other than Oscar. It seemed he had stayed beside her bed for a long time, as there was a trace of weariness on his face.

When he saw her waking up, a soft smile lit up his cold face. "Holly, you're awake. Are you in pain anywhere? Do you feel like eating? The doctor said you lost a lot of blood and need to take it easy. Just tell me what you want to eat, okay?"

His concern made it hard to believe that he was the same person who had once coldly stopped Stella from donating her blood to Holly.

If Holly hadn't heard it with her own ears, she would still be oblivious, moved by his attentive care.

After Oscar left, she asked the nurse who was giving her an injection, "Who donated blood to me in the end?"

The nurse let out a sigh. After a long pause, she replied, "Well, your family was weird. We tried for ages to get them to let your sister donate, but they just wouldn't.

"Luckily, our hospital has the blood type on record. We managed to call back a doctor on leave, who also had the same rare blood type, to donate the blood and save your life."

The nurse then gave her a confused look. "Did they adopt you? The man who was taking care of you earlier. He's your brother-in-law, right?"

Holly froze, then let out a self-deprecating laugh. A lone tear silently slid down the corner of her eye.

During her entire stay in the hospital, her parents never came to see her once. Oscar was the only one taking care of her.

Holly knew this was the only way she'd give herself to him completely so that she would willingly continue being Stella's blood bank. Even so, he refused to make the act feel any more real.

At the hospital, Oscar was always distracted. He was either on the phone in the hallway, or he'd be staring at the screen with a faint smile.

She knew the person on the other end was Stella. He only ever wore that kind of smile around Stella.

On the day Holly was discharged, Oscar came as promised to take her home.

They were at the hospital entrance when he took a call. His expression changed instantly.

He was normally so unreadable, but now, his expression clearly showed fury.

His fingers gripped the phone so tightly they turned slightly pale. It was obvious he was struggling to tamp down his emotions.

"Holly, something urgent came up at work. Can you take a cab home by yourself?"

Holly nodded calmly, then told him to focus on his work and reassured him that he didn't need to worry about her.

Relieved, Oscar got into his car and sped away.

Watching his car fade out of sight, Holly smirked.

She knew why Oscar was angry, and she knew exactly what made him so desperately anxious now.

A moment ago, Stella had posted a photo of her and a handsome man on her social media.

The caption read, "A cute guy asked for my contact. Should I give it to him?"

Stella knew too well how to ignite a man's jealousy. In the past, Holly would also get jealous, but now, she remained calm.

There was something she had to do.

She pocketed her phone and hopped into a cab to head to the police station.

When Holly returned home from the police station, there was no one around.

She didn't think much and was about to head upstairs when footsteps sounded at the door.

When the door swung open, Frank and Mary stormed in. Behind them was Colin, holding Stella, who was shaking all over from crying.

Seeing Holly, Frank and Mary immediately flew into a fit of fury. "You crazy brat, what were you thinking? Were you the one who called the cops? Stella merely stepped on the accelerator accidentally. She didn't hit you on purpose.

"Why did you call the cops? Do you want her to get into prison?"

While comforting Stella, Colin didn't forget to lecture Holly, saying, "You only got injured a little, but do you realize how long Stella was lectured? If we hadn't signed the waiver, who knows how much she would have suffered?

"Stella's frail. Could you take responsibility if something were to happen to her?"

Yes, she got hurt a little, just barely skirting death, while Stella got lectured for hours.

Holly laughed bitterly with anger and gazed defiantly at her parents for the first time. "Yeah, it was me who called the cops. So what?"

She was usually so obedient that Frank and Mary couldn't tolerate her being openly defiant today. Without hesitation, they moved to strike.

"How dare you say that? I must teach you a lesson today!"

As soon as the words left their mouths, the bodyguards behind Holly stepped forward and tied her up with ropes.

Holly let them tie her up and was forced to kneel on the ground numbly, like a dead fish.

Frank picked up the whip and lashed it sharply against her. "Ungrateful child!"

Each strike of the whip left a bright red mark across her skin.

Once, twice, thrice…

She had lost count of how many lashes she'd taken, aware only of the sharp whoosh of the whip and Mary egging it on.

"Good, she needs to be taught a lesson. If we'd known, we wouldn't have her at all!"

Holly's body shuddered as she suddenly lifted her head, her eyes filled with blood and tears.

Seeing the utter despair in her eyes, Frank instinctively froze, the whip still in his hand.

Holly bit her lips until they turned pale. Every word she uttered spilled out through blood and tears, drenched in pain and despair.

"You don't want me as a daughter, but does that mean I want you as my parents? You brought me into this world and forced me to be Stella's blood bank. Did you ever stop to ask if I wanted it?

"All my life, I wore the clothes she didn't want and ate the food she refused. We share the same birthday, yet you never gave me a gift.

"Have you ever really seen me as your daughter? Do you know what I like to eat, what my favorite color is, what I'm allergic to, and what I'm scared of? If I could choose, I'd never want to be born. No one in this world loves me."

Everyone present froze. Hearing her voice out each of the past hurts aloud made their chests tighten in an unexpected, suffocating way.

When Oscar arrived at the Webster residence, he immediately saw Holly kneeling on the ground, covered in injuries.

When he heard her utter in despair that no one in this world loved her, his heart sank.

He stepped forward to help her up. "Holly, you have me. I love you…"

Holly flashed a half-smile and shook her head before turning to head inside.

Oscar was about to go after her, but Stella suddenly held her own head and collapsed backward.

"Mr. Moss, my head hurts…"

He faltered, then chose to head back to Stella.