The next morning, I personally took the muffins I had baked and placed them in front of Rebecca.

"Wow, my favorite muffins!" Rebecca exclaimed with delight.

She picked one up, took a bite, and nodded with satisfaction. "Tessa's cooking is still the best."

I said nothing. I quietly pulled out a chair and sat in the farthest corner, watching my family enjoy the meal happily together. The sight had me feeling like an unnecessary decoration in the setting.

Rebecca set down her knife and fork and bragged lightly, "Speaking of which, that antique gun I gave to Don Conway yesterday was not easy to repair. I consulted the most famous gunsmiths in Elandor, and they all said the internal damage was almost irreversible."

She continued in a deliberately nonchalant tone, "But I stayed up several nights, polishing the parts myself, and in the end, I actually succeeded.

"The expert looked at the finished product with a magnifying glass for a long time and marveled, saying it was craftsmanship that restored something decaying!"

Mother immediately praised, "You've always been excellent since you were a child, unlike Tessa, who's clumsy."

Even Father—who was usually busy with family affairs and rarely sat at the dining table—had a gentle expression on his usually calm and confident face.

He listened to Rebecca's story with great interest and agreed with satisfaction. "As expected of my daughter!"

Yves' gaze stayed fixed on Rebecca, filled with a focus and admiration I had never received before.

I bit my lips tightly, already tasting the blood that formed on them.

That antique gun was the one I had disassembled and polished piece by piece, yet now it had become Rebecca's achievement to show off.

Amid the chorus of praise, Rebecca suddenly turned her head toward me, her expression looking slightly apologetic.

"Tessa, you don't look too pleased. You're not angry at me, are you? It's all my fault that your engagement party turned into a celebration for me. I didn't want it, but Dad and Clyde insisted on changing it. There was nothing I could do," she said.

Her words sounded like an apology, but every sentence seemed to stab deeper into my heart.

As soon as Rebecca finished, Mother's expression darkened. She slammed her utensils down and scolded me sharply, yelling, "Tessa! As her elder sister, can't you be more considerate?

"Do you think it's reasonable to look so displeased with Rebecca over something so minor? If you keep being this petty, don't bother calling me your mother anymore!"

Everyone turned to look at me—waiting for me to either lose control and scream like before, or cry pitifully to defend myself as usual.

However, this time, I remained unusually calm. Even though the pain I felt inside made it hard to breathe, I no longer wanted to defend myself to them.

After all, I was going to die soon. At this point, even arguing had become a luxury.

Since I was already such an unbearable person in their eyes, why should I waste the final moments of my life on such futile struggles?

When she saw me remain unresponsive, Mother grew even angrier. She was just about to scold me again when an accident happened.

"Ah!" Rebecca, who sat at the head of the table, suddenly let out a painful groan.

She was clutching her throat, and her face was flushed red from the lack of oxygen. Red rashes spread across her skin as her breathing turned rapid.

In the next second, under everyone's terrified gaze, she slid straight from her chair and collapsed onto the floor.

The living room was in a disarray.

Yves held the unconscious Rebecca and anxiously called out her name.

Father immediately instructed the driver. "Get the car ready! We're going to the hospital!"

Soon, large patches of red rashes appeared on Rebecca's neck and arms. It looked like an extremely severe allergic reaction.

Mother suddenly screamed. She rushed up to me, her eyes bloodshot as she glared at me. "It must be your doing! Tessa, can't you even be more tolerant of Rebecca?"

A loud smack rang across the room as a slap landed on my face, making it burn with pain.

I turned my head from the hit and instinctively raised my hand to cover my face as blood trickled from the corner of my mouth.

"I didn't…"

"You still dare to deny it?" Mother trembled with anger, and she raised her hand as if to strike again.

"Enough!" Father shouted, stopping her. However, his gaze toward me was just as cold.

He added, "Tessa, I never imagined you could be so cruel-hearted!"

Yves walked past me, holding Rebecca. He stopped to look down at me with eyes full of disgust and disappointment. "Tessa, you truly make me sick."

They were all convinced I had harmed Rebecca and didn't even give me a chance to defend myself.

They hurriedly took Rebecca to the hospital, leaving only me and a messy table behind in the large villa.

The burning pain on my cheek gradually dulled as I sat quietly, and my memories uncontrollably transported me back to long ago.

…

Ever since Rebecca was adopted into the family, I had become the neglected child at home.

Rebecca could easily receive my parents' affection, while I would be severely punished for even the smallest mistake.

When I was seven, I was sent to live in the school dormitories for breaking Mother's favorite vase.

The winters there were harsh. Under the bullying of Rebecca's clique, they took my blanket, leaving me shivering in the cold nights.

They would throw my textbooks into the water and put bugs in my lunchbox, with the teachers turning a blind eye the entire time.

This was because everyone knew Rebecca's parents were influential, so no one dared to mess with her. In fact, no one knew I was the true biological daughter of this family.

I had also called my parents, crying and telling them how Rebecca bullied me at school.

At first, they would offer me some comforting words. But later, Rebecca twisted the truth in front of them, claiming I was ostracized because I had stolen from my classmates.

From then on, my parents' calls turned into impatient scoldings, saying I was unrepentant and brought shame to the family.

They were always absent throughout my upbringing, never attending parent meetings or graduation ceremonies, and even forgetting my coming-of-age birthday.

It felt like my life existed only to highlight Rebecca's happiness.

…

The phone rang abruptly, pulling me out of my thoughts. It was Yves calling.

As soon as I answered, his cold, angry voice came through the receiver. "Tessa, I've really misjudged you. I didn't expect you to be this cruel. Let's call off the engagement."

I stayed silent for a moment before calmly replying, "Fine."

The person on the other end seemed stunned—Yves probably hadn't expected me to agree so quickly. It seemed like he wanted to say more, but I didn't give him a chance and hung up immediately.

After hanging up, I took a taxi to the hospital.

I wanted to straighten out the broken engagement in person and also tell them that the gun I had prepared for Don Jason Conway was meant as a gift.

Just as I reached the door of Rebecca's hospital room, I overheard my parents' conversation inside.

"Luckily, the doctor said it's just acute allergies, or I wouldn't have spared that bitch Tessa!" Mother spat out in a venomous tone.

"That's enough!" Father sounded tired. "Have you forgotten who Yves is? He's the gang's consigliere. We had Tessa get engaged to him just to keep him close and benefit from him.

"Yves and Rebecca have been childhood sweethearts and are a match made in heaven. If Rebecca hadn't insisted on studying abroad back then, how would this engagement have gone to Tessa? Now that Rebecca's back, everything should return to its rightful place."

So that was what it was. From that start, my marriage and affection were political schemes to serve the family's interests.

I was merely a tool to keep Yves in place and a placeholder for Rebecca after her return from studying abroad.

A sharp pain shot through my heart, feeling a thousand times more unbearable than any physical pain in my body. The tightly wound string finally snapped completely at that moment.

I could no longer hold on. While leaning against the wall, I slowly slid to the floor. All strength drained from my body in an instant, and I felt my soul plunge into an endless abyss.

Before my consciousness fully sank into darkness, I seemed to see my brief and laughable life flash before my eyes.

That was fine too. It could just end like this.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to tell them that the antique gun wasn't fully repaired yet.

…

In Rebecca's hospital room, the whole family was gathered around, fussing over her.

At that moment, Father's phone rang. He answered impatiently with a displeased tone, thinking it was a family matter.

"What is it?"

A stranger's voice came from the other end. "Am I speaking to Ms. Tessa Shaw's family? This is Central City Hospital."

Father frowned. "Yes, it is. What happened to her this time?"

"Ms. Shaw suffered a heart attack due to extreme emotional fluctuations, and resuscitation was unsuccessful.

"Her death has been confirmed. Please come promptly to complete the necessary procedures and collect the body."