Alyssa’s POV

Dad didn’t say another word and stormed back into the bedroom.

I didn’t sleep at all that night. So when I opened my door the next morning, dark circles under my eyes, I froze on the spot.

Casper walked in carrying an armful of expensive skincare products and right beside him was Merida.

He didn’t look surprised to see me, not even in the slightest.

My stepmother hurried over eagerly to take the bags from him.

“Oh my, you didn’t have to bring anything! Just having you here is enough!”

Dad rushed over, practically shaking with excitement as he grabbed Casper’s hand.

“You must be the Pennington CEO, right? I’ve only ever seen your interviews on TV. I never imagined my Merida’s boyfriend would be you!”

My stepmother shot him a look of pure annoyance.

“What are you talking about? This is Merida’s fiancé. He’s here today to discuss the wedding.”

The moment our eyes met, the whole room felt like it turned to stone.

Back when we first started dating, I’d told Casper everything about my family.

He looked at me like I was his whole world and promised he’d stand up for me one day.

But now, he walked through the door… as my sister’s fiancé.

I’d imagined a thousand possibilities yet somehow never this.

Never that the person he loved… was Merida.

The woman I hate more than anyone in this world.

Life really knows how to be cruel.

That morning, the entire breakfast tasted like cardboard.

Dad fawned over Casper while throwing shade at me between every compliment.

“Merida’s so mature. Even the man she chose is outstanding—not like her sister here. She dated some useless guy and took off for three years. Who knows what kind of trash he was?

“When it comes to picking men, Alyssa, maybe learn from your sister!”

I couldn’t stand listening anymore. I got up and went back to my room.

While I was packing my bags to leave, Merida walked in.

“I just got home, and you’re already running off? Alyssa… you’re not avoiding me, are you?”

I shot back without a hint of politeness.

“Why would I avoid you? You’re just the illegitimate daughter of a homewrecker.

“This house is disgusting. If I stay any longer, I’m afraid it’ll ruin my eyesight.”

Her face twisted with rage, and she grabbed my wrist hard.

“Say that again!”

I yanked my arm free.

“I can say it a hundred times—you’re still a bastard who can’t show her face in the light.

“Your mother stole my dad, and now, you’re following in her footsteps. Like mother, like daughter. Trash creates more trash!”

The moment I turned around, she suddenly slammed herself against the cabinet.

A loud bang echoed through the room.

Casper rushed in immediately.

“What happened?”

My stepmother ran in right after him. One glance and she understood everything perfectly. Tears streamed down her face on command.

“Alyssa, if you’re angry, take it out on me! Why do you always hurt Merida? She’s innocent!”

Dad burst in next, and without even asking, he slapped me across the face.

“Alyssa! Did you come back just to make trouble for me?!

“This house doesn’t welcome you. Get out!”

I held my burning cheek, not surprised at all.

Every time something happened to Merida, I was the one who ended up taking the blame.

I’d seen this same trick too many times.

I was about to leave when Casper suddenly stepped in front of me.

“Sir, based on what you’re saying… Merida has been wronged often before?”

My stepmother started sobbing even louder.

“I truly love Camden, but Alyssa always thought my presence is what caused her mother’s death. So she’s been hostile to me and my daughter…

“Forget it. It’s embarrassing family business; we shouldn’t talk about it.”

Casper’s expression hardened, ready to snap, but Merida spoke up weakly.

“Casper, don’t blame my sister. She’s still young. She didn’t mean it…”

Alyssa’s POV

Right after saying that, Merida fell unconscious.

Casper shouted her name over and over, panicked, but no matter how loudly he called, she didn’t open her eyes again.

My stepmother slapped her thigh in alarm.

“Oh no! There’s something I never dared tell Camden because I didn’t want him to worry. Before Merida went abroad, she was diagnosed with hemophilia. Her condition had been stable with medication, but—”

She didn’t even finish before Casper scooped Merida into his arms and rushed out.

I was dragged to the hospital. The doctor took a quick look and said Merida needed a blood transfusion before they could operate.

The moment he finished speaking, Casper’s stare sliced right through me.

“Alyssa, if I remember right, you and Merida have the same blood type.”

My face drained of color. I backed away without even realizing it.

“I didn’t push her!”

“You think I’m buying that? No one knows how much you hate Merida better than I do.”

Words I’d once said to him in the middle of our passionate relationship had come back around, sharp enough to cut me open.

My nails dug into my palms so hard I broke the skin, but I couldn’t even feel the pain.

I forced out a smile uglier than crying.

“Yeah, I do hate her. That’s exactly why I’m not saving her.”

“Alyssa, I’m not asking you.”

I spun around, trying to get away, but someone grabbed my wrist hard.

“Go donate blood. Name whatever terms you want.”

“Let go of me. I’m not going!”

“Don’t force me.”

A sharp crack sounded. My wrist bent at a grotesque angle.

The pain was so overwhelming that I didn’t even have time to scream; my vision went black as I nearly passed out.

Casper grabbed me before I collapsed.

“Doctor! Take her to donate blood.”

When the needle pierced my skin, he just stood there, watching coldly from the side.

I was so weak I could only squeeze out a breathy whisper.

“Casper… these three years, you never loved me. Did you?”

For a long moment, there was nothing.

Then finally, he answered.

“Don’t ask meaningless questions.”

That was the moment my heart died completely.

The doctor, who had been monitoring me closely, suddenly stood up when he noticed something was off.

“No. We can’t take any more from her. This condition is usually inherited; if we keep drawing blood, her body won’t be able to produce more. She could die.”

The nurse jumped, about to pull the needle out.

But Casper pressed down on the injection site, stopping her.

“Is what she’s already given enough for the surgery?”

“Not enough. I can contact other hospitals for supply, but I’m not sure if it’ll arrive in time.”

“Then keep drawing!”

The nurse looked at me with pure pity.

I forced a stiff smile.

“Go ahead.”

I had no idea how much time passed. When I finally woke up from unconsciousness, the surgery was already over.

Only a nurse was in the room, jotting something down. When she saw me wake, she let out a breath of relief.

“Good thing you’re not hemophilic, or you probably wouldn’t have made it.

“Your sister’s boyfriend went way overboard—making a young girl like you donate that much blood.

“Those two people who came with you… they’re your parents, right? Why didn’t they come check on you?”

I stared numbly at the ceiling, my voice barely a whisper.

“They’re not my parents. My parents… are already dead.”

I stayed in the hospital for a month. During all that time, Casper came only once.

He told the doctor to put all my medical expenses on his tab.

When the room was quiet with just the two of us, he let out a long sigh.

“I talked to Uncle Camden about what happened at home. They didn’t know you were sick. That’s why they never visited. Don’t overthink it.”

But even if they had known, they still wouldn’t have come.

I kept that thought to myself.

Casper stared out at the falling snow and said quietly, “I was wrong to hide Merida’s condition from you. But from now on, I don’t want you giving her trouble anymore. Whatever happened in the past… just let it go.”

Alyssa’s POV

I wanted to ask if my mother’s death was something I was supposed to just “get over.”

I wanted to ask who was going to pay back all the humiliation I’d swallowed.

But when the words reached my lips, I forced them back down.

In front of Casper, I never had the right to negotiate.

“If you run into trouble in the future, you can still come to me.

“Alyssa, I really do hope you find happiness.”

How ridiculous.

The man who destroyed my happiness was wishing me happiness.

A week later, I was discharged. Because of the blood loss, I ended up staying in the hospital even longer than Merida, who actually needed surgery.

But before I could even find a place to stay, I received a message from my father.

[You and your sister are going to this auction together. Spend some time bonding.]

[I’m not going.]

[That’s Casper’s request! Get along and don’t embarrass me!]

At the auction, Merida looped her arm through mine, acting all close and sisterly.

“Alyssa, I’m scared I’ll pick something tacky. Casper said you should help me choose the jewelry for the wedding. I’ll be counting on you later!”

I pressed a hand over my fractured bone and quietly pulled my arm back.

The auction moved quickly toward the end. Casper had already bought more than ten pieces of jewelry for insane prices.

I didn’t want to stay any longer. Just as I was about to excuse myself to go to the restroom, Merida stopped me.

“Don’t rush off. There might be a surprise coming up.”

When the final item was rolled out, I shot to my feet.

My glare snapped straight to Merida. She only lifted her hands in an innocent little shrug.

Starting bid: five million.

I didn’t even think. I raised my paddle immediately.

“Ten million!”

Merida widened her eyes at me.

“Alyssa, do you have ten million? Doesn’t Dad only give you two thousand a month? Where would you get that kind of money?”

She stole my mother’s belongings, and she expected me to humiliate myself for everyone to see.

Now, she wanted to play the “good person”?

I ignored her and kept raising my bid along with the guests.

But when the price climbed all the way to fifty million—already far beyond anything I could hope for—I collapsed back into my seat, defeated.

Out of the corner of my eye, Casper seemed to be watching me for a long time.

He had just lifted his paddle when Merida beat him to it.

“Casper, you won’t be mad, right? I saw how much Alyssa liked this necklace, so I wanted to buy it for her.”

“It’s fine. Keep bidding. I’ve got you.”

That gentle reassurance—something I had never once been given—wasn’t meant for me.

But honestly, I didn’t have the capacity to care anymore.

The staff brought the necklace to Merida. I reached out, unable to wait.

She glanced at Casper. Seeing he wasn’t paying attention, she loosened her fingers.

With a harsh crack, the ruby pendant shattered across the floor.

She leaned in close to my ear and hissed, “Looks like your mom’s things are just as cheap as her life.”

I couldn’t hold back anymore. I swung my hand up.

But before the slap could land, Casper grabbed my wrist hard—so hard it felt like he might crush the bone.

“What are you doing? It’s a stupid trinket. It broke, so what? Is it worth making a scene?

“You spent a whole month in the hospital and you still can’t behave?”

When he flung my hand away, my wrist slammed into the wall behind me.

The sharp pain washed over me instantly.

I clenched my teeth so hard I tasted blood.

“But it was my mom’s—”

Before I could finish, he had already turned, anxiously fussing over Merida instead.

My chance to speak disappeared completely.

When the three of us walked out the front doors, Casper stepped aside to answer a call from his company.

The moment we were alone, Merida finally dropped the act.

“Don’t think I don’t know. I was gone for three years, and you were the one by his side the whole time.

“But now that I’m back, that spot next to him… can only belong to me.”