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.”

Alyssa’s POV

“Bitch, you’re nothing but a cheap whore who let someone use you for free. You’re just as cheap as your mother!

“As long as you’re alive, I’ll never have a single peaceful day!”

My eyes went blood-red. I was just about to snap back when, the next second, a car up ahead lost control, slammed into three vehicles, and came barreling straight toward us.

Merida, who was barely half a meter from me, deliberately shoved me out of the way.

And then she was the one sent flying by the impact.

When Casper heard the crash and turned around, this was exactly what he saw.

I had never seen him look so deranged.

The cool, aloof elegance he used to have was gone—replaced by a wild, unhinged beast completely out of control.

He bolted toward Merida like a madman.

I was dragged to the hospital again, and it felt like they drained every last drop of blood from my body.

Right after the nurse left the room from doing rounds, a few bodyguards walked in.

Without a word, they knocked me out and slung me over a shoulder.

Half-conscious, I heard one of Casper’s friends—the same one who once comforted me—talk to him about me.

“Are you sure Alyssa did this? She doesn’t seem like the type to hire a hitman. When you two broke up, yeah, she was devastated—almost insane from heartbreak—but she never said anything over the line.

“You left early that day so you didn’t see. I’ve never seen a woman cry like that.”

Casper’s voice was cold.

“You think my investigation would be wrong? The driver already confessed!”

“So what do you want to do—hit her with a car, too? She just had a blood transfusion, she’s barely hanging on!”

“But Merida almost died! I know what I’m doing. I just want Alyssa to remember this lesson—don’t touch what she shouldn’t touch.”

Their footsteps gradually faded away.

The man beside me picked up a club and swung it at me.

I screamed like a lunatic, “He didn’t tell you to kill me!”

The man spat dismissively.

“Miss Merida didn’t say that.”

I crawled on the floor, every movement agony. The sack on my head scraped off.

Another man’s eyes instantly went red.

“Bro, Miss Merida only said to leave her alive. She didn’t say how.”

“Look at her—she’s actually pretty hot…”

“Wanna…?”

“Sure. She’s yours. Just don’t kill her.”

Waves of pain tore me apart piece by piece.

I cried in pure despair, screaming Casper’s name, begging him to save me.

But no one heard me.

By the end, my voice was gone—just a raw, shredded whisper.

That night felt like a nightmare that would never end.

When it was finally over, I staggered to my feet.

There were messages on my phone from Casper.

And an invitation from Merida, bragging about their wedding.

I didn’t read any of it. I just threw the phone straight into the trash can.

Leaving a trail of bloody footprints, I walked out of that suffocating hell.

‘Casper, if you’ve wronged me… then none of you deserve peace!’