On the day I vomit blood while eating on a livestream, I rise to the top in the platform streamer rankings.

My older brother, Julian Everhart, bursts into my room, kicks over my streaming equipment, and violently shoves me to the floor.

My fiance, Dominic Pierce, tells everyone on the livestream that I'm just trying to attract attention and rake up the views by faking my illness.

In an instant, I get cyberbullied by everyone. The Internet users keep leaving malicious comments and cursing me to die.

All of my photos are crossed out. Someone even dumps silver acid onto my front door.

What everyone doesn't know is that I will die in three days because of Wolf Soul Deterioration.

On the day I die, I start the livestream for the final time.

Tens of millions of viewers rush into my stream instantly and begin cursing me out for my lack of morality. They bash me for faking my illness just to gain popularity and attract attention.

But the next thing they know, my heart monitor flatlines right away. Everyone begins panicking instantly.

Julian and Dominic shift into their wolf forms instantly and rush toward the hospital desperately begging me not to die.

I guessed the bleeding in my stomach came from drinking too much alcohol and eating too much steak. After all, ever since I lost my wolf, my body's functions had kept declining.

The viewer count on my live stream quickly broke through one million. The comment section flooded with concerned messages. It seemed there were still people in this world who cared about me.

I felt happy. With such high viewership, I could make it onto the platform streamer rankings and win the prize money. Then, I could arrange a decent funeral for myself.

Just as I was about to speak, a heavy slap landed on my face. I collapsed to the ground, stars exploding before my eyes. My brother, Julian Everhart, stood to the side, glaring at me furiously. He was the one who hit me.

"She's just faking coughing up blood to get more attention." Dominic Pierce's voice cut through the air.

When I looked at him, his expression was cold and indifferent.

"That's right, don't believe her. Go watch Chloe instead. She won't deceive everyone for views."

How absurd. I coughed up blood, yet they were still promoting Chloe Monroe.

"I'm not faking," I said with difficulty, enduring the severe pain in my stomach.

But by then, the tide in the comments had already turned. The viewers who cared about me moments ago now hurled insults instead.

"Oh, my God, I actually thought she was sick."

"She's so vain. Faking coughing up blood just to get famous!"

"We shouldn't waste our time on someone like this!"

"Let's go watch Chloe's stream instead!"

Within minutes, my viewer count dropped by more than half. Then, my livestream got shut down because someone reported me for fake streaming.

I wouldn't be getting the prize money today. My dream of arranging a decent funeral for myself shattered.

"Wipe that blood off yourself. It's disgusting to look at!" Julian said, staring at me with disgust.

Dominic didn't spare me a glance either. In their eyes, the blood on me was all fake.

"Stasia, Chloe's birth mother is sick. She needs this prize money more than you do, yet you still tried to compete with her. So, don't blame us for being heartless today," Dominic said coldly.

Who would have thought this was my boyfriend of five years? He was the man who used to pursue me relentlessly, who promised to make me his mate. Now, he was speaking up for my so-called best friend.

After they left, I coughed up another mouthful of blood. Bright red blood splattered across the white tiles. Suddenly, I remembered what the healer told me two months ago.

"Don't you have family?" Joseph Chaser asked.

"They don't want me anymore," I answered with a bitter smile.

He seemed surprised. He wasn't the first person to react that way. Every time I said this, people thought I was joking.

After all, everyone knew the youngest daughter of the Everharts was adored by her entire family. How could they possibly not want me?

But in my heart, even though my family and fiance never explicitly cut ties with me, it was close enough. My best friend Chloe had unknowingly stolen the love of my brother and fiance.

Afterward, she told them I nearly killed her trying to win the livestream prize money. They all believed her and felt sorry for her.

Even my mother thought Chloe was more like her real daughter than her adopted one. Chloe was thoughtful and considerate, while I was worthless.

Even worse, years ago, I caused my father's death. So they wished I would just die. I used to have Dominic, but now he had been taken from me too.

"You have Wolf Soul Deterioration. You have two months at most," Joseph said gravely.

I swallowed a painkiller to keep myself conscious. Just then, Mom texted me.

"Your father's death anniversary is coming up soon. I don't want to see you these few days. Don't come home."

I couldn't help but laugh. I was always such a sinful person. They'd probably be happy when I died.

Later, Chloe somehow found out about my condition. That day was my birthday, and she came to my room with a malicious smile on her face.

"You have Wolf Soul Deterioration, don't you? Are you planning to tell them? Just wait and see. I'll make everyone hate you!"

Then at dinner, she told everyone she saw me hire someone to forge a Wolf Soul Deterioration diagnosis. She showed them the forged document.

At first, I argued that it wasn't forged, that it was real. They panicked for a brief moment, but the next second...

"Stasia, you're a werewolf. The diagnosis can lie, but the bond can't lie."

Chloe put on an expression of helplessness at my lying. Then, I watched Mom's and Julian's expressions shift from panicked worry to fury.

Mom was so furious she slapped me on the spot. Dominic threw my birthday cake into the trash and said, "You're disgusting."

"The bond can feel that your wolf is still healthy!" Mom slapped me again, her voice shaking with rage.

"You killed your father, and now you're trying to fake being sick for our attention. How selfish!"

From that moment on, they all saw me as a lying bitch. I tried to explain, but they wouldn't believe me. I didn't understand why their bond sensed my wolf as healthy either, not until later when Chloe showed off a red pill with smug satisfaction.

"I bought this from a witch for a high price. It creates false bond readings!"

I pulled myself from the memory and dragged my heavy body up from the floor. Dominic suddenly walked in.

"Let's go. We're getting dinner. Don't pull that fake illness stunt for views again."

He spotted the blood on the floor and stopped mid-sentence, his brows furrowing. "Stasia, can you stop pretending? You're just making us hate you more."

I lifted my head and met his deep blue eyes, now filled with disappointment.

We grew up together as childhood sweethearts, went to college together, and started working together. After Dad died and Mom and Julian turned on me, Dominic held me close and said, "It doesn't matter if your mom and brother don't like you. I'll like you. I'll love you and cherish you.

"And that bully Chloe? I'll make her pay for it someday!"

But somewhere along the way, our dates started including Chloe too. He said Chloe was like my little sister, so we should take care of her together. Our dates became outings for three.

Then, whenever Chloe and I argued, he went from defending me to lecturing me that Chloe was young and I should be the bigger person as her older sister. The Dominic who promised to spoil and love me no matter what had slipped away without me noticing.

"Dominic, let's break up," I said calmly, wiping the blood from my lips.

Something flickered in his eyes. He rushed over and grabbed my shoulders.

"Is this because I interrupted your live stream today? Stasia, can't you be a little kinder? You're so lucky!

"You have a brother, you have me, and your family is wealthy. But Chloe is just a poor little girl your family adopted."

I laughed bitterly. Me, lucky?

My brother hated me. My boyfriend no longer cared about me alone. Even when I told Mom I was sick, she didn't believe me.

Was this what happiness looked like?

"I still want to break up."

The pain in my stomach grew more intense. Last week, Joseph told me I only had a week left to live. The strong painkillers he prescribed could only dull the pain enough to make me look normal.

I spent this week live-streaming and earning tips to afford a decent funeral. I wanted to leave this world with dignity. It would be my final gift to myself.

"Fine. If that's what you want, then we're done." Dominic stormed out.

At least Dominic and I weren't fated mates. Our breakup was simple, without the physical agony that came from rejection.

A moment later, I received an anonymous message from Chloe.

"How are you feeling today?

"Haha! How does it feel knowing your precious fiance won't defend you anymore?"

I didn't reply. I just took a screenshot of our conversation. My photo album was already full of our chat logs. I hoped that one day, everyone would see the truth.

…

I cleaned myself up and went to my other home, the place I always retreated to when I felt down. My six-year-old adopted sister, Emma Miller, lived there.

She'd been abandoned by her family at an amusement park, and I saw myself in her. That was why I adopted her and made her my little sister.

"Stasia, you're here! I got a perfect score in the shooting competition at school!" She threw herself into my arms the moment I opened the door.

I ruffled her hair.

"You're so smart. How about I take you out for a nice meal?"

She didn't know I had Wolf Soul Deterioration. I didn't want her to know either. Telling people would only make everyone miserable.

"Yes! Let's go to the pizza place!"

"Okay."

Whenever I rewarded her, we went to the pizza place. But I would never take her to a fried chicken restaurant. I wouldn't eat there. I would never eat fried chicken again for the rest of my life.

After we arrived, I ordered our food. Not long after, Julian and Chloe suddenly walked in. Chloe spotted me and covered her mouth in exaggerated surprise.

"Oh, my God! Stasia, you have a child?"

I wanted to sew her mouth shut. She was so vicious.

Julian walked over, his voice sharp. "Whose kid is this?"

"Hello, I'm Emma Miller, Stasia's adopted sister," Emma answered politely.

They fell silent. But Julian quickly found his voice again to mock me. "You said you were sick on your live stream, but here you are eating pizza.

"Stasia, you don't even blink when you lie anymore."

He left with Chloe after that.

Halfway through our meal, my stomach seized with sudden pain, and I coughed up fresh blood.

"Stasia! What's wrong?" Emma cried out and grabbed onto me.

The pain made my head spin.

"I… I'm fine," I forced out.

Just then, I saw Julian rushing over to check on me.

How ridiculous. Didn't he think I was faking? Why was he suddenly concerned?

When I woke up again, I was in the hospital. The moment I opened my eyes, another heavy slap landed on my face.

I opened my eyes to find Julian glaring at me furiously.

"Are you done with your act? You knew Chloe and I were going to the pizza place, so you deliberately coughed up blood and fainted in front of us, didn't you?"

"Don't hit my sister!" Emma rushed over and shoved him away.

"Emma, come here," I called softly.

Emma obediently took my hand. Then, I looked up at this brother who shared my blood. My face burned where he'd struck me, and my heart felt shattered.

I'd been rushed to the hospital, yet no one told him about my condition? He was a healer himself. If he bothered to examine me properly, or if he simply unblocked our bond right now, he'd see how sick I really was.

But he didn't.

"Get out," I said quietly.

He ground his teeth in anger. "Stasia, you've really gone too far this time!"

He raised his hand to strike me again.

"Jules," I called him by his nickname.

He froze. I hadn't called him that in so long, not since I realized Chloe had stolen everyone's love. This was the first time in ages I'd called him by his nickname, and it would be the last.

"Let's cut ties. In your eyes, I'm a criminal and a liar. So I don't want to upset you anymore."

I never thought we'd come to this. After all, he used to treasure me above everything else. Everyone knew the Everhart family had a hot-tempered son who was impossibly gentle with his little sister.

He really was good to me once. When I had a fever, he stayed up all night taking care of me. Whatever I wanted to eat, he'd buy it for me. Once on my birthday, I mentioned wanting to go skiing in Swossland, and he chartered a plane that same night to take me there.

He used to always tell me, "Stasia, I'll protect you for the rest of your life."

Then, Dad died, and everything changed.

"Say that again!" Julian's fists clenched in fury.

"I said, let's cut ties. From now on, you're not my brother, and I'm not your sister."

"Fine. Those are your words." He stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Just then, a young man in a white coat walked in. I glanced at his name tag. He was a healer intern named Liam Foster.

He came over and adjusted my IV drip to a slower rate.

"This should make you feel better," he said.

"Thank you," I replied.

Then, I looked at Emma beside me. Her eyes were red, and her face was full of worry.

"Stasia, are you really sick?"

Tears spilled from my eyes beyond my control. "I'm fine. Can you go home first? I'll be back soon, okay?"

She was always obedient. She nodded and left with her backpack.

After she left, Liam let out a sigh.

"Your condition isn't good. You need to stay in the hospital, or you could die in the street at any moment."

"Then I'll stay," I said.

I didn't want to die in the street. That would be too pathetic.

That evening, Dominic came to see me. He carried a bag of my favorite fruits and my favorite strawberry cake.

"The healer said you just fainted from malnutrition. Come home. Stop fighting with your brother."

I'd told Liam not to reveal my condition to anyone without my permission, so he hadn't told Dominic either. I used to desperately want them to know about my illness, but now I didn't want them finding out so soon.

"Dominic, we've already broken up. You have no right to interfere in my life. And what does my relationship with my brother have to do with you?"

His expression darkened. "Stasia, everyone's been so good to you. Why do you have to be so difficult?"

Good to me? How ironic. Being good to me apparently meant trusting Chloe's every word while ignoring mine completely.

"Can you leave?" I held back the urge to pour out my grievances.

"The sight of you makes me sick."

Looking at him reminded me of how deeply he used to love me and how much he ignored me now. If he'd never loved and cherished me so deeply before, I wouldn't feel such bitter resentment toward him now.

The moment I finished speaking, Julian suddenly burst in.

"Stasia, you've really gone too far this time!" He charged over, shouting, and slapped me again.

This time the force was brutal. My ears rang.

Julian never used to hit me. He wouldn't even raise his voice at me. But somewhere along the way, his temper had turned violent, and he started putting his hands on me.

"We already gave you a way out, but you're still throwing a tantrum.

"Fine. You don't want me as your brother? I don't want you as the sister who killed Dad either!"

Dominic sighed in disappointment and left. The people who once treated me so well kept leaving, one by one. Tears blurred my vision.

I told myself it didn't matter. I didn't want them anymore either.

The next day, Julian came again. He carried a bag from the fried chicken restaurant. My face went deathly pale when I saw the logo.

"Get out! I'm not eating that!" I said.

But he answered, "Today's the anniversary of Dad's death. You used to love eating fried chicken on this day, didn't you? Today, you can eat your fill."

Then, he rushed over and started shoving the food into my mouth. Suddenly, I coughed up fresh blood.

The monitor beside me flatlined. My vision began to blur.