Travis gently ruffled Sheena's hair with a doting smile. "Alright, alright, in my eyes, there will always only be you. That Jasmin or whatever her name is, she’s not even worth one of your fingers!"

Finally, Sheena smiled. She thought, at least someone would always choose her without hesitation.

But all of that vanished after she returned to the Brooks family.

Travis met Jasmin.

Within half a year, Jasmin once again succeeded in taking away the person Sheena cherished most.

Travis even brought up postponing their engagement on his own. "Jasmin depends on me a lot. If I proceed with our engagement now, I’m afraid she won’t be able to handle it."

Her memories were abruptly interrupted by Amanda’s desperate cries, "Jasmin, come down! Let’s talk this out. What are you doing on the windowsill? Do you want to scare your mother to death?"

Jasmin was sitting on the edge of the second-floor window. Her feet hadn’t even stepped over the railing, but her eyes were swollen like walnuts.

"Mom, didn’t you hear what the Wilson family said? They said they’d push me down the stairs just like Megan!"

"If I go to the Wilson family, I’ll be tortured to death! Instead of that, I’d rather die at home—it’d hurt less."

Stephen, furious, slapped Sheena across the face. "This is all your fault! If you had just agreed to go to the Wilson family and take Jasmin’s punishment, would she even have thoughts of ending her life?"

"Jasmin is your sister! How could you be so cruel? Do you want to see her die?" he continued, seething in rage.

That slap was merciless, leaving a red handprint on Sheena’s face. Yet Amanda only stared at her with resentment and disappointment in her eyes. "If something happens to Jasmin, I won’t live, either. Sheena, if you still refuse to take Jasmin’s punishment at the Wilson family, then don’t call yourself a Brooks anymore. Don’t consider me your mother!"

If Stephen’s words were angry accusations, Amanda’s were blatant threats.

Anger, fear, despair, sorrow—all these emotions swirled inside Sheena. She trembled uncontrollably, feeling as if her heart was being crushed.

At that moment, Travis stepped forward.

He gently touched the red mark on her face, and the tenderness in his eyes almost made Sheena believe things had returned to how they once were.

But his next words shattered her last shred of hope.

"Sheena, I’m begging you."

"If you’re willing to take Jasmin’s punishment, I’ll marry you immediately."

In that instant, Sheena realized that in the depths of extreme pain, one could no longer even shed tears.

Looking at the room full of her so-called family and lover, not a single one of them stood by her side.

Suddenly, Sheena laughed softly. "Alright. I agree to go to the Wilson family and take Jasmin’s punishment in five days."

Perhaps her smile was too heartbreaking, because Travis frowned and instinctively reached for her hand.

But before he could touch her, Sheena brushed his hand away.

The gesture was light, yet it felt as if a searing flame had burned his skin, causing a pang in his chest.

"Sheena..."

Sheena didn’t look at him. Instead, her gaze swept calmly across everyone in the room, and she continued, "But you all need to agree to one condition."

Stephen immediately frowned in displeasure. "It’s just a small favor for your sister, and you want to make demands? Sheena, since when did you become such a calculating person?"

Sheena’s lips curled into a faint smile.

"Don’t worry, it’s a very small request. You’ll definitely agree," Sheena flatly said.

Stephen was about to retort, but Amanda stopped him.

Though her health wasn’t the best, the entire Brooks family had risen from her parents’ legacy, and even now, all the children carried her surname. As a result, her words often carried more weight than Christopher’s, her husband.

Looking at her daughter, who had grown so unfamiliar, Amanda felt a pang of bitterness in her heart.

Taking a deep breath, she said, "As long as you’re willing to go in Jasmin’s place, I’ll give you whatever you ask for."

Hearing what she said, Sheena mentally scoffed. So, all these years, the family love she had desperately sought had been nothing but a cruel joke.

Biting her lip, she said nothing more and quietly left the room.

Jasmin was successfully rescued.

For a short time, the room was filled with sobs and words of comfort.

Even Christopher, who was usually stern and composed, hurried to Jasmin’s bedroom after seeing off the guests, his face full of concern for his beloved youngest daughter.

When he bumped into Sheena at the corner, he didn’t spare her a single glance.

Caught off guard, Sheena lost her balance and fell to the ground. Her ankle quickly swelled.

The evening breeze stung her skin, and Sheena couldn't help but inhale sharply.

"Sheena, are you alright?"

Travis suddenly appeared in front of her, reaching out to help her up.

As he leaned closer, Sheena caught the faint scent of gardenia perfume on him—Jasmin’s perfume.

Gardenias had once been her favorite.

Travis had always gone out of his way to find all sorts of gardenia-themed gifts for her. But shortly after returning to the Brooks family, Jasmin had managed to break all those gifts with various excuses.

When Sheena angrily confronted Jasmin, Travis stopped her. "Jasmin didn’t mean to do that. In the end, those were just trinkets. If you like, I can get you more."

At that time, Sheen believed him but she never received anything else from him.

Instead, not long ago, Jasmin flaunted a bottle of gardenia-scented perfume in front of her. "Sheena, you’re so useless! Your family doesn’t want you, and now even your fiancé doesn’t want you!"

Sheena felt a pang in her chest and stepped back, forcing herself to stand without Travis’ help.

His hand hung awkwardly mid-air, and his face turned sour. "Sheena, I know you’re upset about going to the Wilson family for Jasmin’s sake. But I’ve already promised to marry you. What more do you want?"

"Jasmin is your sister. What’s wrong with helping her? Do you have to be so narrow-minded?"

Sheena felt a surge of anger that she couldn’t suppress. Her voice turned sharp as she retorted, "Being forced to act as a scapegoat and take her punishment—am I supposed to be grateful for that?"

Hearing this, Travis raised his voice as well. "Jasmin didn’t do it on purpose! And besides, it’s just a trip to the Wilson family. What’s the big deal?"

"If it’s no big deal, then why can’t Jasmin go herself?" Sheena clapped back.

Travis fell silent, his face growing even darker. "You’re being unreasonable. There’s no point in talking to you anymore!"

In the end, Sheena returned to her room alone.

Calling it a "room" was generous—it was worse than the servants’ quarters.

Compared to Jasmin’s bright and spacious princess-style bedroom, hers was a stark contrast.

She stayed in a damp, dark basement, surrounded by cement walls with no windows. The bathroom was so far away that every night, she had to carry a flashlight and nervously traverse a long, unlit hallway just to relieve herself.

Because her swollen ankle hurt so much, Sheena walked slowly all the way back to her small bed, and only then did she finally wipe away all the tears from her face.

In the dim light, Sheena carefully packed up everything in her room.

When she was done, she realized just how little she owned: a few pieces of clothing, a handful of books, a family photo, and a necklace.

The family photo was taken before Jasmin came to live with them. Her parents had brought her and Stephen to a sunflower garden for the photo. In it, Sheena’s small figure nestled in her mother’s arms, her tiny hands tightly wrapped around her mother’s neck, radiating deep attachment.

Her father stood to the side with his usual stern expression. Stephen, however, smiled with arched brows, posing like a knight protecting her. His right hand, half-hidden, was cheekily tugging at the corner of her dress.

It was the only thing Sheena had taken with her when she was sent to the countryside.

For years, this photo had been her token, the proof she clung to in order to convince herself that her parents and brother still loved her. Someday, they would be a happy family again, just like in that picture.

But now, that dream was utterly shattered.

Sheena took the photo out of its frame, ripped it into tiny pieces, and tossed them into the trash.

As for the necklace, it was a gift from Travis. A small, unremarkable trinket from a village market. The pearl had long since faded, and the chain was tarnished and dull. Yet Sheena had treasured it like a precious heirloom.

She held onto it because when Travis gave it to her, he had declared with unwavering conviction, "This is our token of love. Sheena, wait for me. I promise to make you the happiest bride in the world!"

Perhaps because the necklace was so old and cheap, it was the only thing that Jasmin hadn’t bothered to destroy. But now, Sheena didn’t want it anymore.

She slipped the necklace into her pocket, thinking that no matter how worthless it was, it was still a gift from Travis. Since she didn’t want it anymore, she should at least return it to him before leaving.

With that thought in mind, Sheena fell into a restless sleep.

When she woke up, Stephen’s furious face was looming over her. "Sheena, you did this on purpose, didn’t you?"

Her leg had throbbed all night, leaving her with a splitting headache. She had no energy to deal with him.

Her silence only fueled Stephen’s anger. He grabbed her and dragged her out of bed, pulling her all the way to the dining room.

Once he roughly threw her to the floor, he shouted again, "Look at what you’ve done!"

Sheena glanced at the empty dining table, utterly baffled as to what he was so enraged about.

Just then, Jasmin walked in wearing a pretty princess dress, covering her mouth in a mock surprise, "Sis, why didn’t you make breakfast for us?"

'Ah, so that was it.' Sheena thought.

In the past, Sheena had bent over backward to please the Brooks family. She had carefully observed everyone’s preferences, waking up three hours early every morning to prepare breakfast for them.

But today, she hadn’t done it.

Jasmin pouted, pretending to be upset. "But I love the breakfast that sister makes the most."

While comforting Jasmin, Stephen turned his fury back on Sheena. "You know perfectly well that Jasmin loves the breakfast you make, yet you deliberately didn’t cook today. How could you be so cruel?"

So it was all about breakfast—something entirely inconsequential to anyone else.

Suddenly, Sheena couldn’t help but laugh.