: The Scoundrels

3.

I went back to school.

Senior year was all about internships, and I was no exception.

My dorm mates were already busy sending out résumés everywhere, but I had already set my sights on a publicly traded company in the city.

This time, my mom had finally decided to get a divorce, so I could free up some time to prepare for my internship.

But Leo Sutton found me at school.

"Lillian Sutton, your brother and your boyfriend are here. They're waiting for you outside the dorm."

A girl from my building passed on the message. I hurried downstairs, only to see those two lowlifes catcalling the girls who walked by.

The girls entering the dorm all gave me strange looks.

"Lillian, aren't you going to do something about them?"

The girls shook their heads and walked past with sighs of disapproval. My face burned red, a mixture of shame and fury. I wanted to tear those two apart.

This so-called boyfriend was some guy Leo Sutton had forced on me. I could count the number of times I'd met him on one hand.

"Lillian Sutton!"

As soon as I ran outside the dorm building, Leo Sutton yelled at me from under The Old Camphor Tree nearby, "Get over here, now!"

'Damn it,' I wished I could have "I don't know them" written all over my face.

Ozzy Shaw chimed in, shouting, "Get over here!"

"Do I know you two?"

Passing girls looked at me curiously. I gritted my teeth and stood about ten paces away from them. "Get lost!"

"Oh-ho, getting feisty with us, are you?"

Leo Sutton sneered and shoved Ozzy Shaw forward. "Let me tell you something. This is your future husband. It's one thing if you don't listen to me, but if you dare to disobey him, you'll get nine beatings in three days!"

"This woman just needs to be taught a lesson."

Ozzy Shaw looked me up and down contemptuously, then turned to Leo Sutton with a sycophantic grin. "Don't you worry, big brother-in-law. Once I get my hands on her, I'll train her to be more obedient than a dog. If you tell her to go east, she won't dare go west!"

I was so disgusted I could have puked.

But Leo Sutton was actually pleased. "Mm, you know how to train them. I can rest easy leaving Lillian Sutton in your hands."

Ozzy Shaw grinned cheekily and nodded eagerly.

I couldn't hide my disgust. "What does any of this have to do with me? If you've got no other business, then get lost, and don't you ever come looking for me again!"

Just seeing them once made me want to puke!

"Lillian Sutton, you—"

"You shut your mouth! Who gave you the right to say my name?"

I couldn't understand where Ozzy Shaw got the nerve to act all high and mighty in front of me. I looked away in disgust. "Get lost, now, or I'm calling the police!"

'What a bunch of creeps!'

"Lillian Sutton, are you fucking trying to cross me?"

A vicious glint appeared in Leo Sutton's eyes as he stared at me menacingly. "I haven't even settled the score with you for hitting me the other day, and now you dare to yell at me? You really think I won't teach you a lesson, huh!"

"Bring it on! Let's see what you've got!"

He rolled up his sleeves, but I took a few steps back, grabbed the Bamboo Broom from the corner, and started swinging it right at his head.

"Shit, this broad's gone crazy!"

Ozzy Shaw, caught off guard, took a couple of hits before quickly jumping away. My eyes were red with fury as I went after Leo Sutton. He grabbed the bamboo handle, and we struggled over it. I let go of the broom and just charged him, a flurry of tearing, scratching, and biting.

"This is for coming to my school and spouting your nonsense!"

"This is for bringing someone here to humiliate me!"

"From this day forward, you, Leo Sutton, are no longer my brother! You don't deserve to be my brother!"

I'll beat a scumbag like him every single time I see him!

: Cutting Ties

4.

I'd scratched Leo Sutton's face to ribbons, and Ozzy Shaw didn't even dare step forward to break up the fight.

In the end, the dorm supervisor had to run over and pull me away. Only then did a visibly shaken Ozzy Shaw hurry to help Leo Sutton up and flee.

"Lillian Sutton, you're a total bitch!"

He didn't dare turn back to curse at me until he was a safe distance away. "I must have been fucking blind to have ever liked you!"

"Fuck off!"

I'd taken some cheap shots from Leo Sutton, too. My hair was a mess, and my body was aching all over.

But I still spat hard on the ground. "Meeting you two was the worst fucking luck of my life!"

'If I had the choice, I'd rather not be human at all than have Leo Sutton for a brother!'

"Fine, fine, fine! You just wait!"

Blood beaded on the scratches covering Leo Sutton's face as he spat a vicious threat at me. "In the future, even if you get on your knees and beg me, I won't so much as glance your way!"

'Him? I'm supposed to get on my knees and beg him?'

I burst out laughing, so hard that tears came to my eyes.

'With Leo Sutton's worthless personality—useless at everything except for partying—where did he get the audacity to spout such nonsense?'

"Perfect. Let's get this straight right now."

I smiled coldly. "From this day forward, I, Lillian Sutton, am cutting all ties with you, Leo Sutton. We'll go our separate ways. And if either of us ever goes back on this and begs the other for help, they're a dog!"

'My mom and I finally have some peace and quiet. Who would want to get tangled up with a scumbag like him again?'

'He can get the hell away from me and stay there!'

Leo Sutton and Ozzy Shaw walked off, muttering curses, while I headed back to my dorm feeling refreshed and clear-headed.

The girls who had been watching the spectacle crowded around me. "Wow, Lillian, you were so fierce! You're an inspiration to us all!"

"You can't be polite with shameless men like that!"

"That was so satisfying! We're with you, Lillian!"

The girls all chattered at once. I just smiled, returned to my room, shut the door, and went back to working on my resume.

'Even though I don't need the money, it's still important to have a real job.'

'Otherwise, what's the point of it all?'

My mom called to ask what was going on. "Lillian, your brother just called me. Did you embarrass him at school?"

"Yeah, he brought Ozzy Shaw over, saying something about how he was going to teach me a lesson."

I briefly explained what had happened and gave my mom a preemptive warning. "You know what kind of person Leo Sutton is. From now on, no matter what he tells you, don't believe him, okay?"

"But he's my son…"

"Mom, he's your ex-husband's son. After all these years, don't you still see that?"

I rubbed the bridge of my nose and said in a heavy tone, "Leo Sutton has been close with Mr. Sutton since he was a child. Their tempers and personalities are cut from the same cloth. When have you ever been able to control him?"

"When the family split, he went with Mr. Sutton without a moment's hesitation. You think of him as your son, but does he think of you as his mother?"

"He only knows how to run and tattle to you after I put him in his place. Otherwise, have you ever received a single word of concern from him?"

Leo Sutton's filial piety was reserved exclusively for Mr. Sutton.

My mom and Mr. Sutton argued for twenty years. It was one thing when we were little, but after Leo Sutton grew up, he never once defended his own mother. Instead, whenever they fought, he would get all sullen and blame my mom for not knowing how to pacify a man, for provoking Mr. Sutton.

Sometimes, when he was in a bad mood, he would even join Mr. Sutton in yelling at her.

'What's the use of having a son like that?'

My mom fell silent.

I sighed. "Mom, this home belongs to just the two of us now. Those two couldn't care less if we live or die. Do you understand that?"

"Don't tell me you're thinking of dragging me along to shamelessly beg Mr. Sutton to take you back."

'In any case, I would rather die than go back to the way things were.'

"Never!"

This time, my mom's voice was resolute. "From now on, Mom's only going to live with you. Nothing anyone says will change that!"

"That's right. We'll live a good life, just the two of us. And nothing anyone says will change that."

Hearing her firm resolve, I finally broke into a relieved and gratified smile.

'All my careful planning hadn't been for nothing.'