We have weird rules set in place in this home.

1. Ethan's opinion is the one that matters the most in all events.

2. If Matthew has any objections, please refer to the first rule.

Ethan Moreno is the real heir who has been reunited with the family. I am Matthew Moreno, the fake heir.

My adoptive parents claim that they've set up these rules because they are worried that Ethan might not feel at ease when he's home.

That's why when Ethan asks to move into my room, I let him have it.

When he demands that I give him my scholarship, I give it to him obediently.

When he tells me he wants to marry my fiancee, Holly Nottings, I agree to it.

Even when Ethan plans on using our family's account to donate ten million dollars to a university in exchange for an exchange student slot, I agree to let him have his way as well.

After all, when I refused to give Ethan what he wanted in my previous life, he threatened to commit suicide after he got his sorry ass dumped by Holly.

When my adoptive parents found out about it, they strung me up and had me whipped for three days and nights.

By the time I was released, I was already reduced to a shriveled-up corpse.

When I open my eyes once again, I hear my adoptive father claiming that he'll wire ten million dollars from the family account to Ethan.

"Fine. I'll transfer the money right now," I said.

My adoptive parents, Frank Moreno and Nadia Westerson, were stunned as they watched me pull out my phone and transfer the money to them.

"You're actually doing it?" they asked.

It was obvious that their question was meant to test me.

My chest ached. I had so many words stuck in my throat. Just breathing made my heart squeeze painfully.

Frank thought I was mocking them and roared, "That's a shared bank account, Matthew! You're just taking care of it for the time being. Don't forget your place!"

Of course, I could never forget my place.

I was just the fake heir of the Moreno family, whom they picked up off the streets, while Ethan Moreno was the true heir.

Frank and Nadia even set down a few house rules just to make Ethan happy.

The first rule was that everything had to revolve around Ethan. The second rule was that if I had any objections, we were to refer to the first rule.

Due to these rules, I was forced to give my room, my scholarship, and even my fiancee, who I had been engaged to since we were children, to Ethan.

However, in my past life, when Ethan wanted to use my money to further his studies, I rejected him. I knew that instead of using the money to further his studies as he claimed, he would just use it to gamble.

Ethan didn't say anything about my rejection at first, but when his fiancee called off the engagement, he started threatening to end his own life.

To appease him, Frank and Nadia strung me up and beat me for three days and three nights. The blood that flowed from my body soaked through three carpets. When they finally released me, all the blood in my body had been completely drained.

I was determined to avoid such a fate in this life.

I hastily transferred the money.

Ethan grinned from ear to ear when he got the notification that he had just received ten million dollars in his account.

I returned to my room and dialed a number, asking the other person on the line to investigate my background.

In my past life, I thought I saw a middle-aged couple burst into the room before I took my last breath. I couldn't be sure that they were my biological parents, but I couldn't give up on any chances.

Ethan suddenly threw my door open right after I hung up. "What are you doing?" he asked.

I calmly showed him my phone, saying, "The boss of Crown Bar asked me to pick up a shift tonight. I earn 5,000 dollars in a single night. I'll have more money to give you then."

Frank nodded, looking pleased. "You're getting more mature, Matt."

Ethan was momentarily stunned at the mention of Crown Bar. He immediately grew jealous when he heard Frank praise me, saying, "I haven't earned any money for the family. Why don't you bring me along to your part-time job, Matt?"

Frank frowned and exclaimed, "No! A bar is too dangerous."

He then turned to me and began berating me, "You can hang around in a degenerate place like a bar if you want, Matt, but don't drag Ethan into this. He's the heir of the Moreno family. He doesn't share the same lowly genes that you have.

"Don't think that we'll fall at your feet in gratitude just because you're earning some money for us. It's your duty. You enjoyed being the heir of the Moreno family for the last two decades while Ethan faced terrible hardship. It's only right that you repay him for the time that you stole from him."

Frank even tried to beat me in his fit of anger.

It seemed that he had forgotten that I never dared to use any expensive products because I knew that I was adopted since I was a child.

I never needed any material things. I only wanted their love. Having their love was more than enough to satisfy me. If they withheld their love from me, I would simply wait in a place where they could see me until they noticed me.

It was why Frank's words made me feel as if my heart had been tossed into a blazing fire before being scooped out and thrown into an ice cave.

My body trembled as I forced myself to hide how upset I was. "Didn't you tell me to listen to everything that Ethan said, Dad? Also, I truly just want Ethan to have an easier time when he moves abroad."

Frank glared at me. "That had better be your true intention! Don't you have a part-time job to go to? Get out of here!"

I lowered my head and wiped the tears from my eyes before hurrying out of the room.

I noticed Ethan's smug expression right before closing the door behind me.

I worked for the entire night.

I had just fallen asleep right before dawn broke on the horizon when I was jolted awake.

Ethan slapped me hard across the face and exclaimed, "Mom and Dad want to throw a party for me to celebrate that I'm furthering my studies. I want you to head over to the villa on the mountaintop and start decorating right now."

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth. I was just about to speak when Ethan suddenly raised his voice and screamed, "Mom! Dad! Matt doesn't want to go with me! I bet he thinks that I don't deserve to further my studies!"

I still had no idea what was going on when Frank whipped me across the face.

The whip was the punishment that they had prepared for me after Ethan returned.

I immediately snapped awake at the excruciating pain of having part of my skin torn off. I hastily scrambled off the bed and exclaimed, "I'll go right now!"

Ethan looked pleased as he sauntered away to pack his clothes.

…

It was nearly noon by the time Ethan and the others were ready to leave.

I intentionally avoided them and got into the car with the household staff.

In my past life, I would always go along with Ethan's requests and sit next to him whenever we went out.

Frank and Nadia never said anything about the arrangement, but I knew that they always complained behind my back about me ruining their family reunion.

My heart throbbed when I saw Ethan's hands intertwined with Frank's and Nadia's when they got out of their car.

That warmth used to belong to me.

My knees nearly buckled when someone suddenly clapped me hard on my back.

Ethan pretended to be surprised when he said, "I just lightly touched you, Matt. You don't have to make your hatred for me that obvious, do you?"

Frank didn't even ask us what was going on before he began berating me. "I'm surprised you haven't died of envy yet, considering how jealous you are of Ethan all the time. Haven't we given you more than enough? What else do you want from us?"

Anger bubbled within me as I took in the disdain and hatred in Frank's eyes, threatening to boil over. I wondered when they started loathing me so much, shouting at me whenever they addressed me.

The whip they used whenever they punished me was also getting thicker by the day.

However, I could still remember how happily they recorded me when I grew my first tooth. They even booked the billboard in New Lamora to celebrate my 18th birthday.

Unfortunately, everything changed after Ethan returned.

I hastily lowered my head and apologized, slapping myself twice for good measure. "Sorry. I was a little unsteady on my feet just now."

Ethan seemed pleased by my reaction. After he chose a room for himself, he grabbed my hand and led me upstairs, declaring that I would stay in the room next to his.

"This room is perfect for you, Matt."

Ethan had behaved the same way in my past life, insisting that I stay next to him.

However, after I lay down on the bed about 20 minutes later, I heard him complaining to Frank and Nadia that his room was too uncomfortable.

Frank and Nadia suggested changing rooms for him, but he told them that he would just ignore his discomfort because he didn't want to disturb my rest.

A few minutes later, Ethan was rushed to the hospital because his severe wool allergy started acting up. He nearly died on the way there.

When he survived the critical period, Frank and Nadia locked me in the room that was covered with wool for an entire day and only unlocked the door after I lost consciousness.

I had no way of rejecting Ethan's request this time, but I began counting down the time the moment I stepped into my room.

As expected, Ethan began complaining to Frank and Nadia 20 minutes later.

I leaped to my feet and knocked on his door, saying, "Mom, Dad, I noticed Ethan's room has wool in it. His allergies will start acting up, so he should move to my room."

I went to the smallest room that was tucked away in a corner on the first floor. It was cramped and cold, but it gave me a great sense of safety.

However, the next morning, I was jolted awake by a shock of pain.

Frank repeatedly whipped me as he shouted, "I can't believe you drugged Ethan out of jealousy! We had to contact six or seven people to save him!"

Ethan was leaning against the doorframe. His collar was wide open, exposing the many marks that littered his skin.

I could tell that he hadn't been drugged at all just from looking at his twisted expression of satisfaction. He probably got those marks after getting involved with the new maids, whom he had shown a clear interest in.

Frank refused to give me a chance to explain myself, ordering his men to abandon me in the forest.

"Since you're such an amazing person, I'm sure that you can find your way back by yourself," Ethan sneered.

I looked at Frank, who was brandishing a whip, and Nadia, who was holding a bat. I was just about to accept my fate when someone else's voice resounded in the air.

It was Holly Nottings.

She greeted Frank and Nadia before convincing them to let me stay, saying that she needed someone to tend to her needs.

I scoffed silently in my heart.

Ethan and Holly were already together, even though I had just transferred the money to Ethan the day before. It seemed that their goal wasn't marriage but to swindle me out of the rest of my money.

I spent the rest of the night following Ethan and Holly around while balancing a tray of drinks, watching them kiss each other intimately.

Halfway through the party, they asked me to follow them to the restroom and wait for them outside the door.

My gaze gradually darkened as I listened to the muffled moans coming from within.

I remained silent during the entire party and only spoke when it was about to wrap up.

"Mom, Dad, I have some good news to share."

Frank scoffed and asked, "What good news could you possibly have?"

I pulled out an application form and explained, "This university is really prestigious, but you only have to pay an additional five million dollars on top of the base price to secure a spot. It's the perfect place for Ethan. He can just use the money that I transferred to him earlier to pay the fees."

"Oh my god! Isn't this the third-best university in the entire world? You'll get to mingle with the elites if you're a student there."

"I spent about 30 or 40 million dollars in the past, but I still wasn't able to secure a spot."

"Both your sons are so capable, Mr. Moreno. That's amazing!"

Both Frank and Nadia were floating on cloud nine as the guests showered them with praises and began urging Ethan to pay the school fees.

Meanwhile, Ethan shot a fierce glare at me before saying, "I don't like this place."

He quickly lost his temper when Frank and Nadia tried to convince him to change his mind. "I already said that I don't like this place! Don't you understand what I'm saying?"

Ethan smashed his glass on the ground before grabbing Holly and dragging her away.

I knew why Ethan wasn't willing to enroll in that particular university. It was famous for being a strict institution, which meant that Ethan wouldn't be able to gamble anymore once he was a student there.

…

The door was slammed open around midnight, right after I sent the last guest on their way.

Holly looked terribly frightened as she stumbled through the door while supporting Ethan. "Ethan was just bitten by a snake, Mrs. Moreno!"

Frank and Nadia immediately began to panic upon hearing her words, shouting for someone to contact a doctor.

However, Ethan grabbed both of them with reddened eyes and exclaimed, "Mom, Dad, the snake slithered out from Matt's room. I asked my friend, and he told me that it's a pet snake. Why were you planning to hurt me, Matt?"

I immediately defended myself. "It wasn't me! I already gave you 15 million dollars to further your studies. Why would I keep a pet snake around just so it could bite you?"

Holly threw the snake food that she found in my room and said, "I bet you weren't actually willing to give Ethan so much money. That's why you wanted to use this party as a cover-up to poison him to death. You'll also get to reclaim your position as the heir of the Moreno family this way."

I frowned lightly and said, "The snake food doesn't prove anything."

"What about this then?" Holly asked as she showed a message on her phone.

"Please wait for me, Holly. We can be together again once I get rid of Ethan."

Tears streamed down Holly's face. "I decided to drop by after receiving this message from Matt. I was worried that he would actually hurt Ethan."

Ethan's and Holly's accusations successfully painted me as the criminal.

It had also been like this in the past. They would believe Ethan's words no matter what he said. Meanwhile, every word that came out of my mouth was born out of jealousy and envy.

It didn't take long for their dislike of me to grow, and this time was no exception.

Frank and Nadia didn't even give me a chance to defend myself before they strung me up. They then used whips that had been soaked in salt water to whip my back.

I gritted my teeth, refusing to make a sound.

Frank finally spoke after I had been whipped 20 times. "You made Ethan upset. Transfer another one million dollars from the shared bank account to him right now. We won't let you off the hook if you refuse to comply."

I knew that the money had been Ethan's true objective since the very beginning.

Although the Morenos were extremely wealthy, they were still obsessed with the money that I had earned through my own blood, sweat, and tears.

The money that they promised to use for my school fees turned into Ethan's allowance after he returned.

I was also the only one who still transferred money into the shared bank account.

"Why don't I just transfer everything to him? Sounds good?"

Frank and Nadia exchanged glances with each other before turning around and leaving the room.

I pushed myself back up on my feet, leaning against the wall for support. I then dialed a number, saying, "Give me their contact information."