3: 3

3

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and laughed, loud.

I staggered to the middle of the stage, smashed the whole mountain of glasses, and pulled out a bottle full of gasoline.

"She's insane, this eldest Henson daughter is a lunatic. Let's go, I'm not dying in here."

"Don't leave, don't leave, everyone get back here."

Her nice little birthday party, wrecked by me. Gayle Henson looked like she wanted me dead.

"Sister, why are you doing this to me? You want me dead? Fine, I'll die for you to see."

"Then go ahead and die for me to see. Or we all die together. Not one of us gets to live. We'll all check in at the gates of hell nice and neat."

My mother backed away, too scared to move, but the filth kept pouring out of her mouth.

"You worthless curse. Poor Gayle, you've suffered because of her."

"I'm not suffering, Mom. But seeing my sister like this, I feel so guilty, it breaks my heart."

"None of this is your fault, Gayle. It's all her fault. She's a demon. You'll always be my only sister."

Vincent Henson had made his position clear. It stung, a small sharp pain in my chest, and at that same instant he suddenly clutched at his own heart, shot me a glance, then looked away fast. I knew what that was. The twin thing.

I laughed. So this was what family love looked like.

"You have to give all that love to your sister. Only then will she let go of her hatred and live with us. All of us together, that's what's good."

"That's my good girl, Gayle. Look how your sister thinks only of you, with her whole heart. And you? Your brother's right. You're a curse."

I lit the strip of cloth right there. Their faces went white.

"Stop it, stop it, have you lost your mind?"

"Yes, I've lost my mind. You drove me to it. In another life I was a firstborn legitimate daughter too, and a fake is living off everything that was mine, and still acting like she's the one doing me a favor."

My fingers were about to let go.

"Stop. Stop right now. Just tell me what you want. Anything I can do, I'll do it."

"Sign everything in her name back over to me. Right now. Or we all die."

The sky had fallen in on Gayle Henson. Fainting wouldn't save her this time.

"It all belongs to Gayle. Why should it go to you?"

"Why should a fake sit on what's mine? Stop wasting my time. Are you giving it back or not?"

"Once you're dead you'll have nothing. Want to bet on whether you run faster than the fire spreads?"

I raised my hand higher. They didn't dare gamble. I stared at the loving little family, all of them. I was the one true eldest daughter of the Hensons, and I had to claw back what was mine like this. Almost funny.

In the end they just couldn't out-crazy me. I didn't stop until every transfer went through.

"Lunatic. Don't worry, Gayle, everything I have is yours from now on. Don't you fret."

The grief on her face flipped back to life in a heartbeat.

"It's all right, Mom. As long as we're still together, that's all that matters."

And she looked at me, smug, while she said it.

The four of them moved to another place to keep celebrating Gayle Henson's birthday, and me, the curse, they left behind like trash.

My whole body gave out and I slid to the floor. Nothing left of the fire from a moment ago.

"Miss, let me get you back to your room. You're too foolish. Doing this does you no good at all."

I gave a cold little laugh.

"But if I don't do it, I get nothing either."

"If they throw you out, all of this just falls to the eldest Miss for free."

I patted her head. The only servant who was ever kind to me.

They'd brought me back because Dennis Sullivan, the young heir of the Sullivan family, had both legs ruined in a car accident, and they couldn't bear to marry Gayle Henson off to him, so they came and dug me up instead.

The Sullivans stood at the head of the four great families. Without the betrothal, the Hensons wouldn't have come close to them. But now that Dennis Sullivan was stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of his days, unable to perform in that way too, marrying him meant a life of widowhood on top of it.

There was no way Gayle Henson would live like that. So this was the trick she came up with.

4

The four of them looked closer than ever, a happy family, as if they were putting on a show just to spite me. I only gave a cold little smile. This kind of family feeling meant nothing to me.

“Sister, the Sullivans' elder heir is coming over today to discuss the marriage. I'll have to trouble you to receive him. I don't want you getting the wrong idea, so I'll marry myself off as quickly as I can.”

“Gayle, no. There's no need to make yourself suffer like this. Mama won't allow you to sacrifice yourself.”

How sweet it all sounded. If I remembered right, she'd already messaged Dennis long ago, saying I'd driven her out and stolen the marriage from her.

“Mama, it's no hardship for me. The Sullivans' younger heir and I truly love each other. What matters most is that Sister is happy.”

The moment they heard "the Sullivans' younger heir," they lit up, praising her for being so sensible.

With Dennis crippled, the Sullivan company would basically pass into the younger heir's hands. She had this all worked out down to the last cent.

“So it really was you who snatched Gayle's marriage. A country woman like you, thinking you could marry into the Sullivan family? Pure delusion.”

“Funny thing is, I don't want to marry you either. Wasn't it your precious dream goddess who climbed into your brother's bed? So they sent me in as the sacrificial pawn. Ngh!"”

Pain shot through my body.

【He is the child of fortune. Your job is to make him hate you, not to make him hate the female lead】

“You unnatural girl. Spouting nonsense again just to frame Gayle. That poor child has such a bitter fate.”

“I'm warning you, don't you dare slander Gayle. She has a kind heart. She only did this so the Hensons wouldn't be put in a hard spot.”

“Lying to yourself. All three of your legs are useless, so who would marry you now? She's off in your brother's bed, enjoying his affection. Pfft!”

A mouthful of fresh blood came pouring out.

【Deviation from the plot. Backlash incurred】

My mother shouted.

“The second daughter has lost her mind. Lock her up at once. Yes, lock her in the psychiatric hospital.”

“Ha, so now you're humiliated and furious? Let me tell you, she's slept with more men than you've got fingers on both hands. What is it you love about her? That she's fast, or just that shameless?”

“Gayle isn't that kind of person. Stop slandering her here. She broke up with me for your sake.”

“Dennis, if I were you, I'd go and die right now. A useless thing wastes air while it's alive and hogs land once it's dead.”

“Shut your mouth. Pfft!”

Dennis dropped straight to the floor, and the men he'd brought rushed to crowd around him.

“Sir, I'll get you to the hospital.”

【Thousand-arrows torment on standby】

“Aah……”

The savage look on my face startled all of them.

“Your brother can make her happy. Can you? You useless thing. If I were Gayle Henson, I wouldn't want you either. You're not even fit for a village girl like me. Spineless waste.”

【The child of fortune is about to be enraged to death. You undercover System, let's see how you force me to do your tasks now】

【Doubled】

“Pfft!”

They were all frightened. None of them had laid a finger on him, so how had he coughed up blood?

“Gayle isn't that kind of person.”

“Ha, don't believe me? Go to the hospital and check how many reconstructive surgeries she's had. Oh, and the abortions too. You have no idea how many men have had her, you fool.”

“Cover her mouth. No, no, I'm going to kill this unnatural girl. Nonsense, slander, framing people. I should have strangled you to death.”

She couldn't let me ruin Gayle Henson, the girl she'd raised with her own hands. Still shouting, she reached for me.

The tenfold punishment left me with no strength to fight back, and I could only let her clamp her hands around my throat.

Dennis was frozen where he sat, in no state to bother with me, and the other two Henson men wanted to devour me alive. There was no chance they'd save me.

“I'll kill you. What did the Hensons ever do to you, that you'd harm us like this?”

My face had already turned purple, and I struggled to draw breath.

【Host, be a good spineless female lead and I'll spare your life】

【In your dreams. Let me tell you, I won't die, because my backing, your nemesis, is on his way】

At the very last moment, the doors were pushed open.

“I'm here. No one lays a hand on Deborah Henson.”