The clubhouse we were in was part of the Lawson family's estate.

Walter thought I had forced Anna to work there.

However, the irony was that Anna was being pampered by both him and my brother.

She had always been treated like a princess.

She had more money than she could ever spend.

Why would she bother getting a job?

I knew the truth.

Even if I told everyone and had the supervisor back me up, Walter still would not believe me.

I was the villain in his eyes, the mean witch who used her family's power to bully his precious princess.

"Emma."

Walter hugged Anna close, protecting her.

"I can't imagine marrying a rich brat like you.

"Let's just forget about the engagement, okay?"

His words hung in the air, and the room went silent.

Anna's face went white as she shook with fear, clinging to Walter.

Her friends watched me, their eyes full of suspicion.

I could not help but laugh.

Ever since Anna's mom got involved with our family and Anna got between Walter and me, I had cried and yelled to get him to understand.

All the attention I used to get started to go to Anna and her mom instead.

How could I, spoiled as I was, stand it?

However, all my tears and tantrums did was push everyone to Anna's side.

I was tired of it all.

"Fine," I said calmly and took a few steps forward.

Walter instinctively moved Anna behind him.

"Emma, take it out on me if you're mad."

I let go of the hand that was covering my wound and showed them my palm.

The red of my blood stood out on my pale palm.

Walter's mouth tightened, and his stern eyes seemed to soften for a moment.

Anna pulled away from him.

"Ms. Lawson, don't be hard on our senior.

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have come and bothered you..."

She spoke, and tears started to fall from her eyes. "I'll go now."

"Anna, I told you I'd take care of everything."

Walter felt a pang of heartache.

He gently wiped away Anna's tears and then turned to look at me.

Any trace of pity in his eyes had disappeared and was replaced by disdain.

"Emma, can you please stop bothering us?"

I cut him off, "Fine. We can break off the engagement, but I want my things back."

Walter looked puzzled. "What things?"

I reached up and untied the red string that was around my neck.

Hanging from it was a jade pendant.

It was a family treasure Walter's mom had given me when our engagement was arranged.

My mom had given him something even more precious.

It was an item that had once belonged to a royal palace, blessed by a respected religious figure from ancient times.

"Here's your pendant back. Now, return my bracelets to me."

Walter's expression turned icy.

His eyes fixed on the jade pendant in my hand.

I had treasured it since I was fifteen, and everyone knew it.

"Do you think everyone's as cheap as you?"

Walter grabbed the pendant. "You’re always carrying around junk. You’re too attached to it to let go."

He gave me a final icy stare. "I'll find it and give it to you. Then, we'll be square."

When I arrived home, my brother Matthias Lawson was waiting in the living room.

"Emma, there's something I need to tell you."

He handed me a pile of thick papers.

"I plan to transfer this office building to Anna and let her collect the rent.

"She's had a tough life, and now that she's with our family, it's time for her to have some good fortune."

I looked at the papers.

That building was my mother's inheritance, a piece of property her family owned.

I grabbed the paper emotionlessly and ripped it right down the middle.

"Emma!

"What's this supposed to mean?"

Matthias adjusted his glasses and frowned at me.

"I covered for you when you pushed Anna down the stairs back then.

"Giving her a whole building still can’t make up for what she went through.

"Did you forget what Mom said before she died?"

Matthias went quiet all of a sudden.

Mom had held onto his hand so tightly, making him promise to always look after me, care for me, and love me.

He was supposed to never let anyone hurt me or take what was mine.

"I didn't forget.

"But Anna is my sister too now, Emma.

"It's only fair to give her half of the love I have for you, right?

"Emma, you're just too stubborn and bossy."

Matthias let out a soft sigh. "Why can't you be more like Anna?"

I felt like laughing, but I cried instead.

"Matthias.

"Nobody's going to take Mom's things.

"If you want to give Anna something, that's fine. Give her whatever you want from what the Lawsons have."

"What good stuff does the Lawson family even have?"

Matthias stopped talking suddenly.

Yeah, what good stuff did we have?

We had nothing good, from the people in the family to the things we owned.

I tossed the torn paper into the trash and headed upstairs.

"Mom's memorial is in a few days. Don't forget."

"How could I?" Matthias gave me an awkward smile.

"Go to bed early. I'll be in the office for a while longer."

I did not answer or look back at him.

I spent the whole night wide awake.

I gathered everything in the house that had to do with us three—Me, Walter, and Matthias.

I burned the pictures.

I broke and took apart anything that could be broken.

I packed up whatever could be given away and sent it to the orphanage.

All that was left in this little house were the memories in every corner.

It was the Lawson family's only little villa from when Mom married into the family.

After Mom passed away, my brother and I just could not bring ourselves to leave.

Dad moved out to live with Anna's mom.

Eventually, my brother stopped coming by as much.

Walter used to come over every day to play when we were younger.

It had been a long time since his last visit.

On the porch, I hugged Mom's picture.

I cried for a long time until I fell asleep with tears on my cheeks.

The day after my birthday was the anniversary of Mom's death.

That year, she hung on just long enough to see my birthday through before she left us.

I had cried so much back then.

Walter had been there for me every minute of the day, spending every second by my side.

He helped me get through the next eight years and eight birthdays.

This was the first year he had missed it, but it did not matter anymore.

Walter never showed up.

As for Anna, she just would not go away.

Her posts littered my social media feed all night.

Some nosy people even streamed it to me live.

"There's really no reason to celebrate," one of them said. "Tonight, let's just celebrate the anniversary of you buying your tablet!"

"We just wanted an excuse to eat cake," they joked.

There was a fancy, expensive two-layer cake and a tower of champagne.

There were many bags, beautiful clothes, and a little princess with a crown.

Anna was all smiles, gazing lovingly at the man next to her.

Walter was smiling gently back at her. They looked perfect together.

I logged off Messenger and set my phone down on the table.

I closed my eyes and whispered a wish to the flickering candlelight.

"Mom, please make everything go smoothly for me.

"Mom, please keep me far away from those terrible people."