Chapter 3

Before the hospital could kick me out, I discharged myself.

I took a cab back to the house I used to call home.

Unlocking the door, the sound of laughter instantly greeted me.

Leo and his girlfriend, Vanessa, were sprawled on the couch watching TV, a spread of takeout and snacks on the coffee table.

Mom walked out of the kitchen carrying a roasted chicken, wearing a warm, loving smile I hadn't seen in years.

A picture-perfect family.

And I was an unwelcome intruder.

The laughter died the second they saw me.

Leo scowled, visibly annoyed. "What are you doing here? Mom said she was shipping you out of town to rest."

Vanessa, wearing heavy makeup and stylish clothes, looked me up and down with open disgust, as if I were carrying the plague.

Mom slammed the platter onto the table, her face darkening. "Didn't I tell you to wait at the hospital? I was going to pick you up this afternoon! What are you doing wandering around?"

She marched over, trying to push me back toward the front door. "Get out. Don't go scaring Leo's girlfriend."

I stepped aside, dodging her hand, and looked her dead in the eye. "Where is my money? The fifty thousand dollars for my treatment."

Her eyes flickered, but she instantly went on the offensive. "Your money? That was family savings! Your father and I decide how to spend it! Securing a home for your brother is our top priority!"

"That was my life-saving money!" The rage I had bottled up for years finally exploded. "I've worked for seven years, handing over half my paycheck every single month! At least thirty-five grand of that money was earned by me!"

"Earned by you?" Mom sneered, pointing a finger in my face. "Without this family raising you, you wouldn't have earned a single penny! We raised you, and now you want to nickel-and-dime us? You ungrateful little parasite!"

Leo stood up, stepping in front of Vanessa with a look of pure contempt. "Chloe, stop making a scene! It's just an illness, why are you being so dramatic? Mom said the doctors can't cure it anyway, so why waste good money? Me buying a house and getting married is what actually matters for this family!"

Listening to their venom, watching their smug, entitled faces, my blood ran cold.

"So my life is worth less than your house, is that it, Leo?" I asked, staring at him.

Leo flinched under my glare, but quickly puffed out his chest. "Yeah, so what? You're practically dead already! You want to drag the whole family down with you into your grave?"

Practically dead.

They had already written me off.

Even when the doctors hadn't given up on me, my own family had already dug my grave.

Mom chimed in, feeling justified. "Hear that? Your brother is right! Start thinking about this family for once! Stop being so selfish!"

Selfish. Wanting to live was considered "selfish."

A sudden laugh bubbled up from my throat, tears spilling over.

I leaned against the wall, my knees giving out under my frail weight.

"Fine. I'm selfish."

I swallowed the laughter, scanning the room.

"If there's no room for me in this house, then we settle everything right now."