Chapter 9
“No! That’s not true!” Nathan cried out, his voice raw with anguish. “You’re back now, aren’t you? The research at the lab is complete. We’ve managed to purge Eveline from the system-‘
I cut him off with a sharp, derisive laugh.
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“That research you speak of is just an excuse. It was a justification for cruelty. A way to inflict pain on others while using self- harm to numb your own guilt, I’d say.”
Just then, the door was flung open. With a blade raised high, a figure threw itself at me.
“This is all your fault, Caroline! Look at what you’ve made me become!”
It was Eveline, though I barely recognized her.
Her face was a map of grotesque scars. Having lost an eye, the sight of that empty, hollow socket was enough to make anyone’s blood run cold.
Nathan was the quickest to move. As she sprang forward, he kicked her hard in the chest.
Eveline shrieked as she was hurled backward. She hit the ground with a dull thud.
Sprawled on the floor, the blood pooled from her mouth as she gasped, “Caroline… I hope you die in misery! They took everything from me because of you…”
However, before she could finish, she drew her final breath.
Paying her no mind, Nathan’s gaze searched mine tentatively. “Carol, look… I’ve avenged you…”
Hearing that, I scoffed, “But weren’t you the ones who hurt me in the first place?”
Turning away from their deathly pale faces, I firmly said, “System, shut down the life-support systems.”
At that moment, a long, piercing beep echoes throughout the silent room. It extinguished their last glimmer of hope.
Under their incredulous stares, I said, “Caroline is gone. Forcing this shell to remain in this world will only lead to its collapse.”
At that, Nathan fell unusually quiet. The obsession in his eyes deepened by the second. “I won’t let you leave, Caroline,” he
said.
Then, he pulled out a palm-sized device from his pocket and pressed a button.
Instantly, the system let out a piercing alarm.
“Warning! Unknown energy interference detected! Teleportation sequence blocked!”
“Albus and I built this energy disruptor together. Its only purpose is to keep the system from taking you away,” Nathan explained, stepping toward me. His eyes burned with a possessive, almost mad intensity.
“You’re crazy!” I snapped. Beside myself with fury, I swung my hand and gave him a hard slap.
But he didn’t flinch. Instead, he pulled me closer, refusing to let go.
“I am crazy! I lost my mind the second you died!” he said, breaking into a sob. “Carol, please don’t leave me. I’m begging you … I can’t live without you…”
On the other hand, my three brothers remained silent, yet the identical crazed look in their eyes was a dead giveaway. They felt the same way.
At some point, tears were already streaming down my face. Dragging my palm down my face, I felt a strange stillness settle
over me.
“You never knew, did you? I’m an orphan,” I calmly said. “There was a time when I dreamt of staying here for good. Your
Chapter 9
love was worth more than any reward and everything in the real world. It was the only thing I craved.”
My gaze swept calmly over them as they crumbled under the weight of their own grief.
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“I have a real home now, with people who genuinely care for me. I am finished with this place,” I continued. “If I must die again to leave, then so be it. After all, I’ve been living on borrowed time!”
At that, Nathan’s grip loosened. The crazed look in his eyes slowly gave way to despair.
“I’ll let you go…” he repeated.
He let go of me, only to grab the knife on the ground and drive it straight into his chest. As he fell, his gaze remained fixed on me with a deep longing.
“Carol… the debt I owed you… I’m paying for it with my life… Please don’t hate me, okay?”
I looked away. Though the tears continued to flow, my resolve had never been stronger.
“Energy interference cleared. Teleportation sequence initiated.”
At that moment, I felt the familiar tug on my body. Just before leaving, their soft pleas for forgiveness reach my ears.
The sound was thick with regret and despair, but I refused to look back. Not this time.
Back in the real world, Lawrence was flying kites with the children in the yard.
When he saw me return, his expression clouded with concern as he asked, “Where were you? Are you okay? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Hearing that, I felt a surge of warmth.
“I’m fine,” I replied. “I just had to close a chapter on the past.”
The people I once loved and hated didn’t matter anymore. From here on out, they have nothing to do with me.
Only When I Gave Up Did They Care
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