Chapter 3\u00a0<\/p>\n
A single sentence from the system nearly brought me to tears. Wiping away the tears at the corner of my eyes, I felt utterly humiliated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, Oscar walked to my side. He was about to speak when Eveline suddenly screamed and rushed over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOscar, how did you get hurt so badly?\u201d she cried out, her voice sharp with panic. \u201cYou-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before she could finish, I stepped forward and cut her off with a slap. She clutched her swollen cheek, staring at me in\u00a0<\/p>\n
disbelief.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the exact moment, a fierce blow knocked me to the ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Martin pointed at me, his face twisted with anger as he shouted, \u201cCaroline! We\u2019ve spoiled you rotten! Apologize to Eveline!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I lay sprawled on the ground. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, I countered, \u201cApologize? What did I do wrong? I\u2019m a two- time divorcee, and you\u2019re telling me I can\u2019t even take a swing at the mistress?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that, Martin\u2019s anger boiled over. His voice rose sharply as he roared, \u201cWhat nonsense are you spouting? Nathan and Eveline were a couple long before you decided to interfere! How did I end up with a sister as shameless as you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I gave a hollow laugh, then snapped, \u201cSo, I\u2019m the shameless one? Nathan was my fiance, yet now, I\u2019m the third wheel?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur engagement was dissolved years ago,\u201d Nathan replied, looking at me with disdain. \u201cThe Rodgers family would never accept a woman with your reputation!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My third brother, Albus Bergling, dragged me up from the floor. \u201cCarol! Apologize!\u201d he snapped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I stayed silent as my gaze swept over the people before me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Martin looked indifferent, Albus looked disgusted, while Nathan looked as though he wished me dead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the other hand, Oscar frowned. His lips moved, yet he said nothing in the end.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The scene mirrored what happened a year ago. Back then, Eveline\u2019s frequent contact with Oscar led fans to label her a stalker.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seeing her being attacked, he couldn\u2019t bear it. He took to Twitter and revealed that Eveline was the Berglings\u2019 heiress.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yet I, the true heiress, took the blame for her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always have bodyguards with you. Eveline is alone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In shock, I protested. I broke down in tears and threw a tantrum. Still, the looks they gave me mirror the one I received now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Inside, nothing was left but a hollow weariness. I couldn\u2019t even muster the energy to defend myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pulling free from Albus\u2019 grip, I bolted for the living room and seized the knife lying on the table.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seeing that, Oscar panicked and rushed over, but Eveline clutched his arm and cried out, \u201cCarol, what are you doing?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A twisted smile tugged at my lips as I stared straight at her. \u201cI\u2019m apologizing,\u201d I said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t spare another glance at Martin, Albus, and Nathan-all on high alert. In one swift motion, I raised my hand and plunged the knife into my chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Amid the chaos of screams, I smiled through tears. \u201cI\u2019ll pay with my life. Will that do? Are you satisfied?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Warm, thick blood poured from the wound. Lightheaded and unsteady from blood loss, I swayed where I stood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Screams blurred together as my vision dimmed, but still, I caught glimpses of the men\u2019s horrified expressions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oscar lunged forward and held me, shouting as if he had lost his mind. \u201cCall an ambulance!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I woke to the strong smell of disinfectant. My heart leaped at the sea of white around me. Was I finally back?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 3\u00a0<\/p>\n
212\u00a0<\/p>\n
Turning slightly, I met Martin\u2019s weary, bloodshot eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Annoyed, I shut my eyes tight. For once, Martin\u2019s raspy tone felt unbearably shrill. \u201cCaroline! Since when did you learn to pull suicidal stunts for sympathy?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Upon hearing that, my annoyance deepened. There was something under my head that pressed painfully.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I reached up and pulled it out. It was an old, worn protective charm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I was 12 years old, I had a high fever for an entire week. Three critical notices came from the hospital.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For my sake, Albus made a pilgrimage of a thousand steps, pausing on each to recite a prayer. In doing so, he returned with this protective charm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That very charm ended up with Eveline after she got hurt. Oscar took it and gave it to her, but now, it was mine again, and all I felt was resentment. I simply lifted my arm and threw it aside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that very moment, Albus entered the ward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He watched the charm fall to the floor. Lifting his head, he looked me straight in the face and asked, \u201cCaroline, did you just throw that protective charm away?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 3\u00a0 A single sentence from the system nearly brought me to tears. Wiping away the tears at the corner […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-only-when-i-gave-up-did-they-care"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}