It was raining very heavily on the day my parents got divorced.

There are two copies of the agreements on the table. One declares that the signee will stay with Dad, who's a gambling addict and has already racked up a huge debt, in the old town.

The other declares that the signee will follow Mom, who will marry a rich businessman, and move to a coastal town.

In the previous life, my younger sister, Tamara Browning, kicked up a fuss because she wanted to stay with Mom. So, I packed up my luggage quietly and went with Dad.

Soon after, Dad quit gambling and received the compensation due to our house being demolished in a governmental project. Since then, he showered me with love and affection.

Meanwhile, Tamara wasn't allowed to even leave the house. On top of that, she was neglected by everyone, so she died from depression.

Now that we're given a second chance in life, Tamara snatches the cigarette out of Dad's fingers before hugging him, refusing to let him go at all.

"Tiana, my heart aches for Dad's situation. You should live a good life with Mom. I'll give that chance to you."

I deign to say anything at all. Instead, I just pick up the train ticket that'll take me to the coastal town.

But what Tamara doesn't know is the reason behind Dad's decision to quit gambling in the previous life. At that time, I had overexhausted myself from paying off his debt, and I began vomiting blood due to my brain cancer. I practically had to risk my life just to get him to quit gambling once and for all.

On the day Mom and Dad divorced, two divorce agreements lay on the table.

The first one stated that the child was to stay in the old house in the old town with Dad, Chuck Browning, who was addicted to gambling and riddled with debt.

The second one stated that the child was to go to the coastal town with Mom, Marina Dillon, who had remarried a wealthy businessman.

In my previous life, my younger sister, Tamara Browning, cried and begged to stay with Mom, so I silently packed my bags and went with Dad instead.

Later on, Dad quit his gambling habits and received a large settlement for selling off his old house in a land expropriation project, and that was when he began pampering and showering me with affection.

Meanwhile, Tamara suffered emotional abuse at her stepfather's home as she was forbidden from leaving the house at all. Eventually, she died of depression.

Now that we were reborn, Tamara snatched the cigarette away from Dad's fingers and hugged him tightly.

"I feel sorry for Dad, Tiana. You can go ahead and enjoy your life with Mom. I'll let you take it."

Dad was stunned momentarily. Then, he stroked Tamara's head with a look of relief.

I said nothing and picked up the train ticket that would bring me to the coastal town.

Tamara had no idea that Dad only managed to quit his gambling habits because I had worked myself to the bone paying off his debts while suffering from a brain tumor. Dad finally saw the error of his ways after I nearly gave up my life for him.

And now that I was reborn, I no longer had to put up with the voices of the debt collectors hounding us anymore. All I wanted was just a good night's sleep.

…

I picked up my worn-out suitcase.

"Get out of here. Go look for your gold digger of a mother instead," Dad said, waving his hand dismissively at me like I was just an annoying fly.

Tamara hid behind him and made a face at me. She mouthed, "Don't come begging me for money the next time you see me!"

I smiled and said nothing. Instead, I turned around and walked out into the rain, flinching at the cold. I could feel the chill seeping into my bones.

It wouldn't make much of a difference wherever I went anyway. I just wanted someplace quiet to spend the last of my days, getting through everything.

At least, I no longer needed to hear the debt collectors hounding at the door or put up with the horrible stench of cigarettes anymore.

Mom's black Mercedes was parked at the entrance to an alleyway. The car windows rolled down, revealing Mom's youthful, well-maintained face.

She frowned as she stared at my drenched body, a look of disgust in her eyes.

"How did you end up like this? Hurry up and get it. And make sure not to dirty the interior of the car."

I opened the back seat door and was just about to enter when she said, "Throw that suitcase into the back."

She pointed at my suitcase and said, "That's so filthy. I don't even know what germs it's covered in."

I hesitated for a moment. However, I still did as she said and put the suitcase in the trunk of the car.

When I finally got back inside the car, I did my best to stay in a corner and take up as little space as possible, not daring to touch the leather seats.

The air conditioning in the car had been turned on, but I still felt very cold.

"Make sure you behave yourself when we reach that place, Tiana," Mom said, looking at me in the rearview mirror while driving. "Your new stepfather doesn't like noise. Stay in your room as much as possible and don't come out.

"Don't chew with your mouth open, and don't drag your feet on the floor while walking. Also, don't you ever bring up your dad. He's nothing but bad luck."

I looked at the fleeting raindrops outside the window and nodded.

"Got it."

I felt a sudden sharp pain in my brain. My vision went black for a while, and I hurriedly held my head in my hand.

"What's wrong?" Mom asked, sounding impatient.

"Nothing. Just a little carsick."

"You're so delicate," she said with a scoff. "Just like your dad."

I closed my eyes and forcefully swallowed the metallic taste rising in my throat.

I didn't want to come back here anymore if I could be reborn again.

The car drove on for five hours. It was dark by the time we arrived at the huge mansion located halfway up the mountain.

The place was flooded with lights. However, it was as quiet as death itself.

"We're here," Mom said, parking the car and touching up her lipstick. Then, she inhaled deeply as she reconditioned herself.

Soon, she turned from the harsh and irritable woman earlier into a kind and understanding wife and mother.

"Let's go. Remember to greet your stepfather properly later."

I dragged my suitcase with me and walked after Mom.

There was a man seated in the center of the couch in the living room. A blanket was draped over his lap, and he was holding a book in his hands.

He looked up when he heard us at the door.

This was my new stepfather, Leonard Newton.

Leonard was also the same person who had driven Tamara to her death in her past life.

"You're back."

His voice was flat and void of all emotion.

"Leonard, this is Tiana," Mom said, nudging me forward with a smile on her face. "Tiana, you can refer to him as just Leo."

I walked forward and nodded politely at him. "Nice to meet you, Leo."

He flipped a page in his book, looking like he never heard me. A few seconds later, he finally hummed slightly through his nose.

"Mmh."

His gaze swept over my wet shoes, and I could see him frown slightly.

"The carpet was just replaced."

He looked back down at his book again and continued, "The first door on the second floor is the guest bedroom. It's already been cleaned up."

"Thank you, Leo."

Mom sighed in relief. Then, she began pulling me up the stairs.

"See? Leonard is a very nice person," Mom said, lowering her voice. "Just don't make him mad, and your life here will be pleasant."

I went into the guest bedroom. It was very large and empty.

"Mom," I said, stopping her from leaving.

"What is it?"

"Can I get a change of rooms?"

Mom's expression fell immediately.

"Tiana Browning! You've only been here for less than five minutes, and you're already making demands?

"What's wrong with this room? Isn't it a hundred times better than the doghouse your dad calls a home? Stop being such an ingrate!"

I watched calmly as Mom lost her temper with me. When she was finally done shouting, I said, "It's not that. This room is facing the north, and it's a little too chilly. I just want to stay in a room facing the south. I'm fine if the room is a lot smaller."

I was really freezing at this point.

The brain tumor had caused my internal temperature regulation to go haywire, and I constantly felt like I was living in a freezer. Only the sunlight could make me feel slightly better.

"Too chilly? Then turn on the heater!"

Mom thought that I was kicking up a fuss for nothing.

"The room facing the south is Leonard's study. The only other one is a store room."

"Then I'll take the store room," I said.

Mom's eyes doubled in disbelief.

"Are you crazy? Why are you insisting on staying in the storeroom when there's a comfortable guest bedroom prepared for you?

"Are you trying to make Leonard think that I'm abusing and mistreating you on purpose?"

Mom's voice was shrill and loud. I covered my ears because it was too noisy. I could feel the veins in my brain throbbing painfully.

"I'm just afraid of the cold," I said, repeating myself.

Just then, there were a few soft knocks on the door.

I didn't know how long Leonard had been standing there for. He was holding a glass of water in his hands, and there was a dark look on his face.

"What's the noise about?"

Mom's expression changed at once. Her voice shook as she said, "It's nothing, Leonard. This child is just being difficult and complaining about the room. I'm just teaching her a lesson."

Leonard looked at me, and I also looked at him.

He looked pallid. There wasn't any color on his lips, and he looked like he was close to death.

"Where do you want to stay, then?" he asked.

"In a room facing the south," I said, pointing at the end of the corridor.

"That's where we keep all the old furniture," he replied.

"That's fine. It doesn't matter as long as it lets the sun in."

Leonard went silent for a while. Then, he said, "Suit yourself. Just don't yell or make any noise in the hallway."

With that, he turned and left, not the least bit interested in the argument between Mom and me.

Mom then jabbed painfully at my head in a frustrated manner.

"Fine. Do what you want. What do you think people are going to think of me when they learn that you're living in the storeroom?"

I ignored her and grabbed my suitcase, bringing it with me to the other end of the hallway.

When I pushed the door open, I could smell the musty, dusty smell in the room at once.

However, I immediately caught sight of the floor-to-ceiling windows in the room. I knew that this room was going to be very warm when the sun came up tomorrow, and that was more than enough.

I made a makeshift bed on the ground and slid the photo album underneath my pillow.

My diagnosis was tucked inside the album. Nobody would go through my things anyway, unless I was a dead person.

I fell into a very deep sleep that night.

There was no shouting or hollering from the debt collectors in my dreams. There was nothing but an endless abyss of darkness instead.

Hence began my life in this household as an invisible person.

Leonard preferred the quiet. Even the maids in the house walked on tiptoe.

Meanwhile, Mom kept trying every possible way to please him and curry his favor.

She made him stews, massaged him often, and also kept him company when he was watching those dry and boring financial news reports on TV.

In other words, Mom was acting more like a nanny than a wife in this household.

As for me, I barely left my room unless it was for meals.

I made sure to keep the storeroom spick and span. It might be piled high with old furniture, but the sunlight in here was divine. I would often position my chair before the windows and stay there for the entire afternoon, just like an old lady basking in the sun before her imminent death.

At times, Leonard would walk past my door and pause when he saw me in front of the windows. However, he never spoke a word to me.

His gaze was a little strange. It looked as though he were looking at one of his own kind.

During lunchtime that day, it was very quiet at the table as always, with only the sound of silverware clinking against the plates and bowls.

Suddenly, my phone began vibrating loudly, sounding like an alarm in the silence.

Leonard frowned.

Mom immediately set down her utensils and glared at me.

"Who told you to bring your phone to the table? Where are your manners? Hang up now."

I brought out my phone and glanced momentarily at the screen.

It was Tamara.

I canceled the call. However, less than two seconds later, it vibrated loudly again.

I hung up again, and she called again for the third time in a row.

When the phone vibrated for the third time, Leonard set down his fork and said, "Answer it."

His voice was soft and quiet. "It's annoying and gives me a headache."

I brought my phone out to the balcony. Right after answering the call, Tamara's voice exploded on the other end of the line.

"Tiana Browning! You did this on purpose, didn't you? Where did you put the checks?"

I held my phone away from my ear.

"What checks?"

"Dad said that the checks at home have gone missing. You must be the one who stole it! It amounted to five thousand dollars!"

I chuckled. The five thousand dollars was what I earned washing dirty dishes last summer.

"That money belongs to me. I earned it," I said.

"Well, your money belongs to the family!" Tamara exclaimed with a huff. "Dad's run out of money for cigarettes and is in a huge temper right now. Hurry up and transfer the money to us! Otherwise, I'm going to tell Mom that you stole the money from us!"

I could hear things being smashed on the ground in the background of the call, along with Dad's loud curses and insults.

"You good-for-nothing, ungrateful wrench! I should have strangled you to death back then!"

The sounds of his voice and things breaking, although heard from hundreds of miles away, still made me feel suffocated as soon as I heard them.

"I never stole them," I said calmly. "That's the money I earned myself to pay for my medical bills."

"Medical bills? What could you possibly be sick with?"

Tamara burst out laughing. "Who do you think you're trying to fool with that sick act of yours?

"Hurry up and transfer the money now! If not, then I'm going to your school to make a huge scene, saying that you don't care the least bit about your own dad's life!"

I looked at the garden outside the balcony where the flowers were in full bloom. They were as red as the blood coursing through my body.

"Tamara, this is the path that you chose. And you're going to have to get through it by yourself, even if you have to crawl to the finish line.

"Stop bothering me."

Then, I hung up on her and blocked her number.

When I turned around, I suddenly felt a sticky warmth on my nose. I touched it and realized that my hand was covered in blood.

In a fluster, I searched in my pockets for some paper napkins and held it over my nose, throwing my head back to try and stop the bleeding.

The blood flowed rapidly down my throat and into my stomach, causing a wave of nausea. I quickly rushed into the bathroom on the ground floor after that.

I looked at myself in the mirror and saw the bright red blood staining half of my face. I turned on the tap and hurriedly began washing it away.

"What are you doing?"

I suddenly heard a voice behind me. I froze at once and looked in the mirror, realizing that Leonard was standing at the door and watching me.

He saw that my face was wet and still covered in blood, and I could see his eyes darkening ever so slightly.

I hastily wiped at my face and said, "I just had a nosebleed."

Then, I lowered my head and said, "I think I might be having a fever or something that caused this."

Leonard didn't say anything. He just came up to me and handed me a clean face towel.

"Wipe your face with it."

I took it from him and held it to my nose, pressing against it.

"Thank you, Leo."

He then looked at the blood stains in the sink that hadn't been washed away and asked, "Does this happen very often?"

"Sometimes," I lied. In reality, my nosebleeds were getting more and more frequent.

Leonard stared at me for a long while.

"Maybe you should get it checked at the hospital."

"No, thanks. It's quite common for me to get nosebleeds," I said, lowering my head and trying to walk past him so I could leave.

"Tiana Browning."

He called my name and stopped me from leaving. "You don't have to live in this household like you're walking on eggshells all the time.

"You and your mom are different entities altogether."

I froze and looked up at him. He still looked calm and cold, but there was a hint of an emotion I couldn't quite identify in his eyes.

"Just say it if you're not feeling well. Nobody's going to give you a medal for toughing things out."

Then, he turned and left, leaving me alone in the bathroom.

The towel in my hand still smelled faintly of pine.

That was the scent that Leonard had on him, aside from a faint smell of imminent death.