On the first anniversary of my marriage to my CEO wife, she invited my older brother, Kylo Rice, over. It poured rain all day, and once again, she punished me by making me stand outside in it. But this time, it was worse—she insisted I watch as she and my brother flaunted their affection for each other.

Afterwards, my brother, who despises me deeply, looked at me with a wild expression and said, "Do you hate me? What you're going through is nothing compared to what you and your mother did to me."

Seeing my silence, he continued as if in a daze, "I must admit, Knox, your wife's allure is quite captivating."

I endured it all without a word.

The final blow came when my wife encouraged my brother to destroy my mother's keepsakes. I felt utterly disheartened. The purpose of this marriage had vanished, and it seemed I should vanish too.

"Knox, your brother is so much more fun than you, you boring stiff," Selena said, satisfied, tracing circles on my chest. "But I have to say, I'm quite taken with your physique."

The night's heavy rain had already washed away all of my dignity. She grabbed my collar, forcing me to look down.

"Such a shame... you're repulsive to me," she whispered spitefully in my ear.

I gave a bitter smile, my voice low as I acknowledged her words. Maybe my compliance sparked something in Selena, as she suddenly tightened her grip.

I coughed repeatedly, struggling to breathe, yet I didn’t resist. She loathed my submissive demeanor, spitting out her words with scorn.

"Knox Rice! So what if you were once admired; now you're just an obedient dog that doesn’t dare bark! Remember, whether your mother's keepsakes are preserved or not is up to my whim."

With that, she released my collar, pulling out a sanitizing wipe and meticulously cleaning her hands, her face emotionless.

She tossed the used wipe at my face, her voice icy, "Eat it."

Only after I picked it up and swallowed it did she turn and leave, satisfied.

My stomach churned violently, and I retched uncontrollably, clutching my chest.

Old memories of happier times surged to the forefront of my mind.

Back in college, we were both members of the adventure club, and we were considered the ideal couple. Everyone knew that the eldest daughter of the Anderson family was naturally timid. Yet, to win me over, she had joined the adventure club despite her fears.

Sadly, my mother was already gravely ill by then, demanding my full attention, leaving no room for distractions. But the youthful, vibrant Selena had already found a place in my heart. At the time, I didn’t think there would be a future for us.

Who could have foreseen how life would twist and turn?

In the year since marrying Selena, she has spent every day probing my vulnerabilities. She's tested my limits repeatedly—from gossiping with her circle of friends to blatantly bringing my own brother into our home for an affair.

I was heartbroken but didn’t dare show it. I thought I might tolerate this forever, but when I saw the pictures of my mother's heirlooms in ruins, my heart turned completely numb. I could no longer endure.

After a brief pause, the torrential rain returned with renewed force. I stood there, unmoving, soaked to the bone. Finally, Adelaide Palmer, unable to bear it any longer, cautiously spoke up:

"Sir, you've been in the rain too long. If you stay out much longer, you might catch a nasty cold."

In the cozy living room, a woman nestled in Kylo's arms, lazily lifted her head from a fashion magazine and sighed:

"Let him in."

With those simple words, it was as if I'd been granted a pardon. Adelaide helped me inside. As we passed through the living room, Kylo glanced at me with disdain and said:

"Does this Persian rug mean nothing to you? How can you let such a mess stand on it? Soaking wet—it's ruined now, isn't it?"

Selena wrapped her arm around his neck and kissed him. After their lingering kiss, she looked at me with indifference.

"Kylo, what do you think? How should I deal with your brother?"

Kylo looked me up and down and then sneered:

"Make him kneel and clean the rug. If he doesn’t do it, he doesn’t eat."

"Alright, if that's what you want."

Selena smiled gracefully and ordered, "Kneel down and clean."

I stood there, dazed, on the carpet, staring at my brother, who despised me so deeply. I knew that even if he could tear me apart, it wouldn't ease his hatred.

But he used to be the brother who cared for me the most.

Kylo and I are twins, born just three minutes apart. As kids, he would protect me from our father's drunken rampages, never backing down even when he was black and blue. Our mother had entrusted him with the task of taking good care of me because of my frail health. He had taken those words to heart and lived by them.

Until the day our mother, unable to endure our father's violence, divorced him. She could only take one child, and she chose the weaker me. From then on, Kylo resented both me and our mother.

As I remained unresponsive, Selena suddenly stood up and approached me.

"Knox Rice, don’t make me repeat myself."

Seeing her cold expression, I turned and walked back into the storm without a word. The remnants of my mother’s legacy had already been destroyed, and there was no point in enduring further humiliation.

Selena chased after me a couple of steps, shouting furiously from under the eaves:

"Knox Rice, defy me again, and you’ll regret it!"

I walked away, faster and faster, never looking back no matter how she raged.

I couldn't say how long I had been walking in the rain. My mind was heavy, and my vision blurred. When I finally regained my senses, I found myself standing outside the old house where my mother once lived.

The sight of the crumbling walls was heartbreaking, and I started to sob uncontrollably. After my mother's death, this old house and the handmade quilt inside were all that I had left to remember her by.

While she was alive, my mother supported us through her quilting skills. The quilt, however, was a labor of love, representing years of dedication. It depicted moments from my childhood with Kylo.

I often watched her stitch it with tears in her eyes. I knew she missed my brother and regretted not being able to bring him to live with us.

After she passed away, Kylo's resentment towards us reached its peak. He made several attempts to disturb the peace of the old house, trying to destroy anything that reminded him of our mother.

I could understand his hatred, the kind of anger that could no longer be directed at someone who's gone. But I couldn't stand by and watch him destroy the remnants of our past.

It was during one of Kylo's aggressive visits that Selena appeared. She approached me with an offer:

"If you become my loyal follower, I'll protect your mother's belongings."

I had no choice but to agree.

From that day on, Selena made it a point to make my life difficult. I understood her animosity. It stemmed from a university hiking club outing where partners were required. I avoided pairing with her, yet she pursued me relentlessly.

In a twist of fate, she ended up falling into a lake outside campus. Unaware that she couldn't swim, I came back to save her, only to find her on the brink of unconsciousness.

Kylo had been following me in the shadows, seizing the opportunity to capture her soaking appearance on camera. Knowing she was a wealthy girl and fearing any potential romance, he used those nearly compromising photos and my desire to preserve my mother's memory as leverage to keep me silent about the incident.

Though I initially left, I couldn't shake the fear of leaving Selena in danger, so I returned. Midway, I was ambushed by Kylo and spent a week in the hospital recovering from his attack.

It was only later that I discovered the full extent of what happened that day. Selena was nearly assaulted by a passerby and owed her "rescue" to Kylo's timely intervention.

From that day forward, she despised me. I had opportunities to explain, but she never believed a word I said. With Kylo always lurking, my voice was stifled.

Now, watching the old house that Selena had ordered Kylo to tear apart, I felt a grim satisfaction in having kept my silence.

If she was truly that merciless, then she deserved the volatile presence of Kylo—a ticking time bomb with antisocial tendencies—by her side.