Unexpectedly, Cara got a high fever after the rain that night.

While she was recovering at home, Austin somehow became less cold toward her and personally cooked for her, making sure she was taken care of and that she ate her medication.

If this were in the past, Cara would have been touched and grateful toward Austin. But now, she just found it pathetic.

Austin was merely atoning for Winter's sins. It wasn't because he actually felt sorry for her at all.

If he did, then he wouldn't have just pretended to tell Winter off at home or run into her bedroom later that night to apologize and make it up to her because he felt terrible about it.

Cara finally recovered completely and was eating lunch downstairs one day. Winter was sitting at the head of the table, wearing an eye-catching, glimmering crystal bangle around her wrist.

The crystal bangle had been an heirloom that Cara's mother, Diana Fontaine, had left for her after her death. Cara had kept it away safely in the attic upstairs, and she didn't know how Winter had managed to get her hands on it.

Cara marched up to Winter, pointed at the bangle, and asked sharply, "Where did you get this bangle from?"

Winter didn't look the least bit guilty. She even showed it off proudly to Cara and said, "Austin found it in the attic and gave it to me. It matches the dress I'm wearing for tonight's club."

Cara didn't want to waste her breath on Winter anymore and demanded that she return the bangle to her at once. However, Winter refused.

"You're going to marry Austin anyway! That means everything you own will be his, and everything his is also mine! Why can't I wear it, then?" Winter shot back.

Cara was just about to grab the bangle back by force when Winter suddenly slapped her so hard on the cheek that Cara swore she saw stars.

The bangle flew off during the altercation and fell to the floor, breaking into a few pieces. A few broken pieces bounced off the ground and cut into Cara's legs, making her bleed.

At that moment, Austin stormed into the dining room.

"Austin! My finger's bleeding!" Winter cried, showing him her finger that was just mildly scuffed. At once, Austin took her finger and put it in his mouth to lick it and stop the "bleeding".

Cara watched as Austin's eyes grew increasingly unfocused and his breathing got faster and more rapid.

At the most crucial moment, Austin suddenly got up and headed straight for the bathroom expressionlessly.

He never looked at Cara at all as he chided her, "It's just a bangle. I will never forgive you if anything happens to Winter!"

He didn't even ask if Cara had been hurt.

Cara just looked down and laughed at herself pitifully. She then fetched the first-aid kit, cleaned the wound, disinfected it, and dressed it herself. However, she could hear quarreling downstairs.

It sounded like Winter was insisting on going out to party at the club, but Austin wouldn't let her. In the end, Winter stormed out of the mansion in a fury and slammed the door behind her.

…

That night, Austin suddenly walked into the room, looking genuinely concerned.

"Is your leg okay? I'll bring you to the hospital if needed," he said.

Austin was always playing games like this, giving Cara the stick before rewarding her with a carrot. It almost felt as though he was a cat toying with its prey, constantly keeping Cara's heart on edge as he pushed and pulled on her heart that was pounding with anxiety and insecurity.

"Forget about it," she replied.

He didn't care about her refusal and dipped a cotton swab in iodine before gently applying it to her wound.

Cara hissed lightly, making him chuckle.

"You're behaving just like a kid."

A fruit-flavored lollipop suddenly appeared in her lap. She recognized the packaging. It was from a handmade sweets shop in Sothernia, and one would have to queue for at least a few hours to get in.

She picked up the lollipop and unwrapped it, feeling the sticky sugar coating her fingers.

Just as she was about to put it in her mouth, she suddenly heard the sound of the door opening downstairs.

Austin immediately got up and walked out, throwing the cotton swabs down onto the floor.

"Why did you come back like this? You're not allowed to go to the club anymore!" he warned.

Cara walked out and saw Winter hammering her fists against Austin's chest.

"You can't control me like this! I'm going to keep drinking and keep going to clubs at night! I'm going to find other men, fall in love with them, give birth to their kids, and call them cute nicknames!"

Austin immediately pulled Winter into his embrace, the veins on his neck popping.

Winter was still loudly shouting angry, hurtful words at him in a muffled voice as if she finally had a venting outlet. Austin quickly lowered his head and kissed her on the lips, trying to calm her down.

"Winnie… Baby… My baby…"

Cara stood at the stairway and heard the sound of them kissing passionately.

She had heard Austin calling her "baby" once after a party. That time, Austin had taken the initiative to kiss her, repeatedly calling her "baby".

She used to treasure that memory in her mind, never imagining that she was just a substitute for someone else, or perhaps, a tool for someone else's sexual gratification.

Cara's eyes lowered. She put the lollipop into her mouth, but somehow, the taste was bitter on her tongue.

She spat it out and threw it in the trash.

It might have been five minutes, or it might have only been just one, but finally, the two people kissing downstairs stopped after Winter passed out from the alcohol.

Austin carried her up in his arms and brought her upstairs.

Cara hid behind the door, watching as they both entered the room together and never came out for the rest of the night.

…

The next morning, it was drizzling.

When Austin came out of Winter's room, his face was cold and expressionless.

They went to the cemetery in the hills to pay their respects to Austin's parents, like they did last year, on their death anniversary. However, this time, Cara didn't chat or banter much with them anymore, and the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

"Go out first. I have something I want to tell Mom and Dad," Austin suddenly said to Cara.

Half of Austin's head was hidden in the dark at the cemetery, and Cara couldn't quite see the expression on his face.

She didn't go down the hill as she was told. Instead, she hid behind a tree nearby and eavesdropped on him.

Austin fell to his knees before his parents' tombstone.

"Mom, Dad, I'm sorry. I did something I never should have done with Winter. But don't worry. I won't overstep my boundaries again. I'll only continue protecting her silently as her older brother for the rest of her life."

Winter's voice could be heard not too far off. She had arrived at the cemetery with an umbrella in her hands and was walking slowly toward him.

"Austin! I'm here to bring you home!" she exclaimed.

Austin wasn't as affectionate with her as usual. He made Cara stand between himself and Winter, and he refused to make any eye contact with her.

Halfway home, Winter suddenly stopped and began to cry, tears rolling down her face like waterworks.

"You're abandoning me after introducing Cara to Mom and Dad, aren't you? Should I just move out and live on my own after today?" she asked.

Austin looked at her in confusion.

"What are you trying to say? Winter! Watch out!"

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky and struck the cherry blossom tree by the roadside. A huge branch broke off the tree, sending both Cara and Winter tumbling down the path until both their bodies hung precariously over the cliff.

Austin immediately jumped down and grabbed both Cara's and Winter's wrists at the same time, tiny rocks tumbling down from the top of the cliff.

His hand was split, and his blood dripped onto Cara's pale, terrified face as the rocks under her feet began cracking with a bone-chilling sound.

Winter suddenly screamed, "Austin! Austin, let go! You'll get dragged down with us!"

Austin's pupils constricted. The weight of their bodies, interlocked together by their fingers, was slowly causing the rocks to break and chip off.

At the most crucial life-and-death moment, he suddenly felt Cara's fingers loosen from his grip. He looked at her broken face and heard her whispering, "You've already decided who you're going to save anyway, haven't you, Austin Langford?

"Why are you still pretending to hesitate?"

"Shut up!"

Austin was just distracted for a split second, but he never felt more panicked or flustered than before. Then, Cara watched expectantly as he yanked Winter back to safety.

Rocks flew everywhere. He saw Cara reaching toward a dried, broken branch protruding by the side of the cliff, but it was rotten and beginning to make cracking sounds under Cara's weight.

Cara was literally dangling mid-air with the deep valley beneath her feet.

Austin's expression changed drastically. He tried to rush forward to save her, but Winter quickly hugged him from the back.

"Austin! You can't go there! It's already collapsed. You'll never save her!"

"Winter! Let go!"

Cara watched as the two of them continued getting entangled with each other, but she remained unusually calm.

"You don't have to save me, Austin. I just wish that I'll never meet you again in my next life, if there's one. I'll just find someone who loves me, have a family with him, and spend the rest of my life with him."

Right after Cara spoke, a sickening crack was heard as the branch she was standing on snapped in half.

A split second before Cara plummeted into the valley, she suddenly saw a figure dashing toward her.

When Cara came back to her senses again, she realized that she was lying in a hospital bed.

Both of Austin's arms were in casts, and he was all curled up on a chair next to her, catching forty winks.

Cara recalled that it was Austin who had grabbed her hand and forcefully pulled her back from the edge of the cliff. Even when both his arms got dislocated and torn in many ways after that, he still never let go of her.

Cara felt her heart softening for him once again. It was unavoidable. She wanted to reach out to caress the stubble that had grown on Austin's chin, but he opened his eyes just then.

"Austin, I—"

She could see his eyes sparkling when he looked at her. However, the next words that escaped his mouth sent a cold chill down her spine.

"You're awake? Good. Nurse, come in and take her blood."

Before Cara even realized what was going on, a few nurses filed into her room and held her down on the bed. Then, they inserted a huge needle into her arm, forcefully drawing blood from her.

"Winter knocked her head against a rock while going down the hill. She urgently needs blood for her surgery now."

Cara was in so much pain that she couldn't stop herself from shaking.

"Austin Langford, you bastard! Did you ever ask me for my opinion? This is illegal! I saved both you and your stepsister! I'm not your rival or your enemy!"

Nobody cared about her tears or her roaring. Their eyes were all focused on the beeping numbers on the monitor instead.

They weren't draining her of her blood. They were taking her life force away from her.

Cara's eyes slowly turned unfocused. She heard a nurse say, "The patient's blood pressure is dropping rapidly! We can't take any more blood from her. She'll die otherwise!"

However, Austin's voice was firm and decisive, leaving absolutely no room for argument.

"Draw another 1 pint of blood from her. Winter's condition hasn't stabilized yet."

He took a few more steps toward Cara and looked at her deathly pale face and bruised and bitten lips, finally showing a hint of sympathy.

"Are you… Are you okay? Hold on. I'll make it up to you next time," he said.

Cara closed her eyes and replied softly, "Get out."

After having so much of her blood drawn, Cara had to spend the better part of the next six months recovering before she could be back to normal again.

…

During her recovery, her best friend, Jessica Hogan, had called her multiple times. After learning what the Langford siblings did to her, Jessica flew into a huge temper.

"What are those two jerks up to right now?" she demanded.

What were they doing?

Cara looked out of the window at the garden outside the hospital.

Winter was sitting on a swing while Austin watched her protectively from the back as if she were something precious he could never afford to lose.

Cara could count on one hand the number of times Austin came to visit her at the hospital back then. However, she could always hear him joking and laughing in the ward next door every single day.

When Cara didn't reply on the phone, Jessice grew even more agitated.

"If they dare to come to Spark City, I swear I'm going to skin them alive!"

Cara chuckled and calmed Jessica down. "Jess, I've already bought the cruise tickets for three days later."

"Alright! I'll be waiting for you!"

…

Cara and Winter were both discharged on the same day. Austin bought each of them a bouquet of fresh flowers when they were discharged.

"Let's go home."

Cara lowered her eyes and avoided his touch. Then, she threw the bouquet of roses straight into the trash.

"Those roses represent Austin's sincerity toward you! Even if you didn't like them, you shouldn't throw them away in his face!" Winter exclaimed, glaring at Cara.

Cara simply pulled up her sleeves and showed her the rash that was already spreading on her arms.

"I'm severely allergic to pollen. Austin Langford, are you trying to send me back into the emergency unit as soon as I'm discharged?"

Neither Austin nor Winter knew what to say. Austin especially looked remorseful about it.

Cara ignored them both and left the hospital on her own.

…

At midnight, someone knocked on Cara's door. Austin was standing right outside her room.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I'm sorry for taking your blood to save Winter without asking you about it first. I was just too anxious back then. But now, I'm going to make it up to you."

Austin's apology was a whole six months late, and Cara only found it extremely revolting.

"I don't need it. Leave now."

She was just about to kick Austin out of her room when he suddenly grabbed her wrists tightly and forcefully pushed her back onto the bed.

Cara felt her head hit the soft pillow and suddenly got a little dizzy.

A split second later, a warm body pressed against her. She could feel Austin's hot breath fanning against her neck as he said in a seductive voice, "Cara, let me make it up to you with our baby."

Then, he began kissing her fervently.

This time, she felt Austin having a reaction to her. It was something that had never happened before.

He was getting aroused, but she was only getting nauseated.

She quickly shoved him away and doubled over as she choked and retched on the side of the bed.

When Austin saw this, his face turned extremely cold. After a long moment of silence, he said, "Since you refuse to sleep with me, then we will hold an engagement party in three days."

Cara didn't reply to him, and Austin took it as a silent agreement before walking out of the room.

After he left, Cara could still feel a penetrative, heated gaze on her. She looked up at the door and saw a resentful gaze peering at her through the crack in the door.

It was Winter.