I stood outside the door, frozen, as Nathan slammed the door shut.

He kicked me out because of Erika, but I did not know where to go.

The lights from the houses behind me were all shining brightly. Sadly, not a single one was meant for me.

My autism manifested when I was a kid due to Nathan’s cold attitude.

Even after I started elementary school, I still could not speak.

The teacher told Nathan to get me checked, and the doctor said that I was born with autism.

Nathan sneered. “Autism? She’s just faking it for attention. I’m not going to pay her any attention. Let’s see how long she can keep up the act!”

After that, he never got me any therapy or moved me to a special school.

By the third grade, my classmates realized I never talked and always kept to myself. So, they began treating me like a weirdo.

That was when the bullying in school started.

I told Nathan about it, but he did not care. He said that I deserved it. “Think about it. People don’t bully for no reason. Why are they only picking on you and not others?”

Remembering all this made me feel even worse. I sat outside the door and sobbed.

After a long time, Erika came back looking disheveled.

She saw me and wore a brief look of disgust, but she pretended to care. “Moon, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you inside?”

Just then, Nathan opened the door and spoke coldly. “Erika, you’re being too nice. Don’t worry about her. She knows exactly what she did.”

Erika seemed confused. “What did she do?”

Nathan handed her the paper I had written on and said, “Take a look. I’ve known for a while that she’s been up to no good. She’s so young, but she’s already trying to come between us. I gave her a chance to make things right. All she had to do was apologize to come inside, but she wouldn’t do it. She made her choice.”

Erika’s face turned pale.

Her expression changed, and she sternly said, “Moon, how could you accuse me of something like this? Haven’t I been good to you? You…”

Nathan pulled her into his arms and softly said, “Don’t bother with her. Let her stay outside. This will be a lesson for her.”

As they shut the door again, I saw Erika glaring at me with hate through the gap.

I instinctively shuddered.

It was getting really late at night, but Nathan still refused to let me in.

Feeling sleepy, I whispered, “Nathan, why won’t you believe me…”

Suddenly, a rough, smelly sack was thrown over my head.

Before I could react, someone pushed me into a car.

When I woke up, I found myself in a strange club.

My hands were tied, and I could not move.

The first person I saw was Erika’s lover.

I heard others call him Harry Lewis.

When Harry noticed that I was awake, he took the sack off my head and smiled creepily at me. “Hey, little girl. I heard that you’re pretty brave. You told your brother about us?”

I was terrified, and I shrank back into a corner.

Memories of what happened before I fainted soon returned.

I only remembered seeing a pair of shoes in front of me, followed by the sack that went over my head.

Right then, it finally dawned on me that I had been kidnapped.

Harry stepped closer to me with a furious look. “Aren’t you supposed to be mute? Why couldn’t you keep quiet? Since you blabbed, I’ll take care of you for Erika!”

I realized that Erika was the reason I was here.

Harry gave me a hard slap, and blood dripped from my mouth.

He started punching and kicking me like a crazy person.

For a moment, I thought that he might actually kill me.

Fortunately, one of the men behind him spoke up. “Harry, why are you hitting a little girl? If people find out, it won’t make us look good. Why don’t we make a bet for five hundred thousand?”

Harry seemed interested. “Sounds fun. What’s the bet?”

The man smiled meaningfully and replied, “It’s Valentine’s Day. Let’s see if she can sell 200 roses at the night market.”

Everyone laughed in response.

“Someone who can’t even talk selling flowers? Are you serious?”

“Come on, man. You’re not planning on letting her go, are you?”

I thought that I would be rescued, but I ended up in a worse situation instead.

When Harry saw how hopeless I looked, he quickly agreed to the bet.

They soon put hidden cameras on me and arranged for a driver to take me to the night market.

My head pounded as I stood in the busy night market.

The weird stares from the people around me made me feel uncomfortable.

In my earpiece, I heard Harry’s annoyed voice. “Hurry up, you little brat! If you don’t, I’ll send out your juicy photos right now and ruin the Clinton family’s name!”

A chill ran down my spine.

I could not believe how low Harry would stoop. He had taken juicy photos of me while I was unconscious.

I avoided the camera and carefully took out my phone to text Nathan. [Nathan, I’m at the Glowing Night Market. Can you come get me? I’ve been kidnapped.]

After I waited for a long time, Nathan finally replied. [Moon, I can’t believe you’d lie about something like this. If you’re brave enough to wander around, you shouldn’t worry about getting home! You know it’s Valentine’s Day, and I’m at home with Erika, so you must be trying to annoy me, right?]

Tears filled my eyes.

It looked like he was not coming to save me.

Harry’s impatient voice rang out again. “Are you going to sell those flowers or not? If I lose money because of you, I’ll leak your photos!”

I was so scared that I almost cried, but I managed to say, “Don’t…”

When they heard my voice, everyone burst out laughing in my earpiece.

“No wonder she doesn’t like to talk. She sounds like a duck!”

I slowly walked forward and saw a kind-looking woman. I showed her the flower basket, but I was too nervous to say anything.

“Shoo. Take your things and leave. What year is it? You’re still out here forcing people to buy from you?!” the woman said impatiently.

She shoved me, and I stumbled. As a result, the flowers dropped to the ground.

I started to cry in silence.

However, the woman got upset. “Hey, what are you doing? Is this some kind of emotional blackmail? My husband’s in the hospital! If you try to scam me, I’ll fight back!”

I shook my head quickly.

People gathered around to watch and pointed at me.

“Whose kid is this? Why is she doing such a horrible thing?”

“Yeah, she looks fancy, but she’s up to no good.”

…

The angry woman stomped on my flowers a few times and quickly walked away.

Suddenly, a familiar face appeared in the crowd.

“Hey, Moon, is that you? What are you doing selling flowers?”

I looked up and started to shake with fear.

It was Nicole Carter, the girl who had been bullying me for a long time at school.

She grabbed my face and mocked me, “Moon, didn’t you say your brother’s the president of Clinton Corporation? If you really are the Clinton family’s heiress, why are you working part-time at a night market?”

I picked up the flowers and tried not to look at Nicole.

I thought that she would leave if she got bored.

To my surprise, she tormented me even more. She yanked my hair and shouted, “I’m talking to you! Can’t you hear me? Moon, you’ve gotten really brave, huh? You won’t even nod or shake your head now!”

I shook my head weakly, like I always did.

Nicole smiled smugly and said, “Since you’re so pitiful, I’ll let it slide this time. How about this? Get on your knees, and I’ll buy all your flowers. Deal?”

I looked at her pitifully and typed on my phone. [Please don’t make me do this.]

Nicole scoffed. “Moon, you really don’t get it, do you? I’m actually doing you a favor. I’m helping you meet your sales goal. You should be grateful.”

When I did not move, she got fed up. She stepped on my face and forced it against the cold ground.

My forehead stung, probably because a sharp rock cut into it.

Laughter filled my earpiece, and tears of shame ran down my face as Nicole rubbed her shoe on me.

Eventually, she stopped and pulled out 200 bucks. She tossed it at me with a smirk and said, “Here, take this and buy something nice for your parents. It’s Valentine’s Day after all.”

She walked away and acted as if she had done me a favor.

I felt humiliated. I tossed the money away and struggled to stand up.

Suddenly, someone pointed a bright camera at my face.

He looked like a person who did street interviews.

“Excuse me, miss! Can I ask why you refused to accept the 200 dollars? Don’t you want to take your parents out for a nice meal on Valentine’s Day?”

I covered my face and stumbled away.

After all, I was the Clinton family’s heiress. If people found out who I was, it would embarrass Nathan.

However, the streamer shamelessly followed me. “Come on, miss. Just answer the question. I can get our sponsor to help you out.”

I could not take it anymore. Right then, I turned around and shouted, “Go away!”

The streamer was shocked by my reaction, but I continued to run forward.

All of a sudden, a speeding truck came around the corner.

I was in the driver’s blind spot, so he ran over me with his truck.

The people around me gasped and screamed in shock.

I felt a sharp pain and coughed up blood, yet I strangely felt relieved.

Was I about to die?

If I was, that would be okay.

I could finally be with my mom and dad again.

If you asked me what my one wish in life was, I would just say I wanted a different brother.

Some time later, my spirit floated out of my body.

I was shocked to see the police and ambulance stopping at the side of the road. They quickly put up barriers around my crushed body.

It was true that I was dead, but I was still aware of everything.

Then, without warning, I began to float toward Nathan. I could not stop myself no matter what.

I even tried to hold on to the doorframe, but it felt like I was meant to be near him.

God, did you not hear my wish?

I clearly said that I wanted a different brother.