The Day My Sister Chose Him

My mind drifted back fourteen years.

I was thirteen then, and Sherry was twenty-one. Our parents had died in a car crash, leaving behind the Bennett family fortune and a swarm of relatives circling like vultures.

Back then, Sherry protected me as if her life depended on it.

At the funeral, one of our drunk uncles pointed at me and snarled, "That kid's cursed. Your parents died because of him."

Sherry punched him so hard his nose exploded with blood. Then she stood in front of me and warned coldly, "Touch my brother again, and I'll make you regret being born."

That night, she held me while I cried until I could barely breathe.

"It's okay, Landon," she whispered over and over. "I'm here. I'll protect you for the rest of my life."

I believed her completely. I thought it would always be the two of us against the world.

Then, Mason Bennett showed up—our father's son from another relationship—and everything changed.

Mason was sickly, so Sherry gave him my bedroom because it got better sunlight. He didn't like the housekeeper's cooking, so she took him out to eat almost every night. He hated sleeping alone, so she sat beside his bed until he fell asleep.

A month before my SATs, Mason was diagnosed with a rare liver disease. His condition deteriorated quickly, and Sherry nearly lost her mind trying to save him. She took him across the country, meeting every specialist money could buy.

Eventually, the doctors gave her two options: wait for a donor liver, or proceed with a living donor transplant.

The waitlist could take years, but Mason did not have years.

A living donor transplant required a compatible immediate family member. In the entire Bennett family, I was the only match.

…

The day Sherry came to talk to me, I was sitting at my desk doing practice exams.

"Landon," she called softly from the doorway. "You know about Mason's condition, right?"

I kept flipping through my textbook.

She continued, "The doctors said your compatibility rate is the highest."

I turned another page.

"Landon… he's going to die." Her voice trembled for the first time. "Please. Save him."

I finally looked up at her. "Sherry, do you remember the last time I got sick?"

She froze.

"I had a 104-degree fever and spent two days alone in my room," I reminded her. "No one checked on me. You were out shopping with Mason because he told you he was in a bad mood."

Her lips parted slightly. "Landon… I was wrong about that—"

"And what about the time I got shoved down the stairs?" I cut in. "Do you remember that?"

I held her gaze. "I told you Mason did it. You told me I should watch where I was going instead of blaming him for my own accident."

Her face slowly drained of color. "Landon…"

I stood up from my desk. "You want me to save him?"

For a moment, neither of us moved.

Then, I nodded.

"Fine. But after this, we're done." My voice was calm enough to scare even myself. "I would longer no be a part of the Bennett family, and you would no longer be my sister."

The Brother I Refused to Save

Her entire body stiffened. "What did you just say?"

"I said I'll donate part of my liver to him." I looked at her calmly. "But after the surgery, I'm leaving the Bennett family. From then on, all of you can pretend I'm dead."

Sherry remained silent for a long time before she finally nodded.

On the day of the surgery, they wheeled me into the operating room. Just before the doors shut,

I saw Sherry standing outside.

Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something. In the end, she stayed silent.

The transplant was successful, and Mason survived. And I lost a third of my liver, along with my place in the Bennett family.

From then on, I never went home again.

…

That afternoon, Sherry came back.

This time, Mason was with her.

Seven years had passed.

He was taller now, leaner, and more polished than before. Yet his eyes still carried that same false innocence, soft and wounded, as if he had never hurt anyone in his life.

Sherry sat beside my hospital bed. "Landon, Mason came to see you."

Mason stepped forward slowly, his eyes already red. "Landon, I heard you were sick. I've been so worried about you…"

"Drop the act," I cut in coldly. "There are only three people in this room. Who exactly are you performing for?"

His face went pale at once. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he looked at me like I had shattered him. "Landon, why do you hate me so much? None of what happened back then was my fault—"

I scoffed. "Not your fault? You hacked my account and posted as me in the class group chat. You stole my exam papers. And the day I got pushed down the stairs—are you really going to say that wasn't you either?"

"Enough!" Sherry shot to her feet. "Landon, it's been seven years, and you're still lying?"

Her voice shook with fury as she glared at me. "Every piece of evidence back then proved you were the problem. How much longer are you going to blame Mason for your own mistakes?

"You were jealous because he was loved more than you. You couldn't stand him, so you made up all those disgusting lies."

Every word felt like a knife twisting deeper into my chest.

I looked her straight in the eye. "Sherry, are you really that certain I'm the liar?"

"Of course I am," she replied coldly. "Your teachers and classmates all saw how you treated him back then. You bullied Mason because you were jealous of him."

I closed my eyes.

There was no point in arguing anymore. She had never trusted me, not even once.

Right then, Mason stepped closer and grabbed my hand. "I know you hate me, but when Sherry told me you were sick, I was devastated. If you need money for treatment, I'll give you everything I've saved—"

I jerked my hand away. "Mason, save the performance for someone who still buys it."

Then I turned to Sherry, my voice going flat. "You both came here for one reason, and we all know it. So let me be clear. I'm not giving him my liver. I'd rather donate it to a complete stranger than save him a second time."

Sherry's face turned ice-cold. "Landon, how can you be this heartless?"

"Heartless?" I held her gaze. "Seven years ago, I gave him a third of my liver. And what did I get in return? You threw me away like garbage."

I let out a bitter laugh. "Now you suddenly remember I exist? Tell me something, Sherry. Why the hell should I save him again?"

"That was your own fault!" she snapped.

"Fine." I nodded slowly, then glanced at Mason. "Then, maybe this is his fault too. People reap what they sow."

Sherry trembled with rage. Suddenly, she grabbed my collar and yanked me toward her. "Don't push me, Landon."

I met her eyes without flinching. "What are you going to do? Hit me? Kill me?"

A faint smile touched my lips. "I'm dying anyway. Do whatever you want."

Her fingers shook against my shirt. After a long moment, she finally let go and drew in a slow breath.

She asked again, "Landon, I'll ask you one last time. Are you going to save Mason or not?"

"No," I said.

"Fine." A cold smile spread across her face. "Then, don't blame me for what happens next."

She pulled out her phone and made a call.

"Do it," she said coldly. "Just like I told you before."

The Truth Came Too Late

My heart sank. "What are you trying to do?"

"Nothing." Sherry put her phone away. "Since you're so determined to donate your organs to strangers, I'll make sure those strangers never get them."

I stared at her.

"I'll have the hospital cancel your donor consent," she continued coldly. "Then, I'll use every resource the Bennett family has to keep you alive."

Her eyes hardened. "You'll suffer until you agree to save Mason."

I snapped, "You're insane!"

"You forced my hand," she replied. "Landon, you're too selfish. Because of your pathetic pride and resentment, you'd rather hurt innocent people."

Her voice turned colder. "You're just like you were back then. Cruel to the bone."

With that, she took Mason and left.

I lay in bed, shaking with rage.

…

That night, someone from the hospital came to inform me that my donation surgery had been canceled.

"We received a report questioning your mental state," the staff member explained. "Because of that, you may not be fit to make a donation decision. We'll need to reassess your condition for at least a month."

…

The next day, I was transferred to the best private hospital in Silverbrook.

My room was a VIP suite, and my attending physician was one of the country's top neurosurgeons.

Sherry stood in the room, watching me with cold eyes.

"Cooperate with the treatment," she ordered. "Once Mason's surgery is done, you can live or die however you want."

My hands clenched around the blanket. "Sherry, this is illegal confinement."

"Call it whatever you want." She gave a careless shrug. "I'm saving your life. Who's going to blame me for that?"

A bitter laugh tore out of me. "You're a monster."

Her expression did not change. She walked to my bedside and leaned down, her eyes locked on mine. "You made me one, Landon. If you had agreed earlier, none of this would have been necessary."

I gazed into her eyes and saw pure obsession.

She meant every word. And I knew she had the power to make it real.

"Fine." I closed my eyes. "I'll do it."

Stunned, Sherry asked in disbelief, "What did you say?"

I opened my eyes and met her gaze. "I said I'll save him, but I have one condition."

Her jaw tightened. "Name it."

I said, "After the surgery, stay out of my life. Don't interfere, don't make decisions for me, and don't try to dictate how I die."

For a moment, Sherry said nothing.

Then, she gave a slow nod. "Fine. I promise."

…

The next day, they wheeled me into the operating room.

Sherry stood by the doors, watching me with a complicated expression. "Landon…"

I didn't look at her. I only closed my eyes.

The surgery lasted four hours.

It was a success.

Once again, part of my liver was cut from my body and transplanted into Mason's.

After the operation, I was sent to the ICU.

Then, the monitors suddenly screamed.

A nurse shouted, "Code blue! The patient is in cardiac arrest!"

The heart monitor let out one long, flat tone.

My heart stopped beating as my soul gradually left my body.

Through the glass, I saw Sherry standing outside the ICU. She was speaking with the doctor, and the tension in her face had eased now that Mason's surgery had gone well.

When she heard I was dead, she only gave a faint grunt, and her brows pinched together for half a second.

That was all.

Then, a commotion broke out outside the ICU.

"Ms. Bennett! Ms. Bennett!"

It was her assistant.

"We found out what really happened seven years ago. All the evidence is here."

The assistant handed her a tablet.

Sherry took it and began scrolling.

With every passing second, the color drained from her face.

"No…" Her fingers tightened around the tablet. "That's impossible."