Clara’s feet felt like they were nailed to the ground. She stood frozen for a moment before finally forcing out a dry response, "Don't worry. The day after tomorrow, I'll be gone."

She had lowered herself as much as possible, yet Rea still refused to let her go.

"Why the day after tomorrow? Can't you leave tomorrow?"

Clara's throat tightened. She didn’t know how to explain to her that the day after tomorrow wasn’t just the day she planned to move out of the Cumberland Family home, it was also the day she intended to leave this world entirely.

She remained silent, but Rea's expression turned even more displeased.

Just then, an unexpected accident occurred. On the second floor, a maid was cleaning the chandelier. No one knew what she had touched, but suddenly, the heavy fixture swayed dangerously before plummeting straight down and heading directly for Rea.

Clara stood frozen in shock and unable to react but a force from behind shoved her aside with incredible strength. It was Ian.

He rushed forward and caught Rea in his arms, his face tense with lingering fear.

"What happened?!"

Before Ian could even gather herself to speak, she saw Rea trembling in Ian’s embrace with tears welling up in her eyes.

"Don't blame Clara. It's my fault for upsetting her. Thankfully, I'm okay. She's still young, don’t be too harsh on her ..."

Her voice trembled as if she had been truly frightened, tears falling pitifully down her delicate face.

The surrounding guests looked at Clara with subtle glances. Especially Ian. His brows were furrowed and his eyes were filled with anger.

"I would never try to harm her! Even if I wanted to, how could I possibly make a chandelier fall …." Clara tried to explain, but then she caught sight of the slight smirk playing on Rea's lips. She understood instantly. This was a trap.

"Clara! There are witnesses and evidence. What more do you have to say for yourself?" Ian shouted at her.

"I used to think you were just childish and spoiled. However, now, you’re willing to drop a chandelier on someone? This is beyond immature … it's despicable!"

The words sliced into her like a knife.

Clara stared at him, unblinking. She was unable to believe what she was hearing. He knew that having no real family was her deepest wound. Yet now, for Rea’s sake, he had chosen to plunge the knife himself.

She just stood there, mumbling and trembling uncontrollably. However, Ian had no time to spare her another glance. He turned back to Rea, lifted her into his arms and carried her away to the hospital without hesitation.

The main characters had left so the engagement party could no longer continue. The guests quickly dispersed, leaving Clara sitting alone on the couch with hollow eyes.

She tried to call Ian to explain but each of her calls got declined.

It wasn’t until the first rays of dawn broke through the sky that Ian finally returned, looking tired as he walked in with Rea.

Clara hurried forward and greeted him, "Brother, I swear I didn’t do it."

However, Ian didn’t even lift his eyes. He simply pulled Rea along and kept walking. He did not even bother to acknowledge her.

Desperate, Clara ran to block their way. Her eyes were already wet with tears as she spoke. Her voice choked with emotion. “Can you believe me this one time? You used to say that you would always believe in me."

She spoke through quiet sobs, tears falling like scattered pearls.

From childhood until now, no matter what happened, Ian had always trusted her without question. She had once asked him why. 

Back then, he had simply smiled, ruffling her hair with a look of effortless warmth in his eyes and said, "Since I'm your brother, it's natural to trust you."

However now, Ian only stared at her coldly and said coldly, “Doing something wrong and still not admitting it is a disgrace. Now, kneel down and apologize to Rea right away,”

Clara's eyes widened. With bloodshot and swollen eyes, she looked up at him in despair.

This was Rea's plan all along.

Now, she, the victim, was expected to apologize to the perpetrator.

Hiding behind Ian, Rea's eyes flashed with smug satisfaction.

“There are only two people in this world I’d ever kneel to. They are Grandma and Mrs. Cumberland.”

“If you insist this is my fault, then I’ll return it to her.”

Clara spoke calmly, then reached for a nearby wine bottle and smashed it against her own head.

Bang!

Warm liquid gushed from her scalp as fresh blood trickled down her face.

A sharp ringing filled her ears, her vision blurred and through the crimson veil, she stared at Ian and asked, "Is this enough?"

“You’re insane!”

Ian rushed forward in panic, his eyes wide with horror as he took in the blood streaking down her face.

"Driver! Get the car ready!"

His usually composed voice trembled as he barked orders.

[System Alert: Host is critically injured. One day of life remaining. Activating soul power to repair the wound.]

A cold, mechanical voice echoed in Clara's mind and as if by magic, the gash on her forehead began closing at an unnatural speed.

Ian turned his head just as Rea gasped in surprise.

“Clara, there’s no wound on your head at all! I understand that you’re upset about me and Ian's engagement, but you can’t resort to self-harm just to scare us.”

When Ian heard her accusation, he froze. His gaze flickered to Clara’s forehead and when he saw that it was indeed unscathed, his expression darkened with fury.

“Clara! When will you stop? First, you try to harm someone with a chandelier and now you’re resorting to fake self-harm?”

“If I had known you’d turn out like this, I never would have let my mother bring you home!”

Standing alone in the grand living room, Clara felt a coldness seep into her bones, colder than anything she had ever known.

She had only one day left to live and yet the only family she had, the brother she loved most, was saying he regretted ever taking her in. He did not ... want her anymore.

The realization struck her like a thunderbolt, her vision blackened and for a moment, she nearly collapsed.

Ian’s expression was unreadable as he turned away and he pulled Rea away with him. He didn’t spare Clara a second glance at all.

Today was the last day. Clara descended the stairs and found Ian just as he was about to leave with Rea.

She bit her lip nervously before mustering the courage to call out, “Brother, can we have dinner together tonight? Just the two of us.”

She just wanted … to say goodbye properly.

Ian frowned because he thought this was another inappropriate confession. When he was about to refuse, Rea placed a gentle hand on his arm.

“Let her have this moment, Ian. I have to go home tonight anyway. Spend some time with your little sister. You wouldn’t want to make her sad.”

With her urging, Ian finally relented.

Clara finally got the answer she wanted, but as she watched them stand side by side, a perfect picture of harmony, an unbearable sadness welled up inside her.

She watched their figures disappear through the doorway before taking a deep breath and turning back to her room.

There wasn't much time left for her.

Ian and Rea had just gotten engaged. Having a dead person's things in the house would bring bad luck.

She didn’t want to trouble anyone, so she needed to gather her belongings now and burn them before she was gone.

However, when she looked around the room, she hesitated. Everything in it, from her clothes to her toiletries, even her schoolbag, had been personally chosen by Ian. He actually was not someone who was particularly attentive.

However back when she first arrived at the Cumberland Family’s home, she hadn’t known she was allergic to milk. She had unknowingly drunk what the servants gave her. As a result, she broke out in hives and developed a high fever in the middle of the night.

If Ian hadn’t checked in on her and brought medicine … she didn’t know how much worse it would have gotten.

Since that night, Ian arranged everything concerning Clara’s daily life. Well ... he did those until he met Rea.

Now, Clara cleaned the attic from top to bottom to remove every trace of herself. She burned all her belongings, every insignificant item, every lingering memory.

Except for the body under the bed. The corpse just lay there, covered by a white sheet and it remained untouched.

She couldn't help but wonder, how Ian would react when he saw her lifeless body. Would he grieve? Or would he feel relieved because he was finally able to get rid of this burden?

Probably the latter. After all, he loved Rea so much and Rea could not wait to see her go.

Three hours later, Clara finished burning the last of her possessions. Without resting, she headed to the kitchen. She wanted to give him this one last surprise.

Once upon a time, he had spoiled her like a princess and never allowed her to step into the kitchen. However, after Mrs. Cumberland died from cancer, things changed.

To make sure Ian could still taste the flavors of home, Clara had painstakingly learned to cook his favorite dishes.

Her fingers burned and blistered as she worked, but finally, she placed four dishes and a soup on the dining table.

Then she waited and waited. Ever after the sky darkened, Ian never came home. She remained sitting at the table. Her lonely figure was swallowed by the night.

The food had long gone cold when she finally pulled out her phone and dialed his number.

Once ... twice ... but still no one answered.

Then, her phone dinged. It was a message from Rea.

Clara’s hands trembled as she opened it.

It was a photo of Ian having dinner with Rea's parents.

[Did you really think Ian would come back for you?] Rea’s text read. [He’s having dinner with my parents. Why would he waste time on a worthless freeloader like you?]

[If you had any self-respect, you’d leave the Cumberland Family right now.]

Clara felt her blood turn ice cold as her hope dimmed.

She made one last call. This time he picked up her call.

“What do you want?” Ian's voice was impatient.

“Aren't you coming back tonight, you promised to have dinner with me tonight ...”

“I don’t have time for this nonsense. I’m busy. Stop bothering me.”

The line went dead before she could finish her word.

To him, their final farewell that she had exchanged with everything she had was nothing more than a meaningless waste of time.

What mattered for him instead? Having dinner with Rea's parents?

Clara sat motionless in the dimly lit dining room, her figure was rigid like she was a statue.

After a long time, a bitter laugh appeared in the quiet room. That laughter grew louder and louder until it finally turned into an unspeakable whimper sob.

The clock ticked forward. Only thirty minutes remained before twelve o'clock. Then she would finally leave for good.