I kept thinking about what Yvonne had said.

She had wondered how long it would take to replace me, but she already had.

I was too upset to speak or defend myself.

Yvonne tried to stand up while repeatedly apologizing to me. "I'm so sorry, Summer. I didn't know the brothers celebrating my birthday would upset you so much. It's all my fault. I'll leave this house if you want, but please don't be mad at me anymore, and don't upset the brothers."

Then, she started to crawl out of the room.

The Sullivan brothers' expressions were a mix of disgust and shock, and their eyes blazed with anger as they looked at me.

I shivered and tried to speak, but their sharp glares filled me with a cold loneliness. I knew that no matter what I said, they would not believe me.

…

It was almost midnight, but the large villa was alive with activity.

The best medical team in the city was inside, all of them meticulously checking on Yvonne's condition, while the Sullivan brothers stood by her, tense and worried.

I was nearby, my head hurting so much that it felt like it was being split in two. A sharp pain swirled around my brain, making it hard to stand.

Biting back the pain, I walked up to a renowned neurologist. "Doctor, my head... It hurts."

"Summer, can't you see what's happening? These doctors are here for Yvonne. Don't make things harder for them!

"We had to call all these experts out here in the middle of the night because of the mess you made!" Ethan said, his voice full of blame. When I did not move, he grabbed my arm, pushed me into my room, and locked the door firmly.

The pain was so bad I could hardly walk. I crawled to my nightstand, grabbed a handful of painkillers, chewed them up, and swallowed them down. The bitterness filled my mouth and my heart.

After my parents died in a car crash, my grandparents and I moved to this city and became neighbors with the Sullivan brothers.

They were a few years older than me and took me under their wing, always looking out for me.

After my grandparents grew old and passed away, they stepped up to look after me.

I was nineteen at the time. They combined and remodeled our two houses into one big home, and things were perfect.

We were a tight-knit group of four, the closest I could imagine, until Yvonne showed up and changed everything.

It was just like any other day when Yvonne collapsed at our front door. She was so skinny and looked so sad that I could not help but bring her inside.

From the moment the Sullivan brothers saw her, they forgot all about me. Day after day, they showered her with love and attention.

It was as though she had appeared out of thin air just to steal the brothers' hearts.

After taking some pain medication, I tried to get up and go to bed, but the door suddenly flew open with a loud bang.

Nelson and Jasper stormed in, furious, and threw a bunch of papers at me.

I was still in shock when they yelled at me.

"How could you be so jealous that you hurt Yvonne when we weren't around?

"You've bullied Yvonne into a depression! Summer, I never knew you were so mean!"

Once Nelson and Jasper finished yelling, they quickly hurried back to Yvonne.

I grabbed the medical report, my hands shaking as I read it.

It said Yvonne had been abused for a long time and was malnourished, depressed, and had delusions that people were out to get her.

I read it and ran out the door, desperate to clear my name.

The doctors had just left the house when I saw the three brothers huddled around Yvonne in the living room.

Ethan was carefully peeling an apple for her while Nelson gently held her shoulders, whispering kind words to soothe her.

Jasper caught sight of me. His voice was hateful. "Why are you here? Are you checking if we're gone so you can pick on Yvonne again?"

Tears welled up in Yvonne's eyes as she looked at me. "Summer, I'm really sorry."

The brothers were quick to comfort her, dabbing at her tears with tissues.

Seeing how much they cared for her, I did not feel like arguing anymore.

I went back to my room in silence, took down the drawing of the four of us that the brothers had made, and cut it up. Then, I found a lighter and watched as the picture turned to ash.

Years of feelings disappeared with the flames.

…

I lay in bed, put in my earplugs, and blocked out the happy noise from outside. I soon drifted off into a deep sleep. It was the first time in a long while that I did not dream about the brothers.

When morning came, I got up early and began to pack. My closet was full of dresses Ethan had made just for me. He always said I was the princess of the family and should wear something pretty every day.

Nelson had given me tickets to concerts and flights all around the world. He always joked that I could not forget about him and others while I was away.

Jasper had taken care of everything for me. He wanted me to depend on them forever.

However, they had left me no choice now. I had to cram all those things into the trash can downstairs, throwing away all the memories—both the good and the bad.

As I shoved the last dress into the bin, Ethan's voice shook the air. "Summer, why are you tossing out the clothes I made for you?"

I spun around to see the three brothers lined up behind me, their eyes wide and worried.

Nelson dashed to the trash, not caring about the mess, and started digging. He found the gifts from him and Jasper that I had thrown out.

Their eyes were red as they asked, "Summer, you loved those things, didn't you? Why are you getting rid of them?"

I did not know what to say. My eyes darted around until they landed on the shirt Ethan was holding. I whispered, "I thought it was time for you to give me some new clothes and gifts. The old things were just taking up space, so I tossed some."

I walked over to Nelson and pointed at the blouse he was holding. "Is that a new blouse for me?" I asked quietly.

Nelson got all flustered and hid the blouse behind his back.

I let my eyes drop, pretending to be let down. "Oh, so it's not for me."

The brothers looked at me, their faces revealing a flicker of pain. They did not ask any more about why I was throwing things away.

Nelson let out a sigh. "Summer, Yvonne didn't have any clothes to wear at our place, so Ethan made some for her. Don't be jealous again."

Jasper added, "Just because we’re giving her gifts, it doesn’t mean you won’t get any.”

I put on a half-smile and replied calmly, "Got it."

I walked into the villa without glancing back at their faces.

Yvonne stood in the hallway with a challenging smirk on her face. "Summer, can’t you see that I'm taking your things away little by little? Does that make you happy?"

I pulled a face and ignored Yvonne's taunts. With an eye roll, I hurried into my bedroom and locked the door tight.

Yvonne did not cause any more trouble and slowly made her way downstairs. The walls were thin, and I could hear Yvonne's excited voice.

"Wow, Ethan, these clothes are so pretty! Did you really design and make them just for me?" Yvonne's voice was full of delight.

The three brothers felt a pang in their hearts, thinking of Yvonne's tough past. They buzzed around her, promising to double their kindness to make her future bright.

My heart ached as I listened.

The brothers once made those same promises to me. I knew they still cared about me, but they had chosen someone else over me time and time again.

I wondered how they would react if I lost my memory after the surgery.

…

When I stepped out of my room later, the big villa was quiet. I felt a wave of relief once I realized I was alone. I felt so much more comfortable with everyone gone.

I took my time packing up my things and moving them back to the villa my grandparents had left me.

These days, I felt weak and had to take breaks often. I did not have a lot of things, but it took me all night to move everything.

The Sullivan brothers and Yvonne had not come back yet, and I had a doctor's appointment tomorrow. I wrapped myself in my blanket and zonked out.

The next morning, a bunch of notifications woke me up.

I rubbed my eyes, fighting off sleep, and saw a bunch of pictures of the brothers in swim trunks on my phone.

I was wide awake in a flash.

Then came Yvonne’s text.

[The brothers are so sweet. I told them I'd never seen the ocean before, so they took me to see it.]

[Summer, you live with these rich guys, yet you still see them as your brothers. How do you do it? Maybe I should teach you how to win them over.]

Her mean words made me see red.

The brothers were so nice to her, yet she did not care at all.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. I knew she was just trying to make me mad. If I snapped back, the brothers would never let it go.

I quietly blocked Yvonne.

I got up, stretched, and figured I could get ready for the hospital since I could not go back to sleep.

The doctor who usually saw me was in the operating theater, so a trainee took me for my brain scan.

She gave me weird looks, but when I asked what was up, she just shook her head.

I completed the scan feeling confused. After waiting for the results, I headed home.

Right as I stepped out of the car, my head started throbbing, and I almost fell down.

A hand caught me, while another hand grabbed the special medication the doctor had given me.

I looked up to see Yvonne eyeing my medicine with a smirk. She said, "Summer, a friend from the hospital told me you've got a huge tumor in your head. If you don't get surgery soon, you're going to die, aren't you?"