Chapter 3

When I snapped out of it, I instinctively headed toward my room, only to freeze in the doorway. The Frost brothers, tall, long-legged, and impossible to ignore, were all clustered at the bedside, fussing over Tiffany.

"Tiffany, are you feeling okay now?" Devin asked, genuine worry in his eyes.

"Need some water, Tiffany?" Jacob added, voice soft.

"Hey, Tiffany, how about lying down for a bit?" Eric suggested, pulling the blanket up.

I gave a bitter, mocking smile, my hand tightening without me realizing.

I almost forgot this room wasn't mine anymore.

It used to be mine, decorated exactly how I liked it.

But one day, Eric came to me and said Tiffany needed a quiet place to rest.

And just like that, my room was handed over to her.

From that moment, I knew deep down that in their eyes, I didn't matter to them anymore.

I was too stubborn to face the truth back then. I wouldn't give up until I finally met a tragic end in that basement.

The next morning, I was jolted awake by the sound of firecrackers going off downstairs. My brows knitted in confusion.

What was so special about today?

Why all the noise?

Still confused, I went downstairs to see what was going on. The villa's living room was piled high with gifts. Every box had a numbered tag.

Right in the middle of the living room, Tiffany was surrounded by the Frost brothers, all fussing over her like she was the star of the show.

Devin smiled warmly and pointed to the first row of gifts. "Tiffany, these are all from me, for when you were one to eight years old. No matter how old you get, I hope you'll always be as happy as you were back then."

As soon as he finished, Eric chimed in, "Tiffany, the second row is from me, for when you were nine to sixteen. I even went out of my way to get you a lucky necklace from St. Johnson Church. I hope you stay safe and healthy your whole life."

Jacob grinned and pointed at another row. "Tiffany, this third row is from me, for when you were seventeen to twenty-two. The last gift is my latest Best Actor trophy. I hope your life is just as blessed as mine. May all your wishes come true, and may happiness always find you."

Tiffany stood surrounded by them, gazing at the mountain of gifts in front of her. Her eyes welled up, and tears rolled down her face in an instant.

"It's just... just a normal birthday. Why did you get me so many gifts? I'm really overwhelmed. I don't even know what to say," she stammered, her voice trembling.

After she finished speaking with a smile, she turned, and her eyes landed on me, standing just not far away.

That sly look flickered in her eyes as she grinned. "Violet, don't feel too left out. When your birthday rolls around, I bet you'll get something to smile about, too."

Her words stabbed me right in the heart, and my hand tightened into a fist.

When my birthday came last time, the Frost brothers didn't get me a single thing. Their excuse was that they were just too busy.

Just then, Devin walked over to me, looking a bit uncomfortable as he pulled out a gold credit card and handed it to me.

"Violet, work's been pretty busy lately, and I haven't had the chance to get you a present. Why don't you take this card and buy yourself something you really want?" he said, his voice tinged with apology.

As soon as Devin finished, Eric stepped up, too, shooting me an apologetic look.

"I was caught up preparing for my art show on your birthday, so how about you pick something you like, and I'll count that as my gift?" he said gently.

Jacob shot his brothers a quick look, then turned to me. "Violet, I swear I'll put my heart into your present. But I'll be heading off to set soon, so I might not have much time to get it ready. Don't hold it against me, alright?"

I looked away from the gold card in Devin's hand, my expression cold and unreadable as I stared at them.

"I don't need any gifts from you. There's no need to go through the motions," I said flatly.

The Frost brothers looked at me, stunned, disbelief written all over their faces.

They couldn't wrap their heads around what was going on.

They couldn't believe that I really just turned down their gifts.

Back in the day, if something like this happened, I would've thrown a huge fit.

But I was so calm about it this time, and they honestly didn't know what to do.

The next moment, the three brothers shot each other a look, all suddenly recalling what I had said the day before about having someone in my heart. Instantly, they realized that I was still giving them the cold shoulder.

Eric frowned, impatience written all over his face as he looked at me. "Hey, you're the one saying no, not us. So don't go complaining to Mom and Dad about it later."