Chapter 1

Just because I refused to give blood to my younger sister, my mom, who was a lawyer, dragged me to court.

I tried to explain to my mom that my immune system was messed up, and donating blood could literally kill me.

But she just broke down, crying and screaming at me, "Can you stop faking it? Are you really going to let your sister die? How did I end up with such a heartless brat for a daughter?"

In the end, I lost the case. They took a ton of blood from me.

With all sorts of complications wrecking my body, I died tragically in some desolate, lonely place where no one even noticed.

*****

I was dead.

Maybe it was because of some stubborn obsession, but my soul hovered around my mom, never able to take even a single step away from her.

At the hospital, the whole family gathered around my younger sister, Rebecca Bradley, and my mom was nearly in tears with worry.

She was always composed and strong-willed, yet she showed such vulnerability at that moment. It was a world apart from how she'd been so fierce and relentless toward me in court.

When Rebecca finally woke up, my mom and my dad could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

My mom held Rebecca's hand, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Sweetheart, you're finally awake. Does anything hurt? I'll go get the doctor," she said, her voice trembling.

Rebecca squeezed my mom's hand back and shook her head. She looked around the room and asked,

She asked, "Where's Sophie? Why isn't she here? Is she still upset with me for getting her blood?"

As soon as my name was mentioned, my mom's face instantly dropped, and you could see nothing but pure disgust in her eyes.

My mom spat, "What right does she have to blame you? That selfish brat. Her sister was suffering, and she still had the guts to fight me in court.

"She's made me lose face for the rest of my life!"

My heart felt like it was covered in bruises. My mom was the one who took me to court, and she threw everything she knew at me, like I was some enemy she had to defeat.

I was her daughter, not some kind of monster or criminal, after all.

Hearing that, my my dad was so furious he slammed his fist into the wall.

He said, "Call her right now and make her come here and apologize to Rebecca on her knees. She just can't stand seeing Rebecca happy, so she wants to hog everything in this family for herself.

"How did I end up with such a cold-hearted, backstabbing daughter?"

My soul was right there in the middle of them. They were my family, and yet not a single one ever stood up for me.

Even after I died, they still wouldn't let me rest. They kept badmouthing me, as always.

My mom grabbed her phone and tried calling me again and again, but I never picked up.

Furious, she cursed out loud, "That ungrateful brat thinks she's grown bold now, throwing a tantrum. If we don't teach her a lesson when we get home, she'll treat us like dirt when we're old!"

My heart sank into utter hopelessness. It wasn't that I was ignoring her calls.

I was just dead.

I was three years older than Rebecca. When I was little, my my dad spilled water on the floor, and I slipped and accidentally bumped into my mom, who was over eight months pregnant.

She was affected and ended up going into early labor, so Rebecca was born prematurely.

Rebecca was always frail growing up, and my mom put all the blame on me.

She would always say, "If it weren't for you, you little jinx, Rebecca would've grown up healthy and strong. It's all your fault. She's suffering because of you!"

Feeling completely wronged, I shot my dad a pleading look, hoping he'd back me up.

I wished my dad would finally speak up for me, but instead, he just snapped back harshly.

"Why are you looking at me? You made your own mess. Now you want someone else to take the blame?" my dad barked.

Right then, I realized my dad would never stand up for me. He'd only pile more blame on me.

Sure enough, my mom slapped me hard across the face. My ears were ringing, almost bursting.

"You're going to kneel in front of Rebecca today, and you don't get up until you realize your mistake!" my mom barked.

That day, I knelt all day, stubbornly insisting I was innocent, thinking that if I just held out, my mom would finally see the truth. She was a big-shot lawyer, after all.

I felt that there was no way she'd ever let an innocent person take the fall.

But reality hit me like a punch to the gut.

My mom's sense of justice was reserved for strangers. When she kicked me right in the heart, that was when I finally realized just how childish my hopes had been.

My mom's gaze was cold and full of contempt.

She said, "Sophie, Rebecca ended up like this all because of you, and you don't even feel a shred of guilt. How did I end up with such a bad seed for a daughter?"

The whole thing ended with my mom starving me for three days, forcing me to finally give in.

I still remembered how my mom boasted to my dad afterward.

"This is how you teach kids. Otherwise, they'll never know who's boss," she said.

It was surprising that this was coming from a law school grad.

Honestly, I should've seen the truth back then. My mom and my dad never really loved me.

If I hadn't been holding onto that last bit of hope that I could wake up their hearts and make them care about me, I wouldn't have gone to my grave still unable to bring myself to blame them.

My mind was yanked back to the present. My mom and my dad were still tearing into me, their words sharp and cruel. It felt like I wasn't their daughter at all, just some enemy they wanted to crush.

My heart finally gave up. For the first time, I realized that maybe being dead was the best ending I could ever hope for.