Chapter 2

Suddenly, the sound of a cup dropping to the floor caught Morgan's and Ethan's attention.

Isabelle stood at the doorway, her face pale and her body swaying slightly. It was hard to tell how much she'd overheard.

She looked at Morgan, and after a long pause, lowered her gaze and spoke softly.

"Sorry for coming back and causing trouble," she said quietly.

"Thank you for taking care of me these past couple of days. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now," she added.

Tears welled up and spilled down her cheeks, her whole body barely holding itself together. She got it all out in one go, then spun around and dashed out of the room.

Charlie ran after her, stomping his feet and shooting Morgan a fierce glare. "Dad, you're such a jerk!" he yelled.

And just like that, Charlie vanished through the doorway, never once looking my way.

Ethan glared at Morgan, his teeth gritted in frustration.

"Nice work, Morgan. You made Isabelle cry," Ethan shouted angrily.

Morgan ignored him, his gaze never leaving Isabelle as she dashed out of the room.

As he chased after her, he just called out to Ethan, "Let me know if Rachel wakes up."

Ethan instantly tensed up as if struck.

"Hey, wait. I never said I was staying!" he protested.

"I don't even know how to take care of anyone. She's always been the one taking care of me when I'm sick. What am I even supposed to do here?" he complained.

"And come on, who wants to sit here in awkward silence with her anyway?" he grumbled.

Ethan was about to rush out the door when he caught my gaze. I'd just opened my eyes.

I had meant to keep pretending to be asleep, but that eyelash in my eye was poking me so badly that I just couldn't take it anymore.

We just stared at each other, frozen. The silence between us was so thick, I could feel it crawling under my skin.

After a long pause, I finally cleared my throat.

"Could you grab the mirror from my bag for me? It's a bit hard to manage with just one hand," I asked.

"Uh... sure," Ethan replied, moving stiffly back to the bed. He rummaged through my bag for a bit, then handed me the mirror, looking deeply uneasy as he did.

I took it with my good hand and said politely, "Thanks."

He seemed thrown off by how distant I was acting.

He stammered, "N-no problem. You really don't have to be so formal with me."

"If you need anything, just hit the call button for the nurse, or shoot me or Morgan a message," he added.

"I've got some stuff to handle. I'll drop by later," he said.

I nodded. "Okay."

Ethan shot me a skeptical look, but when he found nothing but calm, he let out a breath of relief.

Then he made a quick exit.

The door clicked shut behind him. A cold draft slipped through the window, lifting the edge of the curtain.

And just like that, I was alone.

I picked up the mirror and kept staring at myself, totally zoning out.

My left arm was stuck in a huge cast, and my head was wrapped up in layers of bandages. I looked like a total mess.

Honestly, I was already awake when I heard Ethan talking. For a second, I'd really believed he'd come to stand up for me.

Turns out, I was just the one they all wished would disappear.

Suddenly, my mind flashed back to six years ago. Morgan was only 22, standing on the rooftop, gripping Ethan's hand and cradling a baby in his arms, looking like he'd lost all hope.

I asked the system, "If I finish this mission, will you really help me find my real brother?"

It replied, "Of course."

I said, "Alright, I've made up my mind. Since the mission is to help someone who's hit rock bottom make it through six years, then I choose them."

Six years. Just like that, I stuck around and kept them afloat all this time.

I lifted Morgan from a boy with zero will to live and turned him into a corporate giant.

I took Ethan from a wild, unsupervised kid and shaped him into elite university material.

I raised Charlie and watched him grow from a wailing baby in diapers into a kid who could run and climb.

I'm only human. After pouring my heart into this family for six years and ending up like this, how could I not feel bitter?

When the landslide struck and I was hauled onto the stretcher, I saw Morgan and Charlie suddenly treat me like a stranger, rage and frustration nearly drowning me.

But after what I heard from Ethan just now, all those emotions vanished, like some invisible force had just swept them away.

I counted the days in my head.

Luckily, there was only one month left before my six-year stint with this family was finally over.