Chapter 2

"Whose kid is this? Such a troublemaker! Doesn't he have any manners?" someone yelled.

Ethan squeezed his chubby cheeks into a grin and ran off. Then he started pushing firecrackers into cracks in a brick wall. When one blew a tiny hole open, he clapped like he'd just scored a win.

Caught up in the excitement, he stepped on a manhole cover. It let out a long rusty creak.

He lowered his head and noticed there were holes in the manhole cover too. Something clicked in his mind, and he started stuffing firecrackers into it.

In my old life, I knew those covers led straight into the heating system, where the pressure was insanely high. If anything exploded, scorching hot water and steam would erupt on the spot.

So the moment I saw what he was doing, I dropped my suitcase and sprinted over. I tackled Ethan to the side, and the blast burned his forehead and my back.

Hazel, our neighbor, screamed like her soul flew out. I was rushed to the hospital. Thankfully the burns weren't too serious.

Every time she saw me later, she'd say things like, "Ethan's blessed to have a good aunt like you. If he'd fallen into that boiling water, even if he'd lived, he'd be crippled."

My parents held my hand and called me their brave, good daughter. My heroism conveniently covered up the fact that they hadn't been watching their kid.

To thank me for saving her precious grandson, my mom even put a chicken drumstick in my bowl for the first time. You had to understand, the drumsticks had always been reserved for my brother.

After my nephew was born, the privilege shifted to Ethan.

That was one of the few warm moments in my life. Even the nurses said that if I hadn't saved him, he wouldn't just have a small burn on his forehead. He might have died.

Natalie brought Ehtan over to thank me for saving him.

"Ethan, from now on, your aunt is your second mom. You treat her the same way you treat me and your dad," she said.

Ethan puffed out his chubby cheeks and looked at me seriously. "I love you the most, Aunt Chloe. I'll love you forever."

No one expected that after his burn healed, the patch on his forehead would never grow hair again.

Kids in puberty were painfully sensitive. Because of that bald spot, he became a target at school. He never fought back.

He just came home and smashed things, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Why can't I grow hair? Why?!"

Every time, Natalie would just hold him and cry, "My poor baby… if your aunt had come home a little earlier and stopped you from putting firecrackers in that manhole, you wouldn't be suffering now."

When I first heard that, I was stunned. I even went to my parents to complain. What I didn't expect was that they took her side and scolded me too.

They said, "It was your fault. If you'd come home earlier and kept an eye on Ethan, he wouldn't have been hurt. If you'd covered his head when you pushed him, he wouldn't have gone bald. He's being bullied because of you. You owe him."

Even Sebastian, after being brainwashed long enough by his wife and our parents, said, "Chloe, I'm just being honest here. Looks matter for kids nowadays. How's he supposed to get a girlfriend in the future? He's getting bullied every day.

"Don't you think you should take responsibility?"

I stared at these people I used to call family and felt like the world had tilted. For years, just because of that "Auntie Chole, I love you the most," I gave him grand gifts every holiday, bought him pricey LEGO sets without blinking.

And when he couldn't get into a top elementary school, I pulled strings to shove him in anyway.

And now I had become the villain. The obedient nephew resented me for his bald spot. My brother and sister-in-law resented me for saving him "too late."

Even my parents hinted that since I caused his problems, I should take responsibility for his future house and job.

The weight of all that resentment crushed me. I left the city I'd lived in for years, hoping to clear my head. But then Natalie called, crying that my parents were gravely ill.

I rushed back, only to find the house silent.

Only Ethan was there, glaring at me."Auntie Chole, Mom said you stopped giving me money after you left. Is that true?"

Something felt wrong. I turned to run, but the door was locked from the outside.

"Aunt Chloe, it's your fault I'm getting bullied for my looks. You totally owe me! And now you won't even give me any cash to make up for it? Just die already," Ethan spat.

Before I could react, searing pain tore across my back, like I'd been set on fire. I screamed and collapsed, and a second pot of boiling oil came crashing down on my head.