“Ah—”

Her hair was yanked back hard, forcing her head up. Through the blur, Aurora Carmichael caught a glimpse of Isabella Carmichael’s smug smile.

“Aurora, your precious big brother died in jail, your second brother—Mr. Movie Star? Face ruined, went crazy! And your third brother, the genius racer? Total wreck now. Lifelong disability! Isn’t that hilarious?”

Aurora’s whole body trembled violently.

Big brother, second brother, third brother... how could all of them end up like this?

“Oh, and your dear parents? Drove right off a cliff. Bodies so broken they couldn’t even piece them together.”

“You... Isabella! You did this to them!” Aurora’s eyes were red, nearly bulging from rage. “They were your brothers too! They loved you—even more than they loved me! How could you—how the hell could you do this to them?”

“Loved me?” Isabella’s expression sank. She clenched her jaw and gave a bitter sneer. “Don’t kid yourself, Aurora. Three years ago when I found out we’d been switched and the Carmichaels dragged you back from that dump, you think I wasn’t crushed? Everyone laughed at me—the fake little princess. Sure, Mom and Dad kept me around, but I knew deep down, they didn’t care anymore. You were all they saw.”

“Mom? Always acted pissed at you, but secretly doted on you like her life depended on it. Dad? Gave you the best of the company. And your so-called brothers, huh... spoiled you like nothing else existed. Whatever you wanted, they jumped through hoops to get it. Didn’t dare hand things to you themselves—so they made me play delivery girl.”

“All those things—they were supposed to be mine.”

“You, that backwoods reject, stole everything from me!”

Isabella let out a cold laugh. “Even those two old fools... before they died, they were still crying out your name. Got down on their knees begging me to spare you. Pathetic, weren’t they?”

Aurora’s face was streaked with blood and tears, blurring together as the words hit her like knives.

She’d always thought the Carmichaels didn’t care about her. Her parents seemed harsh and dismissive, and her three brothers? Always distant. And with Isabella whispering in her ear, she’d pulled away from them more and more.

She’d been so blind. She'd ruined them all.

“That’s enough, Isabella. Stop wasting your energy on her.”

A man stepped out of the shadows. His eyes were cold, voice detached, but he pulled Isabella into his arms gently. “Don’t wear yourself out over trash like her, okay?”"Lucas Goodwin!" The moment she saw him, Aurora's eyes burned with hatred. "How could you do this to me?!"

"What exactly did I do?" Lucas sneered, arms crossed. "Seriously, a useless girl who ran off with a guy, and you thought you were good enough to be my wife?"

Her heart felt like it was bleeding. Back when she had just returned to the Carmichaels, lost and uncertain, Lucas had appeared with a gentleness that drew her in instantly. She had fallen for him without a second thought. But her parents didn’t approve of him—no, they insisted she marry Alexander Howard. She refused and ran off with Lucas instead, slapping the Carmichaels with a scandal that broke all of Jiuchuan into gossip.

She gave everything up for him—status, comfort. She lived rough just to be with him. Every skill she had, she used to push his success forward... and in the end, he hooked up with Isabella and locked her in a basement like a criminal.

Seeing Aurora so broken, Isabella was practically glowing with glee. She leaned in, her voice mocking, "Wow, Aurora. You really were that dumb. Ditching Alexander for Lucas? But hey, Alexander’s a saint—he didn’t hold it against you. He even moved half his assets into your name, just so you’d have something if things went south."

"After you disappeared, he boarded a plane in a damn storm, rushing back to find you. Crashed and died because of it."

"You, a country bumpkin—what did you ever do to deserve that kind of love? He gave up his life for you."

Alexander Howard.

That cold, aloof man... like a god among mortals.

Gone.

"It was you... all of you!" Aurora screamed, her voice ripping open with grief.

"How is it our fault?" Isabella shrugged exaggeratedly. "Your three brothers? Dead. Your parents? Off a cliff in a car crash. Alexander? Plane crash. All of them, because of you. Let’s be real—you’re the one who killed them."

"You were just too stupid." Isabella clicked her tongue. "This game’s gotten boring. Lucas, how about we end it?"

"Sure thing."

Lucas grabbed Aurora's face, forcing the poison down her throat.

It burned through her body like fire, curling her up in agony. As she lay there dying, images flashed before her eyes—her parents, her brothers…

And Alexander.

Tears of regret slipped down her cheeks.

She didn’t want this. This wasn’t how it should have ended.

This life... she'd destroyed everything.

If there were another chance, in another life—

She would make things right.