After My Cousin Died in a Pearl Milk Bath

Nora stared at me blankly, her lips moving but eventually avoiding my gaze, not daring to meet my hopeful eyes.

"I don't have any money."

Jason quickly chimed in, full of wariness.

"We're already drowning in debt ourselves. Don't you dare come after us."

As he spoke, he even pulled Nora a step back, as if I were some kind of dangerous monster.

I wiped my tears, pretending to be heartbroken, and choked out, "Aunt, are you really going to let me die?"

"Emma can whiten her skin anytime, but I can't wait for treatment."

"If you're unwilling to lend more money, at least return the 20,000 dollars my dad lent you before."

This heavy blow made their faces turn extremely ugly.

They had come to ask for money, but now they found themselves being asked to pay it back instead.

However, I had underestimated their shamelessness, and Emma's obsession with whitening.

"Isabella! What kind of dream are you living in? Why should my whitening plan be put aside for your treatment?"

"If you don't have money, don't treat it! Who knows if your illness can even be cured? What if the money's wasted and you don't get better? Wouldn't that be a waste?"

"It's better to give the money to me for whitening. Once I'm beautiful and marry a rich man, I can take care of your parents in their old age."

Her absurd words left my parents utterly speechless.

Nora and Jason exchanged a glance, and I saw a gleam in their eyes as they both nodded in agreement.

"Emma's right. Treating illness costs so much, and you're going to die anyway, sooner or later. The treatment would just make you suffer. Why not save the money for Emma's whitening?"

"Isabella, let your cousin achieve her dreams. It's for your parents' sake, after all…"

Nora kept talking, completely oblivious to the fact that my dad's face had darkened considerably.

Finally, unable to take it any longer, my dad slapped her hard.

"Shut up! Nora, I've treated you like my own sister, tolerated you time and time again, and helped you over and over. But now you say this?"

"Isabella is your own niece. Is your heart made of stone? Is it so hard?"

Perhaps my dad had hit her harder than expected, but Nora staggered, falling to the floor.

She looked at my dad in disbelief, her eyes instantly turning red as she burst into tears.

"Big brother, you hit me?"

"You never even hit me when we were kids, but now, you're hitting me for this little bitch?"

"Did you forget what mom and dad said before they passed away? They told you to take care of me and protect me, didn't they? And you've forgotten all of that?"

At the mention of my grandparents, my dad clenched his fists even tighter.

My mom stepped forward, holding his hand, glaring coldly at Nora.

"Jason has spoiled you for decades, but ask yourself, have you really deserved his protection?"

Nora wasn't listening to any of this. She turned her head toward Jason, screaming hysterically.

"Are you just going to stand there watching? I've been slapped to the ground, and you're just standing there?"

Jason, stunned, finally snapped out of it and helped Nora up.

But at this moment, my dad's eyes were bloodshot, his arms bulging with veins. He looked anything but easy to mess with.

Jason hesitated, not daring to come forward, even hiding behind Nora.

"Nora is your real sister, Jason. We're family. How could you hit her?"