Betrayed in Love

After a brief pause, the torrential rain returned with renewed force. I stood there, unmoving, soaked to the bone. Finally, Adelaide Palmer, unable to bear it any longer, cautiously spoke up:

"Sir, you've been in the rain too long. If you stay out much longer, you might catch a nasty cold."

In the cozy living room, a woman nestled in Kylo's arms, lazily lifted her head from a fashion magazine and sighed:

"Let him in."

With those simple words, it was as if I'd been granted a pardon. Adelaide helped me inside. As we passed through the living room, Kylo glanced at me with disdain and said:

"Does this Persian rug mean nothing to you? How can you let such a mess stand on it? Soaking wet—it's ruined now, isn't it?"

Selena wrapped her arm around his neck and kissed him. After their lingering kiss, she looked at me with indifference.

"Kylo, what do you think? How should I deal with your brother?"

Kylo looked me up and down and then sneered:

"Make him kneel and clean the rug. If he doesn’t do it, he doesn’t eat."

"Alright, if that's what you want."

Selena smiled gracefully and ordered, "Kneel down and clean."

I stood there, dazed, on the carpet, staring at my brother, who despised me so deeply. I knew that even if he could tear me apart, it wouldn't ease his hatred.

But he used to be the brother who cared for me the most.

Kylo and I are twins, born just three minutes apart. As kids, he would protect me from our father's drunken rampages, never backing down even when he was black and blue. Our mother had entrusted him with the task of taking good care of me because of my frail health. He had taken those words to heart and lived by them.

Until the day our mother, unable to endure our father's violence, divorced him. She could only take one child, and she chose the weaker me. From then on, Kylo resented both me and our mother.

As I remained unresponsive, Selena suddenly stood up and approached me.

"Knox Rice, don’t make me repeat myself."

Seeing her cold expression, I turned and walked back into the storm without a word. The remnants of my mother’s legacy had already been destroyed, and there was no point in enduring further humiliation.

Selena chased after me a couple of steps, shouting furiously from under the eaves:

"Knox Rice, defy me again, and you’ll regret it!"

I walked away, faster and faster, never looking back no matter how she raged.