His Stepsister’s Shadow, Her Broken Heart

Austin immediately got up and walked out, throwing the cotton swabs down onto the floor.

"Why did you come back like this? You're not allowed to go to the club anymore!" he warned.

Cara walked out and saw Winter hammering her fists against Austin's chest.

"You can't control me like this! I'm going to keep drinking and keep going to clubs at night! I'm going to find other men, fall in love with them, give birth to their kids, and call them cute nicknames!"

Austin immediately pulled Winter into his embrace, the veins on his neck popping.

Winter was still loudly shouting angry, hurtful words at him in a muffled voice as if she finally had a venting outlet. Austin quickly lowered his head and kissed her on the lips, trying to calm her down.

"Winnie… Baby… My baby…"

Cara stood at the stairway and heard the sound of them kissing passionately.

She had heard Austin calling her "baby" once after a party. That time, Austin had taken the initiative to kiss her, repeatedly calling her "baby".

She used to treasure that memory in her mind, never imagining that she was just a substitute for someone else, or perhaps, a tool for someone else's sexual gratification.

Cara's eyes lowered. She put the lollipop into her mouth, but somehow, the taste was bitter on her tongue.

She spat it out and threw it in the trash.

It might have been five minutes, or it might have only been just one, but finally, the two people kissing downstairs stopped after Winter passed out from the alcohol.

Austin carried her up in his arms and brought her upstairs.

Cara hid behind the door, watching as they both entered the room together and never came out for the rest of the night.

…

The next morning, it was drizzling.

When Austin came out of Winter's room, his face was cold and expressionless.

They went to the cemetery in the hills to pay their respects to Austin's parents, like they did last year, on their death anniversary. However, this time, Cara didn't chat or banter much with them anymore, and the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

"Go out first. I have something I want to tell Mom and Dad," Austin suddenly said to Cara.

Half of Austin's head was hidden in the dark at the cemetery, and Cara couldn't quite see the expression on his face.

She didn't go down the hill as she was told. Instead, she hid behind a tree nearby and eavesdropped on him.

Austin fell to his knees before his parents' tombstone.

"Mom, Dad, I'm sorry. I did something I never should have done with Winter. But don't worry. I won't overstep my boundaries again. I'll only continue protecting her silently as her older brother for the rest of her life."

Winter's voice could be heard not too far off. She had arrived at the cemetery with an umbrella in her hands and was walking slowly toward him.

"Austin! I'm here to bring you home!" she exclaimed.

Austin wasn't as affectionate with her as usual. He made Cara stand between himself and Winter, and he refused to make any eye contact with her.

Halfway home, Winter suddenly stopped and began to cry, tears rolling down her face like waterworks.

"You're abandoning me after introducing Cara to Mom and Dad, aren't you? Should I just move out and live on my own after today?" she asked.

Austin looked at her in confusion.

"What are you trying to say? Winter! Watch out!"

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky and struck the cherry blossom tree by the roadside. A huge branch broke off the tree, sending both Cara and Winter tumbling down the path until both their bodies hung precariously over the cliff.

Austin immediately jumped down and grabbed both Cara's and Winter's wrists at the same time, tiny rocks tumbling down from the top of the cliff.

His hand was split, and his blood dripped onto Cara's pale, terrified face as the rocks under her feet began cracking with a bone-chilling sound.

Winter suddenly screamed, "Austin! Austin, let go! You'll get dragged down with us!"

Austin's pupils constricted. The weight of their bodies, interlocked together by their fingers, was slowly causing the rocks to break and chip off.

At the most crucial life-and-death moment, he suddenly felt Cara's fingers loosen from his grip. He looked at her broken face and heard her whispering, "You've already decided who you're going to save anyway, haven't you, Austin Langford?

"Why are you still pretending to hesitate?"

"Shut up!"

Austin was just distracted for a split second, but he never felt more panicked or flustered than before. Then, Cara watched expectantly as he yanked Winter back to safety.

Rocks flew everywhere. He saw Cara reaching toward a dried, broken branch protruding by the side of the cliff, but it was rotten and beginning to make cracking sounds under Cara's weight.

Cara was literally dangling mid-air with the deep valley beneath her feet.

Austin's expression changed drastically. He tried to rush forward to save her, but Winter quickly hugged him from the back.

"Austin! You can't go there! It's already collapsed. You'll never save her!"

"Winter! Let go!"

Cara watched as the two of them continued getting entangled with each other, but she remained unusually calm.

"You don't have to save me, Austin. I just wish that I'll never meet you again in my next life, if there's one. I'll just find someone who loves me, have a family with him, and spend the rest of my life with him."

Right after Cara spoke, a sickening crack was heard as the branch she was standing on snapped in half.

A split second before Cara plummeted into the valley, she suddenly saw a figure dashing toward her.