Never Admit Defeat, Never Give Up

In the end, my brother and Lucia got out of the car and separated us as we struggled.

I was dragged to the back seat, while the girl named Lila sat smugly in the front.

Maybe those slaps finally knocked some sense into her.

Her tone softened.

"Channing, I didn't know she was really your sister. You never told me you had a sister."

My brother sighed helplessly.

"I told you, but you think every girl you meet is..."

"I just care about you too much!"

As I heard her whining and acting coy, it gave me the creeps.

Lucia and I exchanged a look, both of us equally skeptical.

How could my/your brother be into this type of girl?

When I returned to the house my parents bought for us, I was stunned the moment I walked through the door.

The living room was filled with delivery boxes and women's stuff, both personal and not...

I couldn't tell if it was clean or not...

"Avert your eyes from the mess,"

Lucia muttered, half-covering her eyes.

I felt a surge of rage boiling up in my chest, about to explode in my head.

The house my parents bought for me was ruined like this?

I raised my hand and smacked my brother on the back.

"My girlfriend went a little crazy during the recent Black Friday sales, and I haven't had a chance to clean up yet..."

My brother rubbed his shoulder and gave me a sheepish look.

Didn't she know to throw away the boxes after unpacking? Did she have to leave them piled up in the living room? Did it look good?

And why did she expect my brother to clean up her mess?

Seeing that I was about to blow my top, Lila brushed past me and said something in a snarky tone.

"I'm dating him, so he should make sacrifices for me. Otherwise, what's the point? If I marry him, he has to treat me like a queen!"

What did she mean, my brother should sacrifice for her? What about her? Just stand there and enjoy my brother's generosity?

"If I'm not mistaken, those designer clothes you're wearing are all gifts from my brother, right?"

She's a college student, but she's decked out in branded gear. If her family was wealthy, that'd be one thing. But Lucia and I looked into her background in the car, and her family is just middle-class, so those fancy threads are all courtesy of my brother's wallet.

She's spending my brother's money, but still treats him so badly!

"None of your business! Your brother is happy about it."

Seeing we were arguing again, my brother hurried out to mediate.

It infuriated me to see him like this.

Why should he let himself be pushed around by a woman like her!

It was unbelievable! I pulled Lucia, who was standing there dazed, and we went straight to my room.

I was so worked up that I forgot to change out of my clothes.

It would be bad if I caught a cold over this.

As soon as we entered the room, Lucia immediately started venting.

"What kind of person is she? If your brother actually marries her, he'll be in for a world of trouble!"

I clenched my fists.

"Have you forgotten what I said in the car? There's no way I'll let her become my sister-in-law!"

But now it was obvious my brother was completely infatuated with her, so I had to find a way to make him see her true colors!

We just found out in the car that her name is Lila, she's a year older than us, but she didn't have a good reputation in her class. I don't know what tricks she used to reel in my naive brother.

And what about that garbage pile of delivery boxes out there?

I had to find a way to make Lila clean up her own mess.

"I've got it!"

Suddenly, a good idea struck me.

Lucia was just about to ask what I'd thought of when there was a knock at the door.

I opened it to find my brother.

He was holding a bag of my favorite snacks.

"I saw these when I went out to get something for Lila, so I grabbed them for you."

He handed me the snack bag, a peace offering.

I knew he was trying to make amends. From childhood to adulthood, whenever we fought, he'd use snacks to butter me up.

"I just can't bear to see you being bullied like this."

"I know, but Lila isn't a bad person deep down. She just has some contradictions in her personality...her family favored sons over daughters, so she craves love from me. You shouldn't have hit her."

My eyes darkened when I heard that. I didn't expect my brother to be so infatuated and come defend her against me.

But even if he liked her, I still had to make her pay for trashing my house like this.

"I know, I know. You have to go to work tomorrow, right?"

My brother nodded, visibly relieved to see my expression soften.

"You should get some rest."

After saying that, he turned and left.