Severing Ties of Blood and Marrow

In my past life, Veronica used this same excuse to postpone our engagement party year after year.

As long as she didn't agree, Sterling would never hold the party with me—he was utterly bound by her tears.

Thinking of this, I gave a sardonic smile and unconsciously rubbed an old, faint scar on my palm, a mark left by a thief who had cut me while I was protecting my design sketches.

"Of course. Whatever is most convenient for her."

What was there to object to? It wasn't as if Sterling and I would have ever actually had our engagement party anyway.

I put down my knife and fork. "I'm not hungry anymore," I said. As I turned to go upstairs, I caught Veronica shooting Sterling a triumphant smirk. She had won again, using her supposed frailty to steal the ceremony that should have been mine.

Seeing my rigid posture as I walked away, Sterling’s hand, holding his fork, froze mid-air.

For the first time, he sensed something was different. The old Clara would have asked, her eyes filling with tears, "Why is it being postponed again?" But this Clara was so calm, as if we were discussing someone else's business.

He wanted to call out to me, but Veronica suddenly clutched her chest and started coughing. "Sterling, I feel a little dizzy..."

His attention was immediately diverted. He reached out to feel her forehead, completely missing the fact that I had paused at the top of the stairs, watching.

Over the next few days, with the engagement party indefinitely postponed, Sterling indeed had plenty of time to travel with Veronica.

The night before they left, Veronica knocked on my door, holding a thick coat. "Clara, Sterling, Dad, Mom, and I are going skiing in Aspen. You just had a bone marrow aspiration, so your body is weak. You shouldn't come suffer in the cold."

As she spoke, she deliberately ran her fingernail over the fresh needle mark on my wrist from the last procedure. I saw the undisguised triumph in her eyes and suddenly remembered she had said the same thing in my past life, only to turn around and complain to our family, "Clara said Aspen is boring and refused to go with me."

Sure enough, when they left the next day, my mother looked at me with feigned concern. "Clara, if you're not feeling well, just rest at home. When you're better, we'll all go together."

I was left at home once again.

To "share" their trip with me, Veronica sent photos from every stop. In one, she wore a custom ski suit from Sterling, posing on a snowy peak while our family snapped pictures of her. In another, she was in a luxury hotel, hugging a giant teddy bear from Felix, a champagne tower from our parents glittering in the background.

"Clara, it's such a shame you didn't come! Sterling built me a huge snowman, even taller than you!"

"Dad and Mom said the hot springs here are good for my health. They're planning to buy me a villa here so we can come often!"

"Oh, by the way, Clara, Sterling bought me a necklace that glows. Didn't you once say you wanted one? But Sterling said this style suits me better~"

Every word was a deliberate needle to the heart. I deleted the photos one by one, then turned off my phone and started packing. In a few more days, the island paperwork would be complete, and I would be free.

Just then, I heard the sound of breaking glass from downstairs. I froze, a scene from my past life flashing through my mind. It was around this time that a thief broke in, stole my mother's jewelry, and tore my design sketches to shreds. Back then, I had called for help, but no one answered—they were all at a party in Aspen with Veronica.

Instantly, alarm bells screamed in my head.

I quickly backed up my design sketches to the cloud, contacted a private security company, then grabbed a utility knife and hid behind the door.

Sure enough, a thief climbed through a window and made a beeline for my mother's jewelry box. I held my breath. The moment he turned, I lunged. But he easily shoved me aside; in my weakened state, I was no match for him.

His knife slashed my arm, the pain making me break out in a cold sweat, but I bit down hard on his wrist, preventing him from getting near my bedroom.

Fortunately, the security guards arrived just in time and subdued the thief. In the struggle, I tumbled down the stairs, my head slamming against a step. Blood streamed down my face.

When my family and Sterling rushed back, all they saw were the security guards leaving and me sitting pathetically amidst the mess, the wound on my arm still bleeding.

My father and mother were stunned. "You... you caught him by yourself? Why didn't you call us?"

Veronica immediately threw herself into our mother's arms, crying, "Mom, it's all my fault! I was on a video call with everyone, saying Clara would be perfectly safe at home. If I had known, I wouldn't have stayed out playing for so long..." As she spoke, she shot our mother a look—see, it's all Clara's own stubbornness, nothing to do with us.

My mother's brow furrowed predictably, her tone laced with blame. "Exactly! Why would you do something so dangerous instead of waiting for us?"

Even the usually aloof Felix had a conflicted expression. "What kind of hero are you trying to be? Last time, Veronica said you were afraid of a kitten. How did you find the courage to fight a thief?"

I was too exhausted to speak, my hand still trembling as I clutched the utility knife. Sterling suddenly knelt, reaching out to touch my forehead, but I flinched away. His fingertips froze, his eyes filled with a raw panic. "Clara, how are you? Where are you hurt? I'll take you to the hospital!"

"You fool! Why didn't you call us?" His voice held a trace of self-blame. Earlier, Veronica had insisted, "Clara is probably sleeping, don't disturb her," so he hadn't called.

I looked at him weakly. "What good would it have done? Would you really have rushed back for me?"

Everyone's expression changed. Veronica immediately said, "Clara, how can you say that? We rushed back as soon as we heard! Sterling was even speeding!" She deliberately mentioned his "urgency," but conveniently forgot they had stopped to buy her souvenirs on the way.

I laughed mockingly. In my past life, it was because I believed they would come back that I called them, one by one, only to be tortured half to death by that thief.

Seeing my unusual calm, Sterling's frown deepened.

He noticed a design portfolio peeking out from my bedroom doorway and was about to ask something, but Felix pointed at the suitcase on the floor and yelled, "You've packed all this stuff—where the hell are you planning to go?!"