Bonds Turn to Ash

The day my brother was reclaimed by his wealthy biological family, he knelt before them, eyes red and brimming with tears.

My sister is the only family I have. If she doesn't come with me, I'm not going back.

Mr. and Mrs. Stone had no choice but to bring me to the estate.

Upon arrival, Chloethe fake heiress who had stolen my brother's identity for eighteen yearswas insufferable. Spoiled and arrogant, she constantly targeted us. Initially, my brother found her annoying, snapping back whenever our parents told him to accommodate her.

"Susan is my only sister."

But he stopped saying that. Eventually, he started comparing us.

"I wish you were as outgoing as Chloe. You're always so quiet. It's boring."

Then, he forgot my birthday. Again. I didn't protest, quietly baking a small cake in the kitchen. The moment I finished icing it, he snatched the plate and carried it to Chloe.

"Her custom cake was ruined in delivery. Give this to her."

Heartbroken, I stayed silent for the rest of the night. Seeing my silence, impatience filled his eyes.

"Are you seriously throwing a tantrum over a cake? If you didn't want to give it to her, you should have just said so."

Chloe pouted against the counter. "I told you your sister was petty, but you didn't believe me. I don't understand why you dragged this dead weight into our house."

This time, my brother didn't defend me. I realized then that even he now saw me as a burden.

...

It took me four entire hours to bake that cake.

And now, it was completely destroyed. Mashed to pieces by a silver fork.

The letter "L" for Susan, which I had painstakingly spelled out using dried blueberries, had been aggressively scooped out. It was smeared together with the plastic "Happy Birthday" topper, completely coated in ruined frosting.

Chloe grabbed it with a paper napkin and tossed it straight into the trash can like a piece of garbage.

Her voice rang in my ears, dripping with disgust.

"What is this gross stuff? It tastes awful! It's nothing compared to what our Michelin-star chef makes!"

"You're just a picky eater," my brother teased.

His words sounded like a complaint, but his eyes were full of pure adoration.

"If you don't want it, just throw it away. I'll have the chef make you a new one."

"Deal! But tell him to use icing to write 'Liam Stone will be Chloe's servant forever' on top! That's what you get for stealing Mom and Dad's love the second you got here, and for always taking this dead weight's side!"

In the past, my brother and Chloe were like oil and water. He used to hate it when anyone called me "dead weight."

Now, he didn't even blink.

He just chuckled, affectionately ruffling Chloe's hair, his voice full of helpless indulgence.

"Alright, alright. I'm terrified of you. It's all my fault, okay?"

They flirted openly, completely ignoring my presence.

It made me feel like I was the intruder in this house.

And honestly, I was.

My brother was the biological son the Stones had lost eighteen years ago.

Even though Chloe was the child swapped at birth, she had grown up surrounded by luxury and wealth. She already had a deep, unbreakable bond with Mr. and Mrs. Stone.

The day they brought my brother home, they couldn't bear to let Chloe go, so they officially adopted her.

From start to finish, they were a real family.

I was the only extra piece.

When I woke up this morning and saw my brother's social media posta photo of him and Chloe smiling at a theme parkI knew he had forgotten my birthday again.

I had already stopped hoping he would spend my birthday with me.

But why couldn't I even keep a single, stupid cake?

The tears I had been fighting back finally slipped out, falling heavily onto the expensive marble floor.

My brother frowned. Out of habit, he reached out to wipe my tears away like he used to.

"What are you crying for?"

Chloe suddenly let out a cruel, mocking laugh.

"You ate one piece of her cake and she's acting like the world is ending? She's been sulking all night! I bet her 'good girl' routine is completely fake."

"Liam, you spoil her way too much. That's why she acts like such a drama queen."

My brother's hand froze in mid-air. He pulled it back, the warmth completely draining from his face.

"This isn't your old house anymore. You live under the Stone roof and eat Stone food. It's just a cake. Don't act so petty and embarrass everyone."

Seeing the cold impatience in his eyes, my heart turned to ice, inch by inch.

The day Liam was reclaimed by the Stone family, I stayed awake all night.

I was incredibly happy for him, but I was also terrified of being left behind in the slums.

Sensing my fear, he held me tight and promised me over and over again.

"I will never abandon you, Susan. Wherever my home is, your home is."

But now, he was standing here telling me...

This isn't your old house.

I didn't know when it happened, but in his heart, I had already become a burden.

"I understand."

I nodded numbly, hearing my own voice tremble.

"Liam. I think I'll just move out."

Chloe rolled her eyes dramatically.

"You make it sound like living in a mansion is some kind of torture! You have no royal blood, but you sure have princess syndrome! Are you really using the 'runaway' card for attention?"

Liam's face darkened.

"What kind of tantrum are you throwing now?"

I spoke softly.

"I'm not throwing a tantrum. I just think living in the school dorms will be better for my studying."

But Liam's frown only deepened.

"Don't I know you? You wait until right now to say you want to move out? You're just doing this to spite me over that stupid cake!"

"Enough. If you want a cake so badly, I'll have the kitchen bake you one right now."

He didn't spare me another glance. He turned to Chloe, a fond smile returning to his face as he used a tissue to wipe a smudge of frosting off the corner of her mouth.

"You're acting like a toddler. You got frosting all over your face."

"Mom and Dad say I'll always be their baby! Do you have a problem with that?"

"Okay, okay. You're our forever baby."

I couldn't stand being in that room another second. I turned around and walked silently up the grand staircase.

After texting my teacher to apply for a dorm room, I sat on my bed, staring blankly at my carefully decorated bedroom.

The expensive, handcrafted teddy bear on the bed. The rare orchids on the windowsill. The custom bookshelf perfectly designed so I could reach the top shelf. The soothing nightlight on the nightstand.

Every single item had been meticulously chosen by my brother when we first moved into the Stone estate.

Even the layout of the room had been specially designed to match my tiny bedroom in our old slum apartment, just so I wouldn't feel homesick.

He had said...

"This is our home now. We used to be so poor I couldn't even afford to buy you a decent bookshelf."

"Now I have the money. I want to give you the best of everything. I will never let you suffer again."

I was so happy back then.

We had moved into a mansion I couldn't even dream of. We didn't have to stress over water and electricity bills anymore. I didn't have to lie awake during storms, terrified the roof would leak and flood the apartment.

And my brother didn't have to work three grueling jobs, starting before dawn, just to scrape together enough money for my tuition.

I thought everything was finally going to be okay.

I never imagined that the price for this perfect life would be losing him completely.

A sudden knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts.

When I opened it, a beautifully wrapped cake box was shoved right into my face.

Liam popped his head out from behind it.

"Happy birthday, Susan!"

Seeing my red, swollen eyes, a flash of genuine guilt crossed his face.

"I'm sorry. I just remembered it was your birthday today."

For a split second, I thought I saw the old Liamthe brother who used to put me first.

I held the heavy cake box in my hands. It felt like finding a warm fire in the middle of a freezing blizzard.

I stepped back, letting him walk into the room, my heart wavering.

But that wavering hope was completely shattered the second I opened the box.

The cake was entirely covered in freshly sliced mangoes.

My lips parted, and I managed to choke out a single sentence.

"Liam. Did you forget? I'm highly allergic to mangoes."

Liam's eyebrows immediately snapped together.

For a very long time after that day, I could never forget the look in his eyes.

It was the look you give a piece of trash that's in your way.

He clicked his tongue, his tone instantly turning hostile.

"If there are things you can't eat, you should have told me earlier. Now you're just wasting food."

As he spoke, he grabbed a fork and aggressively scraped every single piece of mango off the cake, then shoved the mangled dessert back toward me.

"Chloe specifically told the chef to make this for you to apologize. She knows you like orchids, so she asked him to pipe buttercream flowers. She thought you'd love it."

"She can be a little blunt sometimes, but she has a good heart. You need to eat at least one bite, or she's going to be very upset."

My throat tightened. I dug my fingernails so hard into my palms that they bled, but I didn't even feel the pain. I just repeated myself, numbly.

"But I'm allergic to mangoes."

Liam snapped back. "That's why I scraped them off! You can eat a little bit, it won't kill you."

Just then, Chloe pushed the door open and strolled in.

"Does Susan hate the cake I ordered? I've been trying to cheer her up forever. Why is she so hard to please?"

Before I could even open my mouth, Liam spoke up for her.

"It's the thought that counts. Even if she hates it, she has to accept it."

"Good! Now that you're done babysitting, hurry up and come downstairs! I hate the designs the chef did for the first few cakes. Come help me eat them so we can throw them out!"

My brother laughed, shaking his head.

"Are you treating me like a human garbage disposal?"

"No way! You're my favorite brother in the whole world, okay?"

Liam stiffened for a second.

"You only ever call me 'brother' when you want something. I swear I owe you from a past life."

He complained, but his eyes were shining with absolute joy.

So it was true. He had simply run out of patience for me.

When it was Chloe, throwing away entire cakes wasn't a "waste."

When it was Chloe, just hearing her call him "brother" made him ecstatic.

Now, no matter what I did, I was nothing but an annoyance.

The very next day, I quietly packed my bags and moved into the school dorms.

I barely slept. Every waking second was spent aggressively studying for exams or working part-time jobs around the city.

The exhausting, non-stop schedule kept my brain completely occupied, leaving me no time to think about anything else.

Until the day my brother finally called me.

The second I answered, he immediately started screaming.

"Susan! Why haven't you come home yet?!"

"You used to be so well-behaved, and now you're staying out all night?!"

I answered him calmly.

"I told you before. I moved into the dorms."

"Who gave you permission?! Are you feeling brave now? Is this your late rebellious phase? Get your ass back to this house right now!"

I stayed completely silent.

When I didn't answer, he let out a dark, furious laugh.

"Fine. Then don't ever come back! Let's see how long you survive out there on your own!"

For the next few weeks, I stuck to my routine. Classes, studying, working.

As the national college entrance exams drew closer, I started to feel a sense of peace. The dust was finally settling.

Until three days before the exams, when Liam suddenly called me again.

His voice was hoarse and incredibly exhausted.

"Susan. I'm at the hospital."

"You haven't been home in so long. I want to see you."

My grip tightened on my phone.

Ever since his heart started leaning toward Chloe, this was the first time he had ever softened his tone and reached out to me.

I thought about the early admission letter I had just received from a prestigious university up north. I thought about the money I had saved up from my jobsenough to leave this city and start over.

I hesitated for a long time, but eventually, I answered.

"Okay."

This would probably be the last time we ever saw each other.

I didn't want to leave with any regrets.

I wanted to tell him that I got accepted early. That I was moving up north.

That I would never be his burden again.

That I would never bother him again.

But I had no idea what was waiting for me.

When I rushed into the hospital room and pushed the door open, I was instantly met with a vicious slap across the face.

A strangera middle-aged womanlunged at me like a wild animal. She punched me, kicked me, and grabbed a handful of my hair, yanking me downward.

"You're the one who hid the needles in her pencil case! You sliced her hand open!"

"The exams are in two days! If she hadn't noticed the blood, my daughter's entire future would have been destroyed because of you!"

"You're only eighteen! How can you be so evil?!"

I shoved her away, totally disoriented and in shock.

"I didn't do anything! I don't even know who your daughter is!"

"Susan, stop lying! I saw you shoving the needles into her pencil case with my own eyes!"

Chloe stepped out from behind the angry mother, pointing directly at me with absolute certainty.

My face turned to ice.

"Why would I put needles in a stranger's pencil case? You have zero proof. How dare you accuse me?"

"Who says we don't have proof?"

The second I heard Liam's voice, the blood in my veins completely froze.

He held up his phone, playing a video clip.

Because of the terrible camera angle, the footage showed me sneaking up to a student's desk and slipping something into their pencil case.

Suddenly, I remembered. The teacher from the neighboring class had asked me to drop off a reward pen on the desk of their top-ranked student.

It was a pen. Not needles.

But before I could even explain, the furious mother screamed.

"Chloe saw you do it! We have witnesses and video evidence, and you're still denying it?!"

I turned my head and looked directly at Liam. I gritted my teeth and asked him one question.

"Did you see it with your own eyes too?"

Liam avoided my gaze. He stayed completely silent for a long time. When he finally spoke, his voice was rough.

"Susan. I know you're jealous, and I know you target Chloe at home. But I never thought you would actually attack a classmate. I am so disappointed in you."

I stared at him in sheer disbelief.

With that one sentence, he had officially labeled me a violent criminal.

"I can't believe the school let a monster like you walk the halls! I'm going straight to the principal! I'm going to make sure the entire city knows what kind of psycho you are!"

The furious mother stormed out of the hospital room, slamming the door behind her.

I looked at Liam, my entire body violently shaking.

"Why?"

His fists clenched tightly at his sides. His eyes were a chaotic storm of emotions. He lowered his voice.

"Susan. Chloe didn't mean to do it. She just wanted to play a prank. She didn't think it would escalate this far."

"If Mom and Dad find out, they'll be completely devastated. Chloe is used to being the perfect daughter. This is the first time I've ever seen her cry this hard. She's terrified."

By the time he finished speaking, his voice was dripping with pure heartbreakfor Chloe.

I stared at him, pronouncing every single word with lethal precision.

"So you played the victim over the phone just to lure me here, so you could force me to take the fall for Chloe?"

His breathing hitched. He forced the words out of his throat.

"I already secured a backup plan for you. I won't let your life be ruined."

The absolute last shred of hope in my heart was ripped to shreds.

I don't even remember how I made it back to the school campus.

All I remember are the disgusted glares from the other students, and the toxic whispers following me down the halls.

"That's her. She's the one who hid the needles. It's so dangerous having someone like her at this school!"

"Why isn't she in jail? She belongs behind bars. Fucking psycho."

Before I even made it to my classroom, I was called into the principal's office.

The principal slid a formal document across his desk.

"The victim's family is threatening to go to the press. They are demanding immediate action. Your early admission status has been officially revoked."

"Furthermore, the board has unanimously decided to expel you."

I stood there, frozen in place. My blood ran completely cold.

I couldn't understand it.

I worked so incredibly hard to protect the tiny sliver of a future I had built for myself.

But ever since I followed Liam to the Stone estate, all I had done was lose.

I lost my brother.

I lost my home.

I lost my early admission.

And now, I had lost my right to graduate high school.

All I wanted to do was leave quietly. Why was it so hard?

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

Liam had sent me a filea transfer agreementand two plane tickets.

"The Stone family helps fund a private academy in Los Angeles. I already pulled some strings. They are ready to accept your transfer."

"It's too late for you to take the exams this year, but with your grades, you can easily retake your senior year and still get into a top-tier college."

"Once the exams are over here, I will fly to LA with you to help you settle in."

So he knew. He knew exactly what the consequences would be. He knew I would be completely destroyed.

And he still chose to sacrifice me to save Chloe.

I held the expulsion papers in my hands, walking like a zombie to the front gates of the school. I stood there for hours, until the security guard finally told me to leave.

Two weeks later, the national exams were over. I was standing on the train platform, pulling my cheap suitcase behind me, about to board the bullet train.

A text from Liam popped up on my screen.

"I'm at the airport. Where are you?"

I sent him one final message.

"I am not going to LA with you. We are officially done."

The second the message delivered, Liam's calls started flooding my phone, back to back.

I didn't answer a single one. I blocked his number. I blocked his social media. I completely erased him from my life.

Then, I turned around and stepped onto the train.

Goodbye forever, Liam.