My Brother's Scapegoat

The celebration did not end until late at night, but Ian remained standing at the door with great enthusiasm. He seemed to be waiting for someone's arrival.

When the doorbell rang, he opened the door to reveal my fiancée, Zelda Clark.

She must have come to find me when she noticed that I had not contacted her for days.

Thinking of our years of relationship, a warm feeling welled up in my heart.

"Ian, how are you? Were you injured while in the detention center? You've lost so much weight. Have you not been eating properly again?"

None of her questions were about me.

My smile froze. I watched helplessly as Ian took his future sister-in-law's hand and walked into the living room.

I widened my eyes, looking at this scene in disbelief.

"Gosh! Zelda is here. Ian has been waiting for you all day. You two haven't seen each other for so long. Surely you must miss each other."

My mother seemed completely unfazed by this scene, smiling brightly and taking Zelda's hand.

Zelda shyly glanced at the two of them before taking off the ring on her hand.

"Mrs. Green, I've made up my mind. We can't keep hiding like this. Now that Mason's in jail, his release will affect things, so I'm using this as an excuse to break up with him. I want to be with Ian openly."

These words felt like a slap on the face.

Having this kind of family background had always made me miserable, but Zelda was like the sun amid the gloom, warming me and giving me the will to live.

However, I never imagined that I would even have this bit of happiness taken away.

Their hands were tightly intertwined, as if showing off to me.

My mother smiled even more brightly, nodding repeatedly. "Yes, yes, yes. That's only right. I've always said you two were a match made in heaven. Even when Mason is released, he won't dare to complain. Otherwise, he can forget about staying in this family."

She casually took the engagement ring and tossed it in the trash before glancing at it.

They had no idea that I had worked three part-time jobs a day in order to buy this expensive ring. I only slept for two or three hours at a time and almost died suddenly in the office.

However, this hard-earned medal was nothing more than trash from their perspective.

I desperately wanted to get the ring back, but there was absolutely no way to do so.

Holding Zelda's hand, Ian grew increasingly smug. "Zelda, what if my brother comes back and causes you trouble?"

Zelda frowned. "I stopped liking him a long time ago. He was the one who kept pestering me. Being with him was just an excuse to get close to you. Now that we're together, what do I need him for?"

My outstretched hand froze in mid-air as I stared at her in disbelief.

It was no wonder Zelda's attitude toward me had remained lukewarm all these years, no matter how hard I tried. She refused to even let me touch her hand.

It turned out she never had feelings for me. My so-called happiness was all thanks to Ian.

I swayed a few times before collapsing to the ground.

Looking at the happy family of three, I felt redundant. Suddenly, I was grateful I died in jail. Otherwise, how would I face all of this?