The Last Match Burns the Brightest

Mom was already at her breaking point, and the moment she saw me standing there in a daze, everything she had been holding in came pouring out.

"It's all your fault for choosing those stupid matches! Matches… Fire… It's over! This was meant to happen. If you had chosen the inheritance, none of this would've happened!"

Mom broke down in tears, while Dad silently pulled her into his arms and closed his eyes in exhaustion, saying nothing.

My head spun as I wondered how it ended up like that. I had clearly wished for my parents to get rich overnight, so why had they suddenly gone bankrupt instead?

Was it because my rebirth had changed something?

Did the wishes come true in reverse?

At that thought, I rushed back to my bedroom and grabbed the second match. However, before I could make a wish, the front door was kicked open with a loud bang.

A man shouted, "Well, look at that! We ran all the way over here chasing what we're owed, and you people are just sitting around living your best life?

"This is your final warning. If the money isn't paid by tomorrow, I'll chop off your hands! Word is your oldest daughter's real pretty. Maybe she can make it up to us another way."

After that, they grabbed wooden sticks and smashed my house into rubble. The high-interest loans had not yet been paid off, and the sudden fire had left my parents owing tens of millions in damages.

With no other choice, my parents called Vera. They called ten times before she finally picked up, unhurried.

"Sweetheart, we're in trouble right now. Grandpa left you a multi-billion-dollar inheritance, and we're not asking for much. We just need thirty million dollars, okay? If we can't pay the debt, the collectors are going to chop off our hands…"

On Vera's social media, the emerald necklace she had just bought was worth 50 million dollars. However, when she heard my parents begging, she sighed as if she had no choice.

"Mom, Dad, it's not that I don't want to help, but Grandpa left me the inheritance, and I can't just spend it however I want. If you want to blame someone, blame Renee for choosing those three matches!"

My parents tried to say more, but Vera hung up. Right after that, she posted another update online.

It was a post of herself cradling a little dog wearing a tiny, solid-gold crown. There was a caption with it.

[Money should only be spent on what's worth it.]

My parents trembled with anger.

To gather enough money for the payment due tomorrow, I sold all the trading cards and celebrity autographs I had collected since childhood. I even sold my phone and replaced it with a cheap secondhand one worth a few hundred dollars.

Mom sold her wedding jewelry, and Dad sold the car.

After scraping together several million dollars, Dad's frown finally eased a little. He said, "It's not everything, but it should be enough to hold off the loan sharks for now."

Mom also calmed down and apologized to me, her tone sincere. "Renee, I lost my temper with you this morning, and that wasn't fair. None of this is your fault. I'm sorry."

My throat tightened, and I nearly lost it right there. I mumbled, "Maybe I really did make the wrong choice..."

Dad gently patted my shoulder and said, "Hey, what's done is done. Let it go. We can find ways to earn more money, but people are what matter. If losing all this meant seeing who Vera really is, then maybe it was worth it. To think we felt so sorry for her, took her in out of the goodness of our hearts, and this is what we got in return."

Dinner that night was just some leftover bread and whatever we had in the fridge, but the three of us sat together and somehow made it feel like enough.

Dad talked about his plans for the future, and hope slowly returned to his eyes. "As long as I've got two hands and the will to work, I'll build it all back."

That night, I clenched my teeth and lit the second match. "I wish for Mom and Dad to become disabled and live in poverty for the rest of their lives!"

If the first wish had worked in reverse, then maybe wishing for the opposite would flip it back. I held onto that hope, squeezing the spent matchstick so hard, and I refused to close my eyes.

I was terrified of falling asleep and waking up to another disaster, like yesterday. I did not need wealth or luxury; I just wanted my parents to be healthy and okay.

By 5 a.m., exhaustion finally dragged me under without warning. My body slumped, and my mind went dark for just a moment.

When I woke up again, everything around me was silent. My heart pounded wildly as I quietly walked to my parents' bedroom door and peeked inside.

Seeing that they were sleeping peacefully, I finally let out a breath of relief.

However, just as I turned to go back to my room, two piercing screams exploded from my parents' bedroom at the same time.

I rushed in and flung the door open, and I almost fainted from what I saw.