Watch Out, I'm Radioactive

Colette bit her lip and lowered her gaze, masking the jealousy flickering in her eyes. Then, she obediently opened the car's back door.

Frederick had originally planned to take me to the hospital. But out of nowhere, Colette piped up from the back seat, "Ana, when I fell out the window five months ago, I was bleeding from the head, too. I still get headaches now and then. If you're feeling unwell, make sure you tell the doctor everything."

In an instant, Frederick's expression turned cold. He slammed his hand against the steering wheel before making a U-turn.

"Anastasia, if it weren't for Colette's mercy, you'd already be behind bars!" he snapped. "I don't think you need to go to the hospital anymore.

"She's been dealing with headaches for five months because of you. So, to make things fair, you should suffer through five months of pain as penance."

…

In no time, we pulled into the driveway.

After five months away, the house no longer felt like mine.

The yard I had poured my heart into, once full of lilies, was gone, replaced by a bed of red roses—Colette's favorite. Beside it, the swing I had built now carried a sign that read, "Reserved for Colette only".

Inside, Helen Kerr, the housekeeper who had watched me grow up, was nowhere to be found. In her place stood a stranger.

The new housekeeper didn't even acknowledge my presence. Instead, she went straight to Colette, took her bag with both hands, and practically lowered her head in reverence.

"Welcome home, Mrs. Burke. I made your favorite spaghetti."

Colette's lips curled into a satisfied smile. Even so, she put on an innocent act just for me.

"Ana, this is Karen Walker. She only started recently, and since you were away in the mountains, she mistook me for the lady of the house," explained Colette. "Don't take it personally, okay?"

I ignored the smugness beneath her words. All I could see was the bracelet on Karen's wrist.

It was the only keepsake my mother had ever left me. I had locked it in the bedroom safe, and only Frederick and I knew the combination.

Before he left me out in the wilderness, I had begged him to give it back. However, he told me I'd get it once I realized my mistake.

But now, the bracelet that should've been safely locked away was wrapped around someone else's wrist.

Colette followed my gaze and noticed what I was looking at. She covered her mouth, then let out a chuckle.

"That was a gift from Freddie. But I think it's a bit old-fashioned."

As she spoke, she unclasped the bracelet and handed it to me. "Ana, if I'd known you liked it, I wouldn't have given it to Karen. Here, it's yours."

I was about to take it when Colette let go. In the next second, the bracelet shattered on the floor. Just like that, the last thing my mother had left me was gone.

I took a deep breath, then raised my hand and slapped Colette hard.

Frederick immediately caught her before striking me just as hard.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Anastasia?" he barked. "It's just a damn bracelet! It broke, but so what? I can buy you ten more just like it!

"Five months ago, you didn't hesitate to push Colette out the window. She was seriously hurt because of you. Even now, she still gets headaches! What's so wrong about me taking her in to look after her? Why do you hate her so much?"

If this had happened before, I would've thrown a fit the moment Frederick started defending another woman. But this time, I just held my burning left cheek and looked at him with cold indifference.

It was Frederick who stared back at me in surprise.

"Why aren't you making a scene?" he asked.