I Cured His Poison, I Left For My Brother

Chapter 4

He glanced out the window, then looked at me, my whole body was shaking uncontrollably. A flicker of hesitation crossed his face.

He was just about to step forward and pull me into his arms when the phone rang out blaringly. He shoved me away hard, irritation flashing across his features.

"You are not a kid anymore. It is just thunder; you have to get over it eventually."

With that, he stormed out without a single glance back.

I spotted a condom wrapper that had fallen out of his suit pocket and bent to pick it up. Seven total, all used, every single one a different kind.

With tears stinging my eyes, I called my lawyer, "Draft a divorce agreement for me as soon as possible. I will email you the evidence."

Not even half an hour later, Meredith posted a new update on social media: Only you still remember that I am scared of thunder.

A wave of acid surged up my chest out of nowhere, and I doubled over, gagging uncontrollably.

So that is what it was.

Every time there was a thunderstorm, when he held me so patiently and hushed my fears, when he whispered soft words against my ear… was he just using me to miss Meredith?

In the early hours of the morning, Julian updated his social media, something he rarely did.

It was a photo of two hands tangled together, fingers laced tight, in a cramped space. The red cord wrapped around both their wrists stood out so sharply that it made my eyes burn.

I recognized that car immediately. It was the wedding car Julian and I had ridden in on our wedding day. The reflection in the window glass was crystal clear. It was the wedding portrait of Julian and me.

I was half‑asleep when my biological mother's call jolted me awake.

"It is your sister's birthday today. Come home for dinner."

Before I could say a word, she hung up.

I stared blankly for a beat. I had not spoken to my biological parents in ages. I had no desire to crash their gathering, but I had left something my foster brother gave me behind when I was kicked out of the house years ago, and I had never gotten a chance to go back for it. So, I threw a few things together and headed for the Hart family estate anyway.

No sooner had I stepped through the front door than I saw Julian and Meredith standing side by side. The perfect match: a beautiful woman and a handsome man. They looked so right together. It looked like they were the real married couple.

When they saw me, every single person in the room turned to stare at me like I had grown a second head.

Julian hurried over to me, his voice tight with nervousness, "Clara, what are you doing here?"

I tore my gaze away from the red cord on his wrist and let out a cold chuckle. "This is my family home."

Meredith sauntered over to us, her steps as graceful as could be. "I asked Mom and Dad to invite my little sister back." A flicker of grievance crossed her eyes. "After all, Clara is the Hart family's real daughter. She should not have to keep her distance from Mom and Dad just because of me, right?"

The second Meredith let out a tiny little cough, Julian was already patting her back gently, fussing over her. "I told you not to drink. Why will you not listen to me?"

The two of them were wrapped up in their own little world, completely shutting everyone else out.

I could not stand to look at it another second. I turned on my heel and headed upstairs. That is when I found out, my old room had already been knocked through to connect with Meredith's. Every inch of space was packed with Meredith's clothes and jewelry.

A maid hovered nervously and pointed at the storage room all the way in the back. "Miss Clara, Madam ordered all your things thrown out there."

I thanked her with a hollow smile. But before I could even take a step toward the storage room, a racket erupted downstairs. Someone grabbed me from behind and dragged me roughly back down the stairs.

The moment my biological father laid eyes on me, he slapped me hard across the face. "You wicked girl! I never should have brought you back to this house!"

I pressed a hand to my stinging cheek and looked straight at Julian. He only stared back at me, his gaze ice‑cold, not a single spark of warmth to be found.

Meredith held up her dress, burned through with a huge charred hole, looking heartbroken. Her most precious diamond tiara was shattered into jagged pieces right along with it.

"Sis, how can you be so jealous of me? I have already given Julian to you. What more do you want from me?" she sniffled.

"Apologize." Julian's voice cut through the room, sharp and cold.

I shook my head, refusing to back down. "I did not do it."

My biological mother's face darkened with fury. "Your sister has finally come home after all these years! Can you not even keep the peace for one single day?"

Not a single person in the room spoke up for me. Even the maid who had just shown me where my things were shrank back and hid herself, avoiding my eyes.

My father roared with rage, grabbed his wooden cane, and brought it crashing down hard against my body.

"If I do not teach you a lesson today, everyone will laugh at the Hart family and say we raised a disrespectful, ill‑bred daughter!"