After Prison, I Rejected My Foster Brother

Chapter 2

I settled back into a normal life, going to school and dancing every day, while Julian was finally free to chase his ambitions without any worries holding him back.

It took only a few short years for him to claw his way to the top, becoming the most talked-about new elite in the city's corporate world.

Everyone in town knew it, too: the young CEO had a little sister more precious to him than his own eyes. He spoiled me rotten. If I asked for the stars, he'd never hand me just the moon.

Wrapped in that warm, overflowing love of his, my autism healed completely. I grew into a bright, happy dancer, living my dream.

I truly thought our perfect little life would stay like this forever… until the day he brought Brinley home.

Brinley was a dance major at a prestigious university, and she'd been working a summer temp job at Julian's company.

Her life had recently been shattered. After she turned on her own mother for having an affair with her boss, her mother completely disowned her. Her father blamed her for driving his wife away and washed his hands of her, too, leaving her to fend for herself with absolutely nothing.

Julian told me that seeing her all alone and helpless reminded him of his own youth. That was why he wanted to take her in.

Knowing he'd never truly gotten over the tragic loss of his own parents, I agreed to welcome her without hesitation.

But everything changed the moment she arrived.

Brinley peered at my jade pendant, admiring it, and said softly, "Chloe, your pendant is so beautiful."

Before I could say a word, Julian unclipped it from my neck and pressed it right into her hands. "Consider it a welcoming gift for you."

My hand moved before I could think, and I snatched it right back.

When he saw Brinley's red, puffy, tear-filled eyes staring back at him, Julian turned to me, his face dark with disappointment.

"I've bought you hundreds of pieces of fine jewelry! It’s just a stupid old pendant. Why do you have to fight her for it?" he snapped. "I've spoiled you far too much all these years!"

Tears welled in my eyes as I cried out, hurt and confused. "I have a closet full of jewelry, I know that! But this… this is the only thing my father ever left me."

I ran out of the house in a fit of anger, too upset to even remember grabbing my phone.

I sat down on a bench out on the estate grounds, just like I’d done a hundred times before when we fought.

I counted down from twenty, waiting for Julian to come find me and apologize like he always did.

But I counted all night long, and he never came.

When I walked back into the house at dawn, Julian was sitting at the dining table, lovingly feeding Brinley breakfast.

At that exact moment, something cold and heavy settled over my heart, like a thick fog I couldn't see through.

That night, Julian came to my room to apologize. He swore up and down he'd never play favorites with Brinley ever again.

I chose not to press the issue. My dance troupe's tour was coming up fast, and I dove straight into grueling, full-speed rehearsals.

A month later, Julian announced he was throwing a welcome banquet for Brinley to celebrate her fresh start living with us. He kept insisting that as the older sister, I absolutely had to be there.

To keep the peace, I asked the troupe for a day off and even picked out a stunning pink diamond to give her as a gift.

But right there in front of all the guests, Brinley suddenly dropped to her knees in front of me.

"Chloe, I don’t want the diamond. Becoming a lead dancer has been my dream since I was little. Please, can you give me the lead spot for this tour? Please?"

This lead position was something I'd fought tooth and nail for over ten years of grueling practice. There was no way I was giving it up.

I turned her down without a single moment of hesitation.

The dinner ended on a terrible, sour note.

On the opening night of the tour, someone stuffed steel nails inside my dance shoes.

I plummeted ten meters from the high stage platform, my feet sliced open and bleeding heavily.

While I fought for my life in the emergency room, Brinley stepped into my spot as the lead and stole the entire show.

And Julian? He stood right there beside her the whole time, recording every second of her performance.

The dark cloud over my heart only grew heavier. I lost all control and smashed every single thing in my hospital room, demanding that Julian throw Brinley out immediately.

Julian's face stayed completely calm. "You got hurt because you were careless. This has nothing to do with Brinley."

I was practically hysterical by then. "She'd been craving my lead position this whole time! She's the one who put the nails in my shoes!"

Julian looked at me with that same expression I'd seen a thousand times when I was little.

"Do you really have to act like this? Haven't you forgotten? It was this ugly, monstrous side of you that scared your mother away all those years ago."

That one single cut hit harder than a million whispers calling me a monster when I was a kid. The suffocating layers wrapped around my heart cinched even tighter, until I could barely draw a breath.

The second I was discharged from the hospital, I rushed nonstop to hunt for evidence. I was dead set on proving to Julian that he was wrong, that Brinley was the one who'd hurt me.

But every bit of security camera footage had been tampered with.

I threw stacks of money at anyone who might have clues, not caring about the cost.

Finally, I got a lucky break. On another dancer's phone, I found a video that captured Brinley planting those nails in my shoes, clear as day.

I didn't stop to think twice. I uploaded the whole video straight to the internet. This was my do-or-die stand. All I wanted was for Julian to finally see who Brinley really was under her innocent act.

But Brinley was even more ruthless than I ever could have imagined. Without a single shred of hesitation, she sliced open her own wrist, letting the blood pool across the floor just before Julian found her.

Standing right outside the operating room, Julian hit me for the very first time.

"Brinley just doesn't feel safe! She never meant to hurt you. Because of you, she can't sleep a full night through. She kneels in prayer every single day to atone for what happened. Isn't that enough for you?"

Suddenly, something huge clicked for me right there.

"So you know. You knew she put the nails in my shoes. You were the one who told someone to tamper with the security footage, weren't you?"

Julian's eyes flickered for just a split second, and he said nothing.

But that was all the answer I needed.

He softened his voice and tried to coax me, "Brinley didn't mean it. Look, your legs don't even have any permanent damage, right? It's just one lead position. If you just post a clarification statement clearing her name right now, I'll buy you an entire dance company. You can be the lead every single day if you want."

Fury burned through me, and I rolled my hand back and slapped him hard across the face. "So this is what you're doing, Julian? You're insulting me with your money?"

Julian's expression stayed cool and unruffled. "Then what do you want?"

I laughed, a bitter, burning sound bubbling up from the sheer depth of my fury.

He kept going, his voice cold and unyielding, "If you think I'm going to let you destroy Brinley, you can forget it. It's not happening!"

He grabbed a steel nail sitting on a nearby medical cart and drove it straight into each of his own feet. "I'm giving you my feet as payment. Isn't that enough for you?"

Drop after drop of bright red blood gushed out, and the sight burned my eyes so badly I could barely focus.

Brinley came tearing out of the room, sobbing hysterically, and pressed her hands hard over Julian's bleeding wounds.

"Julian, I'm sorry! I was just jealous of her, that's all! I was jealous that she had all your love and that she got the lead dancer spot. I couldn’t help myself."

Julian softened immediately and comforted her. "Don’t be scared, I know. You're just a pure, kind girl. I’ve already paid her back for the blood she shed. After that, she has no right to blame you for anything."

I was shaking so hard I could barely hold myself together. "Julian! This isn’t over between you, me, and her. It’s not over, not by a long shot!"

Julian looked at me, pure disgust, twisting his features. "Chloe, if your dad could see how vicious you've become now..."

I screamed at the top of my lungs, every raw, broken emotion pouring out. "You don't get to talk about my dad! You’re blind! You’re f*****g blind! And I'm gonna prove it to you!"