Chapter 5
Late at night, I threw the thick letters into the fire and picked up the photos.
In each photo, Brook and Alex stood beside me, one on the left, the other on the right, both with radiant smiles on their faces..
But now, looking at them, I felt nothing but mockery and irony.
The photos burned away, and the smiles gradually disappeared, turning into ashes.
My eyes were filled with the glow of the fire.
As the letters burned, I caught glimpses of their content.
My brother wrote: “I will always love and protect my little sister. I’ll make sure Erica will always be a little princess.”
Brook wrote: “When I grow up, I’ll marry Erica and make her my wife. We’ll have two children -a son, who will be my brother, and a daughter who will be my sister.”
They had both made these promises to me with all seriousness.
They had both said that I was more important than their own lives.
But now, the letters were old and yellowed.
The black ink had begun to fade, just like those laughable oaths that vanished with the wind.
The letters burned away completely, and the heat from the flames scorched my fingertips.
I loosened my grip and let the ashes fall onto the gown that lay on the floor.
The fire grew larger, igniting the curtains and the wooden chest, with thick smoke drifting outside.
I stood in place, my face flushed from the heat, my eyes teary from the smoke.
Suddenly, Brook called.
I didn’t answer.
Soon after, Alex called again.
T
I hung up once more.
As I was about to delete their numbers and block them, Brook sent me a message on social media.
“Erica, no matter what, Janis is still your sister.”
“I still hope that on important moments in her life, you can congratulate her. She really hopes
Chapter
for your blessing”
“Tomorrow, I’ll buy some jewelry you like and bring it to you. Don’t be so stubborn.”
Alex also sent me a message on social media.
“Erica, I promise I’ll make it up to you. I’ll get you an identical necklace to Mom’s, forgive me, okay?”
I wanted to laugh, and I couldn’t help but laugh through my tears.
I replied to both messages.
To Brook, I wrote: “I won’t bless her. I only wish for her and her mother to go to hell together.
To Alex, I wrote: “Why don’t you just die and beg Mom for forgiveness?”
After sending the messages, I immediately blocked and deleted all of their contact information.
I grabbed my suitcase, took one last look at the house filled with memories, and turned to leave without looking back.
I had dealt with everything that needed to be dealt with. I had no more attachments.
Soon after I left, the burning candle was blown over by the night wind.
At first, it was just a small flame.
But the dry air fed the fire, making it grow larger and larger.
The flames soon engulfed the entire house.
The house that had carried so many memories was reduced to ruins.
Janis, dressed in a high–end gown, stood backstage, waiting to go onstage to receive her award.
At that moment, Brook’s phone rang
He was annoyed and pulled it out to turn it off.
But as he glanced at the screen, he saw a message pop up on social media.
“Brook, call back immediately, Erica is in trouble”
Brook sneered.
Thinking about the message Erica had just sent, his dislike for her grew even more.
He nonchalantly replied, “What kind of trick is she pulling now?”
Janis was about to go onstage to receive her award.
He had no energy or time to deal with Erica.
At this point, any issue was likely just a ploy to ruin Janis’s moment.
His friend’s call came through again, but he impatiently cut it off.
Janis looked at him nervously. “Brook, I’m a little nervous.”
Brook took her hand. “Relax, I’ll stay by your side.”
The host announced Janis’s name.
Brook bent down to lift the hem of her gown.
The spotlight shone on her.
At that moment, she was the center of attention.
Janis took a deep breath, smiled faintly, and walked up to the stage, one step at a time.
