Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I jolted awake, drenched in sweat.

A conversation I had accidentally overheard when I was eight years old had become my recurring nightmare.

It was like a rope coiled around my neck. I never knew which day that rope would suddenly tighten.

I wasn’t their biological child.

That was why my personality was nothing like theirs.

If Mom and Dad were unhappy one day…

I would be killed.

Just like the people Dad killed-my throat would be slit, and I’d be forced to watch my own blood spray out, waiting for death in utter despair.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the bedroom door was slightly ajar.

I panicked.

I was certain I had locked it before going to sleep.

A figure stood silently in the darkness.

I recognized the silhouette of those high-end, exquisite leather shoes.

“Brother…” I stammered.

My brother stepped out from the shadows.

He was usually very busy with work and rarely came home. I hadn’t seen him in almost three months.

He looked down at me from his height, his handsome face devoid of emotion.

“Why are you back, Brother…?” I forced out a smile.

In this house, my brother actually scared me more than my parents did.

Because every night he had stayed home in the past, no matter how many times I double-locked my door, I would wake up from a nightmare to find him sitting by my bed, expressionless.

Staring at me without blinking.

He reached out and stroked my ear.

His fingers were freezing.

I shuddered, suppressing the wave of discomfort, but I didn’t let any resistance show on my face.

I knew that the more I resisted, the more excited it would make him.

“Mom called me. She said your classmates are coming over tomorrow and told me I mustn’t miss it.”

My body gradually stiffened, my back tensing up.

“Our whole family needs to be together to entertain the guests properly, right, Ruanruan?”

He chuckled softly and pinched my ear.

“Also, I missed you.”

He slowly took off his coat.

He sat on the edge of my bed, his gaze fixed on me like a greedy venomous snake.

“Why can’t Ruanruan hold Brother the way she holds her teddy bear?”

His eyes were pitch black as he spoke in a low, husky voice.

His voice was pleasant, possessing a unique, gravelly quality, but all I felt were waves of cold washing over me.

“Brother, I want to sleep now. Can you leave?” I murmured, my face pale.

He stared at me for a long time.

Finally, he pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead.

“Goodnight then, Ruanruan.”

He stood up and walked out of the room.

I gripped the quilt tightly, pulling it over my head and curling into a ball underneath.

I knew…

He hadn’t left.

He was only pretending to go.

Because I could still feel that greasy, icy gaze lingering on me.