“Oh my god,” he feigned shock. “I had no idea Noah was into such kinky stuff behind closed doors!”
“So those reporters and actors earlier… he must have hired them to make a movie, right? I can’t believe he has a fetish for exposing himself like
this, for the thrill of it!”
The other patients‘ families and medical staff who overheard were disgusted.
“What a pervert. How could someone so disgusting be a valedictorian?”
“Using public resources to satisfy his sick fantasies. If I were him, I’d be too ashamed to show my face.”
“I wonder what his family thinks… Shouldn’t they keep a dog like that on a leash at home?”
Celeste and Julian were surrounded, the targets of pointed fingers and judgmental stares.
My sister’s face flushed with anger. “Since Noah is determined to throw his life away, since he doesn’t want a normal future, then his university
acceptance… it’s yours.”
Chapter 2
11.34
Julian couldn’t suppress the triumphant smirk that tugged at his lips, but he put on a show of reluctance. “Is that really okay? If brother finds out,
he’ll be angry with me.”
Celeste made the final decision. “What right does he have to be angry with you now? It’s settled. I’ll call the university admissions office right now.
You can pick any Ivy League school you want.”
Her fake brother cooed, “Sister, you’re so good to me! It’s just like you always said. Even if your real brother came back, he could never replace
me.”
Julian lowered his head, a flash of vicious satisfaction in his eyes. Even if Noah had found his family and gotten into a top university, it was all just to pave the way for him. The fruits of my entire, short life had been handed to another. And the one who had orchestrated it all was the sister I had
once trusted with my soul.
That afternoon, Julian, my parents, and my other brother went to an amusement park to celebrate his good fortune. When passersby heard that he was the brother of the now–infamous valedictorian, and that his family had unanimously decided to let him take my place at Harvard, they
applauded.
“Someone that filthy doesn’t deserve to go to a prestigious university. You deserve this, Julian!”
Everyone except my sister, Celeste, smiled and agreed, as if the person whose life had been stolen wasn’t their own flesh and blood.
A growing unease settled over my sister. She was supposed to be picking out a graduation gift for Julian, but she found herself wandering over to
a claw machine.
She put in a coin and, on the first try, grabbed a battle–damaged Kung Fu Panda plushie.
“Sister, is that for me?” Julian asked, snatching it from her hand. He wrinkled his nose. “I’d actually prefer that little white lamb. It’s cute, like me.”
Celeste frowned and took it back. “This is for Noah. You’ve already gotten plenty from Mom, Dad, and our brother.”
“Don’t be so stingy, Celeste. Just give Julian what he wants. Don’t be like you were when you were little, never willing to share,” my father, my
mother, and my other brother admonished her. This time, there was no me to stand by her side.
In a daze, my sister remembered. Before I had returned to the family, between her and Julian, she was always the one who was sacrificed. To
make her life easier, she had learned to “fit in” by being kind to him, even calling him her “sweet Julian.” When her memories of the original timeline
had returned and she’d bonded with the System, her first thought had been of the tragically–fated Julian.
Celeste clutched the small panda and squatted down, her head in her hands, a silent scream building inside her.
This is wrong!
“System, remove the block.”
The electronic voice was wailing. […Celeste… as you wished… Noah is dead!]
[And now you, your precious Julian, your family, and the entire world… you’re all going to die!]
“Dead? He’s dead?”
“That’s impossible!”
My sister clutched the toy had once loved, her eyes wide with disbelief. Her breathing became ragged.
“No, you’re lying to me! Noah was alive and well this afternoon! How could he die just a few hours later? He didn’t even get his graduation gift from
me yet!” Her voice rose to a hysterical shriek.
She squeezed the battle–damaged panda, twisting its soft body out of shape.
But I was already dead. I couldn’t tell her.
I couldn’t tell her that the reason she could always soothe me, no matter how terrible I felt, wasn’t because I loved the toy that was as battle–scar-
red as I was. It was because it came from her. From Celeste, the only family I had ever truly accepted. Whatever she gave me, I would have cheri-
shed And whenever she gave it, my heart would have been warmed.
“What’s wrong with her? Is she crazy?”
