Chapter 14
Chapter 14
The street was quickly blocked with cars as terrified people kept their distance, watching from afar.
Then, gradually, a few brave souls began inching closer, testing the waters.
The crowd gradually drew near, encircling and gathering around the scene.
Someone called an ambulance, but no one dared to touch me.
I struggled to open my eyes again and saw countless unfamiliar faces crowding around me, all staring down in silence.
Amidst that endless sea of strangers, lost in a daze, I thought I saw Elbert’s face appear before me once again.
He vanished as soon as I blinked.
Blood poured from my mouth and nose as the world went dark.
Amidst the surrounding chaos, my fading vision filled with nothing but the vast, silent blue of the sky.
I gazed up at the silent sky and, one last time, whispered, “Brother…”
My eyelids fluttered shut as consciousness slipped away completely.
Side Story: Elbert
I stood at the airport, watching Pandora walk away.
Elaine swaggered over and called me “Brother” right in front of her.
“I’ll go abroad with you,” she announced boldly.
To my surprise, Pandora didn’t even bat an eye at such an outright challenge.
I couldn’t help but wonder, since when had she become so composed and forgiving?
Yet she was just seventeen–still practically a child.
Just like Elaine, she was at that rebellious and reckless age.
I watched Pandora’s retreating figure until she disappeared into the taxi.
I called out to her, but she didn’t even slow down or look back.
A terrible premonition suddenly seized me.
A sudden, inexplicable dread washed over me, overwhelming and terrifying.
A chilling realization struck me—walking away like this, she would never come back.
Suddenly, it dawned on me–maybe she never really wanted me to pick up the cat.
Maybe she just wanted to get me out of the way.
It felt as if some unseen force suddenly pierced through my heart–an excruciating, bone–deep pain.
I watched the taxi speed away, then cold sweat broke out on my forehead.
With trembling hands, I fumbled in my pocket for my phone to call Pandora.
As I reached into my pocket, something slipped out and drifted lightly to the ground.
I glanced down to see nothing but an utterly ordinary slip of paper lying there.
Written on it was just one brief line in Pandora’s handwriting.
I picked it up, hands trembling.
My vision blurred–maybe from tears, maybe from something else, I couldn’t tell. It took several agonizing moments before,
out the words. [Brother, take good care of yourself.]
It felt like a dagger thrust straight through my heart–sharp, sudden, and unbearably painful.
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Chapter 14
My breath caught in my throat, and I nearly crumpled to the ground in an instant.
Like a man possessed, I bolted to the curb and barked at my assistant to get the car here now.
Elaine caught up from behind and clamped onto my arm.
In a soft, girlish voice, Elaine mimicked Pandora’s tone. “Brother, we’re about to board. Where are you going?”
She didn’t seem to realize–that was how Pandora used to speak
was under ten.
Himicry made me sick.
The real Pandora outgrew that childish tone ages ago. This cheap
My vision blurred as I yanked my arm away from her. “Get lost!”
Elaine tumbled to the ground, her shrill wails piercing the air behind
the
As my assistant pulled up, in my frantic rush to get in, my knees suddenly
I realized just how terrifying one’s instincts could be.
I knew I couldn’t catch up now. I really couldn’t.
That night, for the first time in my life, I slapped Pandora across the face.
The moment my hand struck her face, I was overwhelmed with regret.
But it was painfully clear.
No matter what, I couldn’t take it back.
The driver took me home in silence.
I staggered in, but Pandora wasn’t home.
I kept calling her, but she never answered.
I tried tracking her phone, but somehow her location was
Marshall called me then.
He spoke on the phone, his voice eerily calm, yet every word sounded as if it
“If you’re still in the country, come claim Pandora’s body.”
My legs gave way and I collapsed to the floor.
you calling brother?”
-I nearly collapsed onto the pavement.
I were tearing him apart inside.
My gut twisted violently as I spewed a mouthful of blood onto the pristine white carpet.
Ever since Pandora was gone, nightmares have haunted me almost every night.
ristine night eaceful spond
In my dreams, sometimes I see her lying on the street, covered in blood, eyes peacefully closed.
The crowd surged around us as I knelt beside her, calling her name-
Sometimes, in my nightmares, her face twisted in agony as she demanded, “Brother, why won’t you believe me?”
I jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat.
I lay back down, only to be swallowed by yet another nightmare.
My psychiatrist called, “Mr. Bourn, it’s time for your monthly psychiatric evaluation. And don’t forget your therapy sessions and medication.”
My descent into bipolar disorder began just two months after my parents passed away.
With my conversion disorder and paranoia, I constantly experienced hallucinations–seeing and hearing things that weren’t really there.
I often couldn’t tell hallucinations from reality.
I was afraid Pandora would worry, so I kept it from her.
Just like when she got sick, she did everything she could to hide her illness from me.
After Mom and Dad left, I was swamped with work, barely catching my breath.
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Chapter 14
Pandora and I grew increasingly distant, but that was just how we’d always been–both of us kept bad news to ourselves, trying to spare the other from pain.
After my parents passed away, I dropped out of college in my junior year to take over the family business.
It felt like a pack of hungry wolves, their eyes on me, waiting for me to slip up.
Even my uncle, who had doted on me since childhood, used “helping me run the company” as an excuse to secretly siphon off company assets.
After I became wary of him, my uncle turned to Pandora and nearly managed to trick her out of several properties.
That night, Pandora was so heartbroken that tears streamed down her face before me.
With tears in her eyes, Pandora said, “But Uncle was always so good to us.”
I gently pulled her into a hug and said softly, “Don’t worry, Pandora. I’m here for you.
“I’ll always be good to you, and I’ll never break your heart. I promise.”
Yet, I broke my promise.
Marsh
Marshall severed all ties with his family and delivered
a
He said, “Pandora always claims she doesn’t care. Urveillance video into my hands.
“But I know that what truly hurt her–even more than being
I’ve always listened to my parents since I was a kid.
I by others–was that you didn’t choose to believe her.
Tamed l
“That night, I invited Pandora to my birthday party just as a
end–nothing more.
“But I never imagined my father would set her up like that, and
I
even dare to speak up for her.
“Though it’s too late now, I still wish I could do something to make amends.”
He secured that surveillance footage from his father himself.
As a result, he severed all ties with the Long family and ended his business–arranged engagement.
The footage clearly showed the moment his father urethiously sipped a bank
la bank card into Pandora’s bag.
Honestly, it wasn’t just because of the bank card that I condemned Pandora.
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