"Every angle." Lana puffed out her chest and spoke with confidence. "If you want, I can take the case to the court and let the judge decide whether or not I am innocent!"
"Haha! Lana, whatever you say doesn’t matter. Do you know why? Because you know in your heart. You are a part of the reason why I suffered! Your biological parents knew everything and deliberately tortured me so much! Do you still think you are innocent?" Brenda questioned sharply.
Lana smirked. In her previous life, she had indeed felt guilt, but Brenda’s repeated framing of her and Brenda killing her wiped away all the guilt bubbling in her heart.
In this life? She only feels numb whenever she sees Brenda.
"I don’t feel guilty." Lana confidently spoke and turned to leave when she heard Brenda speak in a low voice.
"I used to wake up at 4 am and wash off everyone’s clothes in the cold winter. Do you know how painful it is? Oh... you won’t, because you took my place and slept like a horse at 4 am."
Lana froze and started to walk when Brenda said again,
"I had to prepare food by 6 am and clean the house by 8 am. And had to walk a mile just to reach my school. I had no lunch because your mother... she never let me take away anything, saying that I was nothing more than a burden."
By now, a huge crowd of students had formed, and Lana couldn’t continue to walk because of the newly formed human wall.
"I watched hungrily as others had lunch. Your biological brother used to lead his friends to bully me. If that wasn’t enough, he even tried to sell my naked pictures!" Tears streamed down Brenda’s face, yet she didn’t look away from Lana’s back.
"This was just the tip of the iceberg of what I have suffered. But what about you, Lana? What did you even suffer? You had three loving brothers! A parent who doted on you endlessly! While I... I was left alone and suffered!"
A murmur spread across the crowd, and some pointed at Lana, while others whispered.
"What a bitch! Does she still not feel any remorse?"
"Remorse? Did you hear her speech? For a moment, even I felt that she shouldn’t be blamed!"
"But I still feel Lana isn’t at fault!"
"Then you are the heartless one here!"
The hushed whispers hardly affected Lana, and she stared at Brenda, who was still maintaining her cold demeanor, yet the tears dripping down her face shone like crystals.
Just as she was about to retort, a deep voice interrupted.
"If her parents can heartlessly exchange their own children, why would their heartless daughter feel any remorse?"
A man wearing a formal white t-shirt and black pants walked toward the crowd. His blonde hair was styled neatly, and his deep black gaze stared at Lana with mockery.
Aston Almond. The Third young master of the Almond family.
Mr. Crow perched on Lana’s shoulder, could hear the sound of her rapidly beating heart, but soon it returned to normal.
The familiar anxiety rose in Lana, which he could sense due to their connection.
Just as he was about to talk, his beady eyes flashed, and the next second a vision appeared.
A small girl with black hair padded toward a boy around 10 years old. Her hand was holding a tub of water and a towel.
"Aston. Look, I have brought the magical items! It will make your fever go away."
The boy was sleeping on the bed with a flushed face and looked uncomfortable, stirred, and muttered in a cold voice,
"Go away, Lana! Don’t disturb me! I need no one’s care! I want Mom and Dad! Where are they?"
Little Lana pursed her lips with a pout before saying in a cheerful tone,
"They are on the way. They asked me to bring these for you. Don’t worry, Aston, you’ll feel better soon!"
The little boy groaned, his small face scrunching up in discomfort. "Is that truly what they said?"
"Yes." Little Lana nodded her head like a chicken pecking on grain.
"Liar!" The boy became agitated and pushed away little Lana. "You are a liar! They said they are stuck in a business meeting and couldn’t return! Liar! Everyone is a liar!"
In his anger, he even pushed away Lana, causing the water tub to fall on the ground, and she was injured in the process.
Tears formed at the corner of her eyes, but instead of crying, she stood up with trembling legs and said in a choked voice,
"Aston, if you harm yourself every time just to attract their attention, they will get bored with you and pay no heed even more. I have tried it, and I failed miserably. Instead, try to excel, and they will pay attention."
Aston froze and stared at Lana with widened eyes. "You... you are lying..."
"I am not. Why do you think they ask about me first whenever they arrive home? They were proud when I won the math competition at the age of 5." Little Lana wiped away her tears and stared at Aston stubbornly.
A thoughtful look appeared on little Aston’s face, and he finally stopped throwing a tantrum. Seeing the opportunity, Lana fetched another tub of water while trembling and started to take care of him clumsily.
Staring at her determined face, Aston suddenly burst out laughing. "And why are you doing so much? Do you want our parents to see your thoughtful side and get praised?" Thıs text ıs hosted at novel✦fire.net
"No." Little Lana fixed the towel and said with seriousness, "We are siblings. We should always be there for each other. I learned it from TV. You are my brother! When you suffer, I suffer too!"
Aston’s deep gaze settled on Lana before he said softly, "Hm? Then, thank you, sister."
Little Lana paused for a brief moment before a smile formed on her lips. "Your welcome, brother."
"It’s you’re welcome." Aston corrected in a lecturing tone.
"Yeah! Yeah! Same! Same!"