Chapter 10 I Can No Longer Call You Brother

Owen warned Paul, "Don’t forget, you’re the one who wanted to break off the engagement to marry Elsie. If you waver now, how will Elsie face others in the future?" Paul retorted, "Yes, I want to break off the engagement, but that doesn’t mean Yunice and I have to sever all ties. After all, we’ll still be seeing each other often..." Before Paul could finish, Owen cut him off coldly. "You and Yunny can only sever all ties. You know better than anyone that Yunny is possessive and vengeful. In her mind, you belong to her. If you marry Elsie, she will only take her resentment out on her." Owen exhaled heavily. "I just hope you and Elsie get married as soon as possible. Once she moves into your family, I won’t have to worry every single day." But Paul barely registered the latter half of Owen’s words. His mind was still stuck on one sentence—"You belong to her." That was what I used to believe, too. But now Yunice wanted to break off the engagement... After speaking for a while, Owen realized Paul wasn’t responding at all. He raised a hand and punched him lightly. "You’re still thinking about Yunny, aren’t you!" I had already noticed it earlier. When we were in the living room, Paul sat next to Elsie, but his eyes were fixed on Yunny the whole time. This bastard—does he think he’s the next romantic tragic hero? Paul, growing impatient, rubbed his shoulder and countered, "I just think you’re all being too cruel to Yunice. Don’t forget, she’s a Saunders too. Yet you won’t even give her a proper room in her own home, and even a housekeeper can falsely accuse her of theft." The Saunders mansion was a standalone villa with plenty of rooms. Even Oscar’s room on the second floor was empty—why couldn’t they spare a decent room for Yunice? Owen’s face turned red with frustration as he blurted out, "And are you any better? You rejected Yunny because you thought she was mentally ill and were afraid it would be a disgrace if word got out. That’s why you chose to marry Elsie instead, isn’t it?" Paul choked on his words, irritated, and went home. That night, Owen tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Paul’s words echoed in his mind. Staring at the ceiling, he thought, this was the home where Yunice had lived for eighteen years. Before Dad passed away, he had grasped mine and Oscar’s hands, his final words urging us to take good care of their little sister. But now, not only had I failed to care for her, I had treated her worse and worse—so much so that even Paul, a privileged playboy, could criticize him. Owen calculated in his mind. There were four rooms with good lighting, occupied by myself, Oscar, Yunice, and Dad’s master bedroom. After Dad passed away, Elsie and her mother had shared the master bedroom for two years. Only when Yunice was sent to the psychiatric hospital did Elsie finally get her own private space. Who should switch rooms with Yunice? Elsie had asthma and was the youngest in the family—she couldn’t be made to suffer. Mom was an elder, so it was out of the question for a younger member to take her room. Oscar, as the eldest, couldn’t be expected to stay in a smaller room. And I had too many office supplies—there was no way a small room could accommodate them. Turning over and over, he still couldn’t sleep. Finally, he got up and turned on his computer. After searching for a while, he found a death certificate from a year ago. Lauren Drake, female, 19. Admitted to Silverburgh Psychiatric Hospital. Died from mechanical asphyxiation due to an accident. His hand, gripping the mouse, trembled slightly. Owen’s eyes flickered. Yunice hadn’t lied—the psychiatric hospital was a place where wills caused people to die. The thought of Yunice, frail and defenseless, having her hair yanked, her spine crushed under a knee, her delicate fingers scratching at the floor in agony—it made Owen breathless. Emotion surged through him. He reached for the kettle to pour himself a glass of water to calm down, but the scalding liquid splashed onto his hand. The sharp pain made his scalp tingle, and he couldn’t help but cry out. As he checked his reddened skin irritably, an image suddenly surfaced in his mind, Yunice plunging her hand into the burning coals that day. He stared at his own hand, his eyes filled with shock. So this is how much a burn hurts. My skin was merely reddened, and yet the pain was unbearable. But Yunice's palms had been burned to the point of raw flesh and blood, and though she had trembled all over, breaking out in cold sweat, she had not made a single sound. Owen parted his lips slightly. Only now did he finally understand what it meant to be accustomed to pain. She must have suffered so much at the psychiatric hospital, so much that, eventually, she had grown numb. His eyes burned red with heartache, but the next second, anger surged through him. He furiously wiped his tears away, blaming Yunice for being so stubborn! Why hadn’t she sought help from the nurses when she was bullied at the hospital? Why hadn’t she called her family to stand up for her? She was just holding a grudge against them, refusing to bow her head to her own family. That’s why she had endured so much suffering in silence. He simply couldn’t understand—what had the family done so wrong to make her resist them so much? What was she holding onto? … At dawn, someone knocked on Yunice’s door. Owen stood at the entrance, one hand in his pocket, his brows furrowed as he listened to the slow movements inside. When Yunice opened the door, Owen scrutinized her. She looked much better than she had the previous days. Remembering her injuries, he softened his tone. "Get ready. We’re going to the hospital for a full check-up." Yunny replied, "Forget it. I don’t have an ID. I can’t register." "It’s our own hospital; rules don’t apply." Owen observed her and felt she was just being stubborn. His gaze landed on her hanging hands. Restraining his temper, he said, "I haven’t found your bracelet yet, but I’ll return it once I do. Mom and Oscar’s rooms aren’t an option, but don’t worry; just wait for me. I’ll buy you your own estate once the hospital’s monthly earnings are settled." Wait? He wanted me to wait again? I had been fooled by this word too many times. When Elsie first arrived at the Saunders family, they had coaxed me, saying, "Just wait a little longer; Elsie will stop taking Mom away from you. Just wait a little longer; she’ll be more considerate. Just wait, and she’ll become close to you." I will no longer believe in their empty promises. And I knew Owen wouldn’t buy me a house. By tomorrow, he’d be using the same promise to placate Elsie instead. Owen waited for a reaction. In the past, if I mentioned giving her gifts, she’d smile no matter how angry she was. I was offering her a house now—she should be happy, right? But Yunice still didn’t look pleased. Owen was baffled. "I promised you a room and your bracelet—what more do you want?" Yunice laughed. "Those were mine to begin with. Are they rewards now"? Owen was asked; he was embarrassed and found something else wrong with Yunice, “You haven't even called me brother since you came back; are you going to break ties with your family?” Yunice smiled. “It's not that I want to break ties; it's that I can no longer call you brother.” Owen's brows wrinkled. What does she mean? He didn't understand. Soon, Yunice let him hear it, “You said you're going to take me to the hospital, so when the subordinates ask about me, how are you going to introduce me?” Owen was about to speak; Yunice interrupted, “Elsie went to school for me, interned at my family's hospital for me, and studied for my postgraduate degree; her social circle has long been fused with Yunice's name, and anyone who recognizes her will only recognize her and not me.” Yunice looked at Owen and analyzed, “You took me to the hospital; surely you can't say my real identity. You can only say that I'm one of your younger sisters, or else Elsie's identity that has been operated on for all these years will be worn out. You also don't want Elsie to be misunderstood as an impostor and liar, right?”