After I Severed the Kinship Bond, My Whole Family Regretted It Chapter 08

After I Severed the Kinship Bond, My Whole Family Regretted It Chapter 08

Clara’s eyes went wide when I sat down beside Dad in the next bed. Then she started sobbing loudly and telling anyone who would listen what a terrible daughter I was.

The man in the next bed finally lost his–patience and barked, “If you’re going to wail like somebody died, take it into the hallway. This is a hospital, not your personal stage.”

Her sobs cut off almost mid–breath.

Mom and Dad looked at me with concern. “Elara, they are still your biological parents. What if one day…”

I took their hands. “I’m never going back. I only have one mom and one dad, and that’s you. Whatever happens to Marcus and Clara isn’t my responsibility.”

Relief softened their faces.

Not long after that, Lyra swept into the room with a designer purse on her arm. Without even saying hello, she held out a hand.

“Mom, I’m short on money. Give me another six thousand dollars.”

Clara went pale. “Lyra, I just sent you three thousand last week. You can’t keep spending like this on Rex. At

least slow down. And your father is still…”

Lyra raised her voice. “I run one of his biggest fan accounts. If I’m not at the shows, what kind of fan does

that make me? Are you giving me the money or not? If you don’t, I’ll jump off a bridge tonight. If you couldn’t

afford me, you shouldn’t have had me.”

Before Clara could answer, Lyra dug into Clara’s purse, took every bill she found, and walked out. At the door,

she added, “Rex is dropping new merch next month. Have more money ready.”

Clara looked miserable. I learned that Marcus had been injured while trying to get Rex’s autograph for Lyra. A

crowd of obsessive fans had surged forward, knocked him down, and trampled him. He ended up with multiple fractures, and because many of the fans involved were minors, their parents refused to cover any of

his medical costs.

Lyra had visited the hospital exactly once in more than two weeks. She’d come for the signed photo she

wanted, then left without looking back.

Marcus erupted. “This is your fault. Look what you’ve turned her into. She doesn’t care about anyone but herself. And you think she’s going to take care of us when we’re old? Not a chance.”

Clara fired right back. “My fault? You agreed to every concert, every trip, every dollar we spent on her. Weren’t you the one who said our daughter deserved the best? Now something goes wrong and suddenly it’s all on me. I never should’ve married you.”

They nearly started fighting right there in the hospital before a doctor snapped at them to stop. Clara wiped her face, looked at me, and choked out,

“Elara, I know I was wrong before. Come back and renew the Kinship Bond with us, okay? Forget the extra three hundred dollars. I’ll give you another three thousand a month if that’s what you want.”

I was beyond tired of her. “It’s a little late to bargain now. You don’t get to buy your way back into my life. I have parents. I don’t want you in it.”

I turned back to Mom and Dad. Clara covered her face and hurried out. A few minutes later, I heard muffled

sobs from the restroom.

Later, I graduated with honors and got into graduate school.

On graduation day, Mom and Dad came to campus beaming. Mom handed me a huge bouquet, while Dad appointed himself photographer and took hundreds of pictures.

“Whatever comes next, don’t be afraid,” they told me. “We’ve always got you. Happy graduation.”

While I was running an errand off campus, I passed the entrance to a nearby state university and saw Clara

on her knees, sobbing. Marcus had one hand knotted in Lyra’s hair, and her face was swollen from being

slapped.

Clara clutched the dean’s arm. “Please, give her one more chance. I swear she’ll do better. If you expel her

now, what were the last few years even for? Please.”

Apparently, Lyra had failed more than twenty courses. She’d been allowed to retake some and failed again. On top of that, she’d been caught cheating and bullying other students. The school had decided to expel her.

Lyra was screaming too. “Then kick me out! I don’t even want to go to this stupid school. Great, now I’ll have more time for Rex. I don’t need a degree to have a good life.”

Clara’s eyes rolled back, and she collapsed.

People around her scrambled, shouting for someone to call an ambulance.

From across the distance between us, Marcus suddenly looked up and met my eyes.

His expression turned pleading. I remembered all the times he’d watched Lyra bully me in private and pretended not to see it. He had always known what she was doing, but in the name of “keeping the family together,” he played the reasonable one and told me I was the problem.

Nausea rolled through me. I turned and walked away.

Once I started graduate school, I rarely heard anything about Lyra.

The next time her name came up, it was in a direct message from one of the girls who used to go to Rex concerts with her.

【Hi. Do you have any way to reach Lyra? She borrowed $800 from me and hasn’t paid me back in a month. I messaged her yesterday and she blocked me.]

I opened social media. The top trending story was about a celebrity superfan accused of taking fan money and disappearing.

Using her status as a major Rex fan–account owner, Lyra had collected money for group merch orders, bulk concert tickets, and other fan projects. The total had reached $150,000. During the same period, she’d borrowed from almost everyone she knew and blocked them as soon as the money hit her account.

I knew Lyra had a private alt account. Sure enough, she’d posted there in celebration: [LOL, I’m finally going to see Rex! Rex and I are going to be together forever!)]

My heart jolted. I hadn’t realized her obsession had gone this far. She’d broken into Rex’s home, stolen things, hidden under his bed late at night, and installed a tiny camera in his bathroom.

When Rex found her, he was terrified. Lyra only stared at him with feverish devotion. “Rex, I’m your fan. I love you. Do you know how hard it was for me to find this place? Don’t you like me too?”

He was shaking when he called the police. Once authorities learned Lyra was a wolf, the case was transferred to the Pack Tribunal.

Lyra was taken into custody almost immediately. She was eventually sentenced to seven years in prison, fined, and assigned to a two–person cell.

When Clara and Marcus heard the news, their world collapsed.

They scrambled to hire lawyers for Lyra and begged everyone they could think of for help.

Trying to get her sentence reduced, they sold their old house, borrowed against the car, and burned through every dollar of their savings.

On the day the sentence was handed down, Lyra rose from the defense table and screamed at Clara with pure hatred.

“This is all your fault! If you weren’t so broke, I wouldn’t have had to borrow from everyone. How did I end up here.