Changing My Flight, I Canceled the Toxic Family Forever Chapter 04

Changing My Flight, I Canceled the Toxic Family Forever Chapter 04

When I opened my eyes the next morning, it was already ten.

I didn’t even stop to put on shoes.

I jumped out of bed and rushed for the door.

The second I opened it, I came face-to-face with my whole family.

They had just come back from the family portrait session.

My legs gave out, and I sank to the floor in despair. A shard of broken glass on the floor cut into my foot.

Blood poured out, but I couldn’t feel the pain.

My head was full of regret and self-blame.

Ethan glanced coldly at the blood on the floor.

His voice dripped with sarcasm. “You’d hurt yourself just to avoid taking pictures with us? Emma, your hypocrisy and coldness just hit a new low.”

After saying that, he ignored me and went straight back to his room.

My parents only sighed.

Then they went off to do their own things.

Only Chloe stayed.

She kept telling me funny little stories from the photo shoot.

Then she tried to comfort me. “Emma, I know you’re upset you missed the family portrait. But I thought of a way to make it up to you. We can Photoshop you in. What do you think?”

She sounded like she was helping me.

But her eyes were full of mockery and triumph.

For some reason, the glass of milk from last night flashed through my mind.

I shot up from the floor and grabbed Chloe’s arm. “Tell me the truth. Did you put something in my milk so I’d oversleep?”

Tears sprang into Chloe’s eyes at once. “Emma, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

As we stood there locked in place, my eyes swept toward the security camera in the corner of the living room.

My heart jumped.

I shoved Chloe aside and rushed into the study.

Then I pulled up last night’s security footage.

The image on the screen made my heart drop.

Chloe had hidden in the kitchen, dropped a small white pill into my glass of milk, and then carried it into my room.

My anger finally boiled over.

So all those times I had “overslept” hadn’t been accidents.

Just like the family group chat, Chloe had done it on purpose.

She wanted the whole family’s love to herself.

I was so shaken that I almost lost my balance.

My arm bumped the mouse by accident, causing the footage timeline to jump back to two weeks earlier.

On the screen, Chloe appeared again, slipping something into my milk.

My blood turned cold.

Two weeks earlier was the morning of the SAT.

Stopping me from taking family portraits was one thing.

But she had even tried to destroy my future.

Luckily, my stomach had felt off that day.

After drinking the milk, I kept running to the bathroom.

The bathroom trips kept the sleeping pill from fully taking effect.

That was the only reason disaster had been avoided.

When I brought the evidence to my parents, I thought they would explode.

But the fury I imagined never came.

They didn’t even say one harsh word to Chloe.

They only gave her a light scolding, “Don’t do that again, okay?”

Then they turned and blamed me.

“No real harm was done. Do you have to make such a huge deal out of it? You scared Chloe half to death.”

They pulled Chloe into their arms and comforted her gently.

Ethan rushed over too. “Exactly. We’re family. Do you really have to be this petty? Even if Chloe did something wrong, are you saying you had no part in it?”

I looked up at the three people in front of me.

Once, they had been the most important people in my life.

Now, to protect Chloe, they couldn’t even tell right from wrong. Their love for her really was something—so great, so noble, and so blind.

I couldn’t help laughing.

But as I laughed, tears slid down my face.

My parents looked at me with disgust.

“It’s just one family portrait. We’ll take you back tomorrow and redo it.”

My laughter stopped.

My voice was calm when I answered, “No need.”

There was no need to redo the family portrait.

And there was no need for me to come back to this family again.

I returned to my room in silence.

Then I took out my suitcase.

I packed the few pitiful things in this house that actually belonged to me.

I blocked all my family’s numbers.

I left the family group chat called The Brooks Family Chat.

Then I walked out of the house without looking back.

I boarded the flight heading south.

From that moment on, the road ahead was mine, and I would never look back.