He Put Me On Do Not Disturb For Three Years, But Prioritized His Stepsister Chapter 04

He Put Me On Do Not Disturb For Three Years, But Prioritized His Stepsister Chapter 04

At three in the morning, my stomach suddenly cramped.

I curled up in bed and reached over. The space beside me was empty.

Sean wasn’t there.

I picked up my phone and saw a message he’d sent two hours earlier.

“It looks like someone may have broken into Aria’s place. I’m going to check. Go back to sleep.”

I made myself get up through the pain, held the wall for support, and dry-heaved in the bathroom.

I dialed 911.

At the hospital, the doctor said I needed a family member to sign for the endoscopy.

I lay on the gurney, the corridor lights white and harsh.

After hesitating for a few seconds, I called Sean anyway.

It rang six times before he answered.

The background was loud with laughter and music.

Not the sound of someone checking on a break-in.

“Sean.”

“Didn’t you say someone broke in?” I asked.

“Oh, false alarm,” he said.

“Since I’m already here, I’m helping Aria tidy up her place. She can’t do it by herself.”

On the other end, I could hear Aria laughing.

“Bro, where should this box go?”

“Just leave it there. I’ll move it.”

Sean’s voice came through, full of fond exasperation.

“What’s wrong? If it’s not urgent, I still have a few hours of sorting to do here.”

Aria laughed again on the other end.

“Bro, does this photo frame look good here?”

“Looks good. Leave it there.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “Go ahead.”

I hung up.

“No family member coming?” the doctor asked.

“No. I’ll sign it myself.”

I signed the consent form and added my thumbprint.

When it was over, the doctor said it was acute gastritis aggravated by long-term stress, and I needed to take care of myself.

I sat on a bench in the hallway, a bandage on the back of my hand, my face pale.

The emergency room doors swung open.

I looked up.

Sean was walking in, supporting Aria.

She had an elastic bandage wrapped around her ankle and walked slowly, but she was smiling.

“I’m fine, bro. You’re way too dramatic!”

“You fell off a stool and you call that nothing?”

Sean’s voice was thick with worry.

“You can barely walk, and you still climbed onto a stool to reach something.”

He kept his head down, one arm around her waist, the other clutching her registration slip, hurrying.

He walked straight past me.

He never even looked at me.

A nurse called out from down the hall.

“Ella! Ella, come pick up your medication!”

Sean turned at the sound and froze when he saw me.

He instinctively stepped back, shielding Aria behind him.

“What are you doing here?”

Before I could get a word out, he said,

“Aria twisted her ankle. I’ll take her in first. Go home and wait for me.”

I looked at the way he was holding onto her.

The last bit of hope inside me died.

I said nothing.

I pulled the IV out of my hand, pressed a cotton ball over the spot, and walked past them.

Outside, the night air was cold.

I opened my phone and blocked Sean everywhere.

WhatsApp, calls, texts. All of it.

A taxi was waiting at the curb. I opened the door and got in.

“To the airport, please.”