I Bet My Soul on My Mother’s Love Chapter 02

I Bet My Soul on My Mother’s Love Chapter 02

So, I was allergic to strawberries.

It had been so long since I’d even seen fruit that I had completely forgotten.

At that hellish school, I was forced to eat spoiled slop. If I behaved perfectly, I was rewarded with a plain piece of bread.

Most of the time, I just went to bed starving.

I remembered the days when Mom actually loved me.

When she first discovered my allergy, she would go out of her way to buy the most expensive alternative fruits just to spoil me.

True love always feels like you haven’t given enough.

She used to worry constantly that I wasn’t eating enough.

She would spend hours researching recipes just to get me to take one extra bite.

How could a mother’s love change so completely and utterly?

When I opened my eyes again, Mom was staring down at me with a deep frown.

The IV drip was finished, and the hives had mostly faded.

Seeing me wake up, she let out a sigh of relief, though her voice was still laced with scolding.

“Chloe Vance, are you doing this out of spite?”

“You know you’re allergic. Why on earth did you wolf down that cake? When you were little, you wouldn’t even touch food you didn’t like.”

I didn’t answer.

Mom didn’t know that I no longer had the luxury of being a picky eater.

At that school, not finishing meals would lead to strict consequences.

She sighed, her expression shifting into something awkward, and handed me a gift box.

I clutched it like a priceless treasure, my voice cracking with unshed tears.

“Mom… you haven’t given me a birthday present in so long.”

Inside the box was a shimmering, sequined princess gown.

“Take it. Every time Lily wears a dress, you can never take your eyes off her.”

I couldn’t wait to put it on.

But with my sun-baked, calloused skin and brittle, damaged hair, the extravagant gown looked utterly ridiculous on me.

Mom looked at me, momentarily dazed. “Chloe, can you please start washing your hair and bathing properly? A young woman shouldn’t look so disheveled.”

Then she asked me if I had any wishes.

After six years of cold isolation, this was the first time I felt a shred of warmth from her.

The wager with the Grim Reaper flashed through my mind.

I wanted to live. I didn’t want my soul to shatter into dust.

“Mom, could you just say one thing to me?”

“Just say… Mom loves Chloe the most.”

Mom, can you save me just this once?

Just once.

The sound of shattering glass echoed from just outside the door.

Lily was clutching her chest, gasping for air and crying out in agonizing pain.

On the floor lay a smashed crystal snow globe.

A drawing with the words [Happy Birthday, Chloe] was scattered in pieces at her feet.

Mom’s eyes went completely bloodshot with panic. She spun around and slapped me across the face with terrifying force.

The impact left my nose injured

But it didn’t really hurt.

The guards at the school hit much harder than that.

Mom held Lily tightly, tears streaming down her face as she screamed at me hysterically.

“Chloe Vance! You know damn well your sister can’t handle any stress! Would it kill you to stop trying to compete with her for once?!”

“Why do you always have to be so selfish? Is your mind entirely filled with jealousy and spite?!”

The scene blurred perfectly with the memory of my twelfth birthday.

Back then, because of a simple wish, Mom had branded me a wicked child.

I held my bruised cheek, wiping away the blood and tears.

“Yes.”

“Without your love, it really will kill me.”

Hearing my words, Mom froze.

Then, she completely lost her mind.

She hurled the most vicious words at me, cursing me to drop dead.

She screamed that she wished she could rip my heart out of my chest and transplant it into Lily.

She demanded to know why a healthy body was wasted on a wretched creature like me instead of her sweet Lily.

Her eyes were filled with nothing but cold, unadulterated disgust.

“Chloe Vance, do you want to know exactly when I started wishing I never gave birth to you?”

“It was the day I almost bled to death on the delivery table. Lily and I were both clinging to life by a thread.”

“And you ran right up to my hospital bed with a smile on your face. Your first words weren’t checking if we were okay. You looked me in the eye and asked,”

“‘Am I still your favorite child?’”