I Moved 1,500 Miles Away, Now You Can Favor Her Openly Chapter 03

On the seventeenth of the month before, the nerve pain in my right ear had flared up so badly that I lay awake all night.

When I couldn’t take it anymore, I video-called Mason, who was away on a business trip.

The call connected, but all I could hear was the wind howling.

Mason sounded gentle and tired.

“Hannah, I’m out of state on business, so I’m asking around about that ear specialist from Aldermark while I’m at it.”

“Take a painkiller and try to hang in there, okay? Once things slow down, I’ll come home and keep you company.”

I had been so touched that I cried.

But it turned out that on that day, he hadn’t been looking for any specialist for me. He had been under the northern lights in Nordvik, helping his precious sister unwind.

Next to the photos was a screenshot of a receipt.

[Private Helicopter Tour, One Flight: twelve thousand dollars]

Suddenly, the study door swung open.

Mason walked in with a cup of coffee, and the moment he saw the screen, he went pale.

He rushed over in a few strides, grabbed the mouse, and hit delete again and again.

He moved so roughly that he knocked over the pen holder on the desk.

Hearing the commotion, Gregory, Diane, and Ethan came hurrying in too.

Soon the study was packed.

But nobody looked the least bit guilty. Instead, they looked as if someone had stepped on a sore spot.

Gregory’s face darkened, and he was the first to break the silence.

“Hannah, you’re too greedy.”

“We gave you our time and all the favoritism anyone could see! What’s wrong with making it up to Chloe a little on the side?”

“Chloe’s healthy. She needs a social life, and she needs to see the world.”

“You’re not whole. You never go anywhere but school and home. As long as you can hear a little, that’s enough. What are you fighting us for?”

I looked at Mason.

He let out a cold laugh, his eyes guarded.

“You’ve gotten more than enough already. Is there a single thing you use that the family didn’t pay for? Don’t push us to the point where we stop treating you like family.”

Last of all, I looked at Ethan.

He avoided my eyes.

“Hannah, stop it. Your parents earned that money themselves. How they spend it is up to them.”

I didn’t make a scene.

I didn’t scream at them and demand to know why they had lied to me, the way I used to.

I only took the 250 dollars out of my pocket and set it on the desk. Then I threw my old hearing aid, still squealing and stabbing at my nerves, into the trash can.

“I’m not getting it fixed.”

The world sank into total silence.

I ignored the smug smile Chloe was hiding behind Diane.

I went back to my room, closed the door, and started packing.

There were five days left until freshman orientation.

Gregory and Diane threw a graduation party at the best hotel in town.

It was supposedly to celebrate both Chloe and me getting into college, but really they wanted to show everyone that the two of us had made up.

Halfway through the party, I went to the restroom to wash my hands.

Over the sound of running water, Chloe appeared behind me in the mirror.

I watched her lips move as she sneered, “Deaf freak.”

“So what if you get the top score on every test? Mom and Dad only love me.”

I took my time drying my hands.

Then I walked out without even glancing at her.

Their love didn’t matter anymore.

Back in the ballroom, our relatives were gathered around Gregory and Diane, making small talk.

Chloe came toward me with a glass of juice, looking as meek as she possibly could.

“Hannah, I was such a brat before. If you drink this juice, we’ll call it a truce, okay?”

I watched her performance coldly.

The instant she got close to me, she screamed.

The glass in her hand dropped straight to the floor.

Shards flew up and sliced her calf, and blood seeped out.

“Chloe!”

Everyone rushed to her side at once.