They Cropped Me Out, So I Cut Them Off Chapter 04

They Cropped Me Out, So I Cut Them Off Chapter 04

The moment I stood up, the server beside me carrying a tray of food lost his balance.

The plate tilted.

“Ah!”

Serena let out a sharp scream.

Luca immediately grabbed her hand and checked it.

Everyone turned toward me.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you, Blythe?”

“How could you be so cruel?”

I stood there, wanting to explain.

But before I could say anything, Luca shoved past me.

He wrapped an arm around Serena and rushed outside.

“We need to find a hospital!”

“Get burn cream!”

They ran off together.

Leaving me standing there.

Everyone around me stared like I was some kind of spectacle.

The confused server looked at the spilled food.

“Wasn’t it just a charcuterie board?”

My neck was bruised from being grabbed.

They thought that wasn’t a big deal.

But Serena getting a little salad spilled on her?

That was different.

I touched my face.

Only then did I realize my cheeks were already covered in tears.

I dragged my suitcase alone.

Then I bought the earliest flight home.

Along the way, the four of them called me several times.

When I didn’t answer, they eventually stopped.

Not a single person sent me a message asking if I was safe.

When I arrived home and opened the door,

“Pop!”

“Pop!”

Confetti exploded above my head.

But I knew immediately.

It wasn’t for me.

Sure enough, my mother’s perfectly maintained smile faded when she saw me.

“Why are you the only one back?”

“Where are Theodore and Isla?”

“What about Luca and Serena?”

The Thatchers are all obsessed with looks. It’s genetic.

My parents raised Theodore and Isla the same way.

They always said they wished it was just the two of them.

I didn’t answer.

I simply walked straight back to my room.

From the living room, I heard my parents whisper,

“Why has this child become more and more unpleasant?”

I hadn’t come home to rest.

I came home to leave.

I folded my clothes neatly and placed them into my suitcase.

The things I couldn’t take with me went into large trash bags.

Then I opened the thick Family Photo Album.

From inside, I took out the few pictures that actually had me in them.

I had lived in this house for more than twenty years.

But all traces of me could disappear in less than thirty minutes.

Before they returned home, I grabbed my suitcase and left.

My parents were still upstairs.

They were discussing how they would welcome the others when they arrived.

No one noticed me.

I dragged my suitcase toward the entrance of the neighborhood.

Then my phone vibrated twice.

It was a message from Serena in the Family Group Chat.

A photo appeared.

She was sitting in the hospital.

Her hand was wrapped in a thick bandage.

“Don’t blame Blythe.”

“It was my own carelessness.”

After that, Theodore and Isla immediately started explaining what happened in the group chat.

They twisted the story.

They made sure everyone knew how “hurt” Serena was.

My parents were fussing over her like crazy, calling her “sweetie” and “baby.”

They never said it.

But I knew.

Deep down, they wished Serena was their daughter.

I let out a bitter laugh.

My brother and sister never wanted me as their sister.

My parents never wanted me as their daughter.

And my boyfriend never truly wanted me as his girlfriend.

Before boarding the plane, I turned off my phone.

If I was never the person anyone expected…

Then I didn’t need that family anymore.

And I didn’t need that boyfriend anymore either.

The buildings below slowly became smaller.

Until they disappeared completely from my sight.

Meanwhile, Theodore sent a message in the Family Group Chat.

“We changed our flights.”

“We’re taking Serena to see the ocean first.”

“Just catch up with us yourself.”

He waited.

But I never replied.

Minutes passed.

Then hours.

For some reason, Theodore felt a strange ache in his chest.

He opened the Family Group Chat again.

Only then did he realize something.

I had been too quiet today.

Far too quiet.

While they were waiting at the airport,

my parents suddenly called.

They were only moments away from boarding.

But Theodore still answered.

Something inside him told him this call mattered.

And he was right.

The moment he picked up,

he heard his parents’ voices trembling.

The parents who always cared about looking perfect…

were crying uncontrollably on the other end of the phone.

“Theodore…”

“Blythe is gone.”