They Sabotaged My Future, Then Begged Me to Come Back When I Built a Better One Chapter 01

They Sabotaged My Future, Then Begged Me to Come Back When I Built a Better One Chapter 01

Three days before the SAT, I was in a car accident. My right leg was damaged.

As I lay in my hospital bed, Soren Cross suddenly spoke, catching me off guard.

“I planned the accident.”

He pointed at my leg encased in a cast, a cruel smile tugging at his lips.

“You shouldn’t have upset Vivian. It’s just a broken leg. Better that than letting her cry.”

Shock hit me like a blow. My eyes widened as I lunged forward, raking my nails across his arm and leaving several bloody scratches.

He pushed me away, indifferent.

Then, in that same old familiar way, he reached out and gently stroked my head.

“I can get your parents now,” he said mildly. “No wonder they sent you to Silver Pines Foster Home back then.”

“With that attitude, it’s no wonder people don’t treat you the way they treat Vivian.”

Vivian Harrington was my biological older sister.

Fifteen years ago, I got hurt saving her from being hit by a car.

But she had burst into tears and told our parents that I was the one who pushed her.

That very night, my parents took me to Silver Pines Foster Home and abandoned me there, though I was still covered in injuries.

When I had lost all hope, Soren appeared. He promised he would be my support for the rest of my life.

And now, for the sake of that same person, he was destroying me with his own hands.

—

An invisible hand seemed to tighten around my throat.

A wave of bitterness washed over me, and I couldn‘t even muster the strength to cry.

Soren calmly wiped the blood from his arm and said flatly, “A few days ago, you argued with Vivian.”

“Her depression flared up again. She couldn’t even finish her practice tests.”

“Brielle, if you had just listened, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.”

My entire body trembled violently.

The pain in my broken leg was sharp and piercing, but it couldn’t compare to the cold spreading through my chest.

“So you decided to ruin my future?”

Soren tilted his head, looking at me without a trace of guilt.

“Wasn’t I protecting you?”

He reached out and ruffled my hair the way he used to.

That same hand had once held a flashlight late at night in the foster home, lighting up my textbooks.

Now it rested gently on my head as he spoke the cruelest words.

“With a broken leg, you can’t sit for the SAT. Vivian can take the top spot in the city without any pressure.”

“When she’s in a better mood, she’ll stop tormenting herself with her depression. Mom and Dad will stop taking their anger out on you, too.”

“Brielle, if you skip this exam, everything will settle down at home. Just do what you’re told. Isn’t that better?”

All my life, I kept hearing the same thing. Do what you’re told.

The day I was sent to a foster home, my mother’s eyes were red. “Brielle, just behave yourself. We’ll come get you in a few days.”

Fifteen years had passed. They never came.

When I was bullied at school, the teacher said, “Just ignore them and don’t make things worse. Why are they always picking on you?”

Even when I got into Westbrook High School, my father only said, “Mr. Cross will cover your tuition. Stay out of trouble. Don’t cause him any problems.”

I had been good for fifteen years.

And what I got in return was having my leg deliberately broken by the person I trusted most.

“You said you would protect me for the rest of my life!”

The tears finally broke free. I struggled to sit up, but the movement pulled at my broken leg.

The searing pain made my whole body spasm and curl in on itself.

“You promised! Back at the foster home, you swore you’d pull me out of that hell!”

Soren stood there, looking at me with the same gentle expression.

Yet he felt like a stranger. And utterly repulsive.

“Soren, what gives you the right!”

My voice tore out of me as I grabbed his arm again, my nails digging deep into his flesh.

“What gives you the right to decide for me? What gives you the right to ruin my SAT!”

A faint crease formed between his brows. He shook me off coldly.

My hand slipped from his arm, falling back onto the hospital bed, limp and powerless.

“Brielle, calm down. Getting worked up like this will only slow your recovery.”

He seemed about to say more, but his phone rang.

Soren glanced at the screen and smiled slightly.

It was a kind of tenderness I had never seen before.

He turned and walked out. His voice softened. “Vivian, it’s okay. Don’t cry. I’m here.”

“Yeah. It’s all taken care of. Just focus on your study.”