1

When my brother and I encountered a car crash, my heart was ruptured, and I urgently needed surgery.

As the director of the hospital, Mom gathered all the doctors in my brother's ward just to run full-body scans on him for mere scrapes and scratches.

I begged her to save me, but she snapped at me irritably, "Can you not fight for attention at the worst possible time? Don't you see your brother nearly broke a bone?"

In the end, I died alone in an unnoticeable corner.

When she learned of my death, Mom, who'd always hated me the most, went mad.

…

In the last three minutes of my life, my soul drifted to her side.

She was sitting by my brother's bed with her hands clasped in prayer and her face full of worry. "Finn, please, you're giving me a fright. Please wake up, alright?"

Dad's expression was twisted in fury as he snapped, "If that Asher brat had protected him, Finn would never have ended up in such a poor state! Just wait! I'll beat him to death when I see him!"

Standing aside, a bitter ache flooded my chest.

"Well, guess you don't have to do it anymore, Dad. I'm dead, all thanks to your indifference," I murmured.

The doctors gathered around Finn Auburn's bed and confirmed he only had a minor bone dislocation. It was only then that an older doctor braced himself and brought me up.

"Dr. Whitman, aren't we going to check on Asher? The car accident left him critically wounded."

Mom's concern vanished in a heartbeat and was replaced by disgust as she yelled, "What's he pulling now! Playing dead? Does he even realize what he's done to his brother?"

I stared blankly at her. For a moment, my lifeless heart ached again.

I was their son, too, but why did I mean nothing to them?

Suddenly, she picked up her phone and dialed my number. A nurse held the phone to my ear.

Instead of the concern or kind words I'd anticipated, I was greeted with the same old scolding. "Asher Auburn, when are you dragging yourself here to apologize to your brother!"

That was the final blow as all hope left me.

Of course, she'd never cared.

I should have known.

When they had carried me into the hospital, I'd begged Mom to save me. All she'd said was, "Can you not fight for attention at the worst possible time? Don't you see your brother nearly broke a bone?"

With that, she turned and walked away with every doctor trailing behind to tend to Finn.

She'd never loved me.

Even the nurse couldn't stand it anymore. She took the phone back and said, "Dr. Whitman, Asher is on the verge of dying."

Convinced I was still faking it, Mom responded with a scoff, "How much did that brat pay you to put on this act with him? I can't believe he really has the nerve!"

That was when Finn, who'd been playing unconscious all along, finally woke up. Faking a weak voice, he asked, "Mom, Dad… How's Asher?"

As Mom looked at him being so considerate even while lying on the hospital bed, her face twisted with more disgust.

"Asher, can't you be more like your little brother? He's worried about you even after what you did to him! If you don't get here and apologize in the next three minutes, don't ever show yourself again!"

She hung up, chest heaving in rage.

Beside her, Dad scowled. "Why did you even call him? Hasn't he done enough to hurt Finn?"

A barely concealed smirk played at the corner of Finn's lips as he ducked his head. When he looked up at Mom and Dad again, he seemed terribly sorry. "Mom, Dad, please don't get mad at him.

"He's always resented me for stealing his chance to study abroad. I don't blame him if he holds a grudge."

I almost laughed. Even with me dead, Finn was still driving a wedge between me and our parents.

But of course, they would never notice. To them, he was always the well-behaved, thoughtful son. They would never suspect that the crash happened because he'd pushed me into the traffic.

Sure enough, Mom's expression darkened. "Sending someone that selfish abroad is pointless! Who knows what a heartless monster he'll come back as?"

Finn softly said, "Calm down, Mom. I'm sure he had his reasons."

Mom's gaze softened instantly at his words. "You're just too kind, Finn. That's why he always picks on you."

Finn always knew the perfect thing to say to win their favor. Even if I stood before them and revealed all the cruel deeds he'd done since childhood, they'd just slap me and accuse me of spouting nonsense out of jealousy.

I was used to it.

That was when Hazel Auburn stormed into the ward and frantically checked Finn's injuries.

As soon as she heard about his accident, she dropped everything and flew home from a different state. Just like our parents, she only had eyes for Finn.

When she confirmed that he was fine, she let out a breath of relief before growing furious. "I knew it! Asher is a jinx! Ever since Finn was born, he's been nothing but trouble!"

Putting on a pitiful act, Finn murmured, "Don't be mad, Hazel. I'm sure Asher didn't mean it even if he pushed me into traffic."

His words dropped like a bomb.

"What? Are you saying he pushed you toward the traffic?" Dad roared as he slammed the table.

Mom was equally furious and gritting her teeth. "That brat! I'll make him pay!"

Hazel's eyes gleamed with venom as if she wanted nothing more than to tear me apart with her bare hands.

2

Finn flinched and was suddenly nervous that he might have gone too far. He quickly said, "Don't get mad at him. I might have remembered wrongly. He's my brother, after all. I'm sure he didn't mean it."

Hazel poked his head gently and said, "You're too naive, boy. You don't understand how wicked people can be."

"We must've done something right in a past life to be blessed with a son like you."

"Fine. Let's forget about that ungrateful brat. You focus on getting better."

As the setting sun cast a golden glow across Finn's bed, I watched the happy family of four, and an indescribable sorrow welled up in me.

Even my soul felt out of place, like I wasn't one of them. Perhaps I was just a stray animal stumbling in.

I wanted to escape but was bound to Mom's side and voiceless. There was nothing I could do other than watch them insult and tear me down again and again.

A few days later, Finn was discharged from the hospital after the whole family nursed him back to health.

Mom flitted about and fussed over his things, while Dad pulled up the car to the exit so he wouldn't have to walk too far. Hazel even refused to have him put on his shoes on his own.

On the way home, Mom grumbled, "Asher sure is an ungrateful brat. He didn't show up once during Finn's recovery or apologize! I'll deal with him when we get home!"

Dad glanced at her and snorted. "Didn't I say? Keeping him around was a mistake. Trouble was bound to happen sooner or later."

My heart twisted at the word "deal", and memories came flooding back.

Mom had always favored Finn and constantly demanded that I yield to him.

It all began on the day he was born when I accidentally spilled water, causing Mom to fall and go into premature labor.

Seeing Finn fighting for his life in the incubator, the entire family was torn with pity.

Dad's slap came so violently that it perforated my eardrums as he bellowed, "You wretched jinx! You almost killed your brother the day he was born!"

Lying weakly on the hospital bed, Mom barely opened her eyes, but the disappointment in her gaze was clear as day.

In elementary school, Dad beat me up so bad just because I fought over a toy car with Finn. It was a toy I loved.

It was a gift Dad had bought for Finn on one of his business trips, with a spare one bought for me as an afterthought, but I treasured it greatly.

Finn had enough toys to fill boxes, but he still had to fight me for it.

While we were pulling and tugging on the toy, he suddenly screamed and burst into tears.

Mom ran over and held him in distress before turning to yell at me, "Asher! You're the reason your brother suffers so much. What more are you trying to do to him now?"

"It wasn't me—"

Before I could explain, Finn feigned tears and sobbed, "It's okay, Mom. It's my fault for fighting over toys with him."

Dad walked in just then. Without a word, he dragged me over and started beating me up. "A cold-blooded brat like you doesn't deserve to stay in this house! You bring nothing but trouble!"

I cried and begged him to stop, but the more I did, the more he thought I was faking it. Punches and fists rained down more than ever.

Mom and Hazel stood by and watched indifferently as if they wouldn't be satisfied until Dad beat this family enemy to death.

From that day onward, any time I made Finn cry would summon our parents' scolding and violence. Over time, I stopped daring to compete for their affection, stopped trying to explain myself, and stopped approaching at all.

Now, they'd left me here alone on this cold operating table.

3

Once they got home, Finn flopped onto the couch and announced he was hungry.

Hazel rushed into the kitchen and was eager to show off a new recipe. She never cooked, yet now, she desperately scrolled through nutritious meal plans on her phone, like Finn might feel unwell if she were any slower.

Dad handed Finn the latest luxury gaming console as a get-well-soon gift, celebrating his escape from a near-death encounter.

Mom cleaned his entire room and filled it with flowers and herbs. She claimed breathing fresh air could aid his recovery.

Finn just lay there and played video games, but every movement tugged at their hearts.

My soul, which followed them home, floated silently through the house I was once so familiar with. It'd never felt colder.

The doorbell rang, and a figure I knew all too well walked in. She was my girlfriend, Dawn Ainsley.

After entering the door, she started showing concern for Finn. "Mr. and Mrs. Auburn, I heard Finn was discharged today. I brought some supplements for him."

Finn dropped his game controller and gave her a shy smile. "Oh, thank you, Dawn. You didn't have to go through all that trouble. I'm feeling much better."

She beamed at him. The cold and indifferent Dawn I'd always known now softened to a sweet, gentle lady in front of Finn.

Watching her, I felt an indescribable unfamiliarity.

Then, she asked, "Where's Asher?"

If she hadn't brought me up, I doubted any of them would have remembered I existed.

Mom's expression soured when my name was mentioned. "Why bring up that brat? He ran off after I scolded him.

"Honestly, he shall stay gone. It's better for everyone if he drops dead out there somewhere. We can finally have peace and no more of his constant drama!"

Dawn quickly nodded. "That's true. We don't want him disturbing Finn's recovery."

Hazel appeared with a bowl of steaming stew and teased, "So? Have you decided when to break up with Asher? You'd better act fast, or someone might snatch Finn away."

Dawn shyly lowered her head and muttered, "I was thinking of coming today to tell Asher face-to-face."

An unspeakable bitterness welled up in my throat. With a self-deprecating smile, I turned away and couldn't bear another moment of their presence.

I'd long since gotten used to being unloved anyway.

After dinner, Mom started growing irritable for some reason. She went into her room and began searching through her phone.

When I peeked over her shoulder, I noticed she was looking for my number.

Then, she kept calling me, but all her calls went unanswered. She eventually threw her phone across the room and roared, "How dare he ignore my calls! Does he think anyone would actually care about him?"

I wanted to scream that I was dead. No one was ever going to pick up her calls.

Then, she resorted to calling that nurse again and asked, "What did Asher tell you? Is he still playing his little games?

"Tell him if he knows what's good for him, he'd better come home and apologize to his brother! If he does, I might still allow him back!"

The line went silent for seconds before the reply came with crushing weight. "Dr. Whitman, Asher died a week ago. The car crash ruptured his heart, but all the doctors were summoned to Finn's ward. There was no one left to operate on him…"