Car Crash Proved Mom Never Loved Me

When I opened my eyes again, I saw Mom anxiously check on Lance's injuries. My corpse lay off to the side, all alone and completely ignored.

Only after confirming that Lance's injuries were minor did Mom finally breathe a sigh of relief.

She placed her hand over her heart and smiled with satisfaction. "Thank heavens. If anything had happened to you, I wouldn't have wanted to live either."

Mom, who had never done anything but criticize and complain about me, actually spoke in such a concerned tone. Perhaps she was only dissatisfied with me.

But the only reason she could stand there now, safe and sound, speaking like that, was that I had sacrificed myself. And yet, why wouldn't she even ask about me?

Could they really accept this happiness built on my life with a clear conscience?

The rescue team members who had hurried over glanced at me, then looked hesitantly at Mom.

"Captain, your eldest son, Brett Howell, looks seriously injured. Does he really not need medical attention?"

The moment she heard my name, Mom's smile vanished instantly.

"Don't bother with that jinx! All he ever does is defy me! Lance is hurt, and he hasn't even come over to check on him. Instead, he's over there playing dead. He just had it in for Lance. I wouldn't want a heartless son like that."

Those words stabbed deep into my heart like a sharp blade. The pain was so intense I nearly passed out. Even breathing became a luxury.

Lance and I both came from the same womb, so why did Mom treat me this way?

Was it all because of that year when she took Lance and me to visit her superior, Mr. Irving Kennedy, at his home?

When Mom was leaving, she accidentally missed a step on the stairs. Just as she was about to fall, I rushed over and grabbed her hand, stopping what could have been a disaster.

But in my frantic dash, I accidentally knocked over and broke Mr. Kennedy's vase. Mortified, Mom slapped me twice right in front of Mr. Kennedy.

I talked back defiantly, and Mom immediately concluded I was an ungrateful brat who could never be raised right.

After that, she poured all her heart and attention into Lance, and I became invisible at home.

Not only did I have no standing whatsoever, but whenever Mom was in a bad mood, she would hit or curse me out as she pleased.

It was nothing short of ridiculous, really.

Lance was secretly delighted as he listened to the cold way Mom spoke about me. Yet, he still pretended to be concerned.

"Mom, don't talk about Brett like that. He's just still upset, that's all."

Mom, whose anger had just started to subside, completely changed her expression when she heard Lance speak up for me.

"Lance, you're just too kind for your own good—that's why Brett keeps finding ways to hurt you over and over. Here you are, defending him, and he's just lying there.

"You think a person like him even has a conscience? How can two brothers turn out so completely different? I would've been better off if he'd died the second he was born!"

My mind went completely blank. I had never imagined that Mom hated me so much that she wished I had never existed.

But Mom, I had really left this world.

The moment I pushed her away, the truck rolled right over me. When that immense weight crushed down on my body, every organ inside me trembled. And even then, I was thinking about who would take care of Mom after I was gone.

The despair I had felt before death engulfed me once again.

But this time, I no longer had any belief left to keep me alive.