Chapter 3

Celia's POV

252,000 dollars in rent?

I looked at the young teenage couple standing in front of me. One was the baby brother I'd raised with my own two hands. The other was the young woman who repeatedly claimed she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

They stood at the doorway of my home, unapologetically wanting to kick me out. And on top of that, they even wanted me to pay them back rent?

A peal of laughter escaped me. But as I laughed, my eyes started burning.

"Do you even know that this apartment stopped belonging to us a long time ago?"

Mom and Dad were found to be primarily at fault for the car accident, and we had to pay a massive compensation to the other party.

This apartment was sold just two months after they passed away for 800,000 dollars, and every single penny went toward paying off that debt.

Back then, Chayce was still in school. I was afraid he'd worry and that he'd feel like he no longer had a home. And more than anything, I was afraid he'd feel inferior and sensitive—unable to hold his head high in front of others.

So I hid this from him and signed a contract with the landlord, renting this same exact apartment for 3,500 dollars a month.

I always paid it in full, just so Chayce could come home to the same bedroom he knew all so well. Just so he could feel that, even though our parents were gone, our home was still here.

But now, he was standing right there, telling me to get out.

"What are you talking about?" Chayce roared.

He stared at me in disbelief, as if I'd told the biggest lie in the world.

Jill, however, just crossed her arms and sneered at me. "That's quite the convincing story you made up."

Then, she turned to Chayce, her voice softening instantly. "Don't believe her, Chayce. She's just making that up because she doesn't want to give you the apartment. A person like her will say anything for money."

Unbelievably, Chayce actually nodded at her words. When he looked back at me, his gaze had turned icy again.

"I never expected you to be this kind of person, Celia. You'd even drag our dead parents into your lies just to keep this apartment."

My heart sank. I'd explained things to him, but he didn't believe me. I'd told him the truth, and he still didn't believe me.

All it took was one sentence from Jill for every sacrifice I'd ever made, every secret I'd kept, and every hardship I'd endured to be twisted into malicious manipulation.

He pointed at my belongings scattered in the hallway.

"Get out!" he barked, his tone venomous. "Take your stuff and get the hell out of here. Right now!"

His voice echoed loudly through the hallway, and apartment doors started opening one after another as neighbors poked their heads out to look.

Poppy Shea, the middle-aged lady from next door, frowned as she stepped outside and saw the absolute mess in the hallway.

"What's going on here?"

I took a deep breath, about to explain, but Jill beat me to it before I could even open my mouth.

"Everyone, please come look," she started, her voice catching. "This is my boyfriend's sister. After their parents passed away, this apartment was left to my boyfriend, Chayce. Feeling sorry for her, he let her live here all these years."

"But who would've guessed she'd be so promiscuous, bringing different men home all the time? We really couldn't take it anymore, so we asked her to move out.

"And yet, here she is making a scene, refusing to leave. She insists the apartment is hers and even wants to take us to court…"

As she spoke, her eyes reddened and tears shimmered in them, making her look like she'd suffered a monstrous injustice.

Her acting was flawless—so flawless that if I hadn't known the whole truth myself, I might've been fooled by her.

But the neighbors didn't know better.

Poppy turned toward me, the look in her eyes shifting subtly. Even more neighbors started coming out, murmuring and gossiping among themselves.

"The young lady looks rather respectable. I never expected her to be that kind of person…"

"You can't judge a book by its cover."

"Her brother isn't even a legal adult yet. How could she?"

Each word cut into me like a blade. My whole body shook with rage, and my vision started to go dark.

I could endure Chayce misunderstanding me. I could endure his immaturity. I could even endure him taking my sacrifices for granted.

But what I couldn't endure was Jill standing in my doorway, twisting the truth and smearing filth all over my name.

"Shut up!" I roared.

Losing all control, I lunged at her and grabbed a fistful of her hair.

She screamed and stumbled backward.

Chayce froze for only a split second before roaring, "Let go of her!"