Chapter 8 The slap split my lip, and in that instant, the fragile remnants of my self-worth shattered completely. I broke down, sobbing uncontrollably, tears and snot streaming down my face. I looked like a messy, desperate beggar as I clawed at my hair, wailing with anguish. "Why did you hit me? You're the ones who asked if I wanted to go abroad-it was your question! "You don't love me. You've never loved me. You'd rather I was dead! Is that it? Would you finally be happy if I died?" Everyone froze, stunned by my outburst, then quickly grew enraged. My mom dropped her pretense of kindness and snapped, "Carol Lowe, what are you doing? Are you trying to embarrass us?" My dad waved the housekeepers away before barking, "Shut up! You're a Lowe, not some screaming lunatic!" Shane sneered coldly, silent but brimming with disdain. I trembled violently-my lips, my hands, my entire body shaking uncontrollably. Three years. I didn't even know why I was still alive after three years of this. My mind went blank, and all I could do was sob and scream, repeating my question like a broken record: "Would you finally be happy if I died?" "Yes! Go die already!" Shane roared, his voice filled with utter contempt. My parents, fed up, waved me off impatiently. "Get out!" I stopped shaking. It felt like my heart had stopped too. My mind was foggy, but a strange, eerie strength filled me. I turned and bolted upstairs, racing up five flights in a single breath. No one tried to stop me. No one seemed worried. I reached the rooftop and ran straight to the edge. Climbing over the railing, I heard a housekeeper shout from below, "Miss, don't do it!" That was when everyone came running outside-my parents, my brother, all of them. Leila was still laughing, a quiet, gleeful smirk spreading across her face. I stood there against the wind, my body alternating between hot and cold. "Jump, then! When are you finally going to grow up? You're eighteen now!" 1/3 My mom's voice was sharp and scathing. She wasn't concerned. I was an embarrassment to her. With all the house staff watching, seeing the Lowe family's heiress unravel like this must have been utterly humiliating. My dad was too furious to even speak. He waved his hand sharply as if to say, "Go on, jump if you dare." Shane didn't try to stop me. He held Leila in his arms and spoke coldly, "Don't jump here. You'll dirty our family estate." I gave a bitter smile. "Sorry for the mess." I closed my eyes and leapt. +25 Bonus I became a corpse. My legs were shattered, my skull cracked open, my life snuffed out in an instant. My soul floated above the scene, and to my surprise, I felt a twisted sense of satisfaction. I glared hatefully at the broken, bloody mess that was my body and at my family standing nearby. If I could speak, I would've screamed, "Look at me! I'm dead! Are you happy now?" I imagined that, at last, they'd feel regret-that they'd finally realize they should have loved me. But they didn't. My dad dismissed all the housekeepers and shook his head coldly. "How childish," he muttered. My mom was trembling slightly, but not a single tear fell. She pressed her lips together and sighed deeply. "What a foolish child." But beneath that sigh, there was a hint of relief. She had finally gotten rid of the burden that was me. Shane stood in front of Leila, frowning as he made calls, arranging for someone to remove the body and handle the cremation and burial as quickly as possible. The only one crying was Leila. She was visibly shaken and trembling, but her eyes gleamed with unmistakable satisfaction. 2/3 She was free of me now, completely unthreatened, She was the sole heiress of the Lowe family. My family consoled her, insisting it wasn't her fault, that it was my own doing. I stared blankly for a while before I slowly began to fade away. "Carol Lowe, you really are a fool," I thought. The sharp, searing pain of death still lingered, making me shiver. My thoughts snapped back to the present, and my mom's questioning voice brought me back to reality. "Sweetheart, why aren't you saying anything? I'm asking if you want to study abroad." "I don't," I replied curtly. "I have class. I'm hanging up now."