Six Months After I Died, My Mother's Leukemia Returned

My brother came to my apartment to force me to donate bone marrow to our mother. My landlord told him, "Chloe is already dead." My brother sneered. "Chloe really never changes! To get attention, she'll make up any excuse. She's just rotten to the core, not even a fraction as good as Harper. You tell her to stop playing games and be a good girl and donate that bone marrow. Otherwise, I'll make her regret it!" The white-haired landlady was furious. She grabbed a broom and chased my brother out. "I said, Chloe is dead! You and your toxic family killed her! "Chloe has been dead for six months! How exactly are you going to make her regret it? "Chloe had the worst luck in the world to be born into a family like yours!" Realizing I was truly dead, my brother's face turned ash-white, and he fled in a panic. 1 I have been dead for six months, but I haven't moved on to the afterlife. My soul uncontrollably followed the Sterling family. Day after day, I watched the four members of the Sterling family live in perfect, happy harmony. Harper and Liam were getting married. The wedding date and venue were all booked. It was only then that the family finally remembered me. "Is my sister still mad? Will she come when Liam and I get married?" "If she doesn't come, I won't acknowledge her as my daughter anymore." "Just goes to show, if you didn't raise them from birth, you can't trust them." "I said from the beginning we shouldn't have brought her back. We should have just let the mistake be." My father, my mother, and my brother sat there, listing all my faults. I watched Harper, tears in her eyes, secretly curl the corner of her lips into a smile. She won. I, the true biological daughter, had nothing. I didn't even have my life anymore. The family took turns calling me, but it wouldn't connect. It had been six months; my phone battery had died and shut off ages ago. After failing to reach me, they cursed me out together, then tossed me aside and forgot about me again. Even when I occasionally crossed their minds, it was quickly paved over with an insult. My mother went with Harper to try on wedding dresses. Harper spotted a gown displayed in a glass case. "Mom, look! That dress is so beautiful." I looked at the dress too, and for a moment, I was dazed. Meanwhile, my mother had already called an employee over to bring the dress out. "I'm very sorry, but that dress is custom-made for a private client." Harper really loved the dress and kept asking for information about the client who ordered it. Finally, the employee checked their records. "The design sketches were provided by Ms. Chloe Sterling herself. Our company just handled the tailoring." Harper immediately covered her mouth, her voice choking with sobs. "My sister must still not be over Liam. I should just give him back to her." Give him back to me? I smiled bitterly. Liam and I were childhood sweethearts. We used to be the couple everyone envied. But then I was found by the Sterling family and met Harper. Everyone loved Harper. My childhood sweetheart loved her too. That wedding dress was indeed designed by me, for me. Once, filled with overflowing love, I designed that dress. I thought I would wear it to marry Liam. But now, that dress was something I could never touch. 2 There was never anything Harper wanted that she didn't get. "I'm making the decision. This dress is yours now. We'll consider it her wedding gift to you." Harper hypocritically declined. "Will my sister be upset?" "Why should she be upset? Matters of the heart can't be forced. It's her own fault for having such a terrible, vicious personality. Liam not liking her is her own doing; what does that have to do with you? She always bullied you before; compensating you with a dress is the least she can do." Harper happily put on the dress, spinning blissfully in front of the mirror. My mother watched her with a face full of pride and comfort. That was a look I could only ever dream of. When it came to Harper, my mother always handled everything personally. She said she wanted her precious daughter's big day to be absolutely perfect, without a single regret. But me? After being stolen away as a baby, I was just an unnecessary extra. I watched my mother work day and night to alter the dress for Harper. Harper was slightly curvier than me, but she refused to pick a different dress. My mother, who loved her daughter more than her own life, ignored her health and insisted on altering it herself. My mother was a highly sought-after fashion designer. All year round, Harper practically only wore clothes designed by our mother. I never had that honor. Later, I became a designer myself. I designed my own clothes. Since no one loved me, I had to love myself. The night my mother finished altering the dress, she collapsed. After being rushed to the hospital, the situation was severe. "The patient's leukemia has relapsed." 3 My father swayed, almost losing his footing. "How is that possible? Didn't you say her recovery was going well?" "Has the patient experienced any unusual physical strain lately?" "Well, our daughter is getting married, so my wife has been running around non-stop. She might be a bit exhausted. And lately, to alter our daughter's wedding dress, she pulled two all-nighters." "Foolish! Does she have a death wish? Her body just recovered; how could it handle that kind of exhaustion?" "Doctor, what do we do now? Please, you have to save my wife." Harper looked at the doctor with tear-filled eyes. The doctor's expression turned grave. "Prepare for a second bone marrow transplant." "Quick, call Chloe and tell her to get here." Instantly, the family remembered me again. They called me non-stop. "We're sorry, the number you have reached cannot be completed as dialed..." Hearing the automated message, everyone's faces turned ugly. Harper cried and said, "My sister must still be mad at me. I'll go beg her. As long as she's willing to save Mom, I'll leave Liam. I'll leave the Sterling family." "Chloe is such a bitch! Mom is in critical condition, and she's actually ignoring our calls. She really is a malicious, toxic bitch!" I looked at my brother. The brother who shared my blood. So, in your eyes, I was just a bitch. My father sneered coldly. "She thinks she has leverage over us now. She's waiting for us to go beg her." "I don't need her bone marrow, that unfilial brat. Since she doesn't care if I live or die, from now on, I'll pretend I never had this daughter." My mother woke from her coma, joining in the disgusted condemnation of me. My brother slammed his fist angrily against the wall. "I'm going to find her." 4 I followed my brother to the apartment I used to rent. Bang! Bang! Bang! My brother pounded violently on the door, his face full of disgust and impatience. He banged for a long time, but no one answered. Just as he was about to leave, the elderly landlady came over. She lived right across the hall. She must have heard the noise and come out to check. "Where did Chloe go?" The old lady paused. "Chloe? Such a sweet, good girl. But she had a tragic fate. Died so young." "Dead? How is that possible! "You're making a sick joke, old lady." My brother laughed outright, completely refusing to believe it. Right. In his eyes, I was a menace. They say the bad ones live a thousand years. How could I die so easily? But this time, I really was dead. "Who makes jokes like that! Chloe really passed away." My brother continued to sneer. "Chloe really never changes! To get attention, she'll make up any excuse. I'm her brother, I know exactly what kind of person she is. "She's just rotten to the core, not even a fraction as good as Harper. You tell her to stop playing games and be a good girl and donate that bone marrow. Otherwise, I'll make her regret it!" The white-haired landlady was furious. She grabbed a broom and chased my brother out. "I said, Chloe is dead! You and your toxic family killed her! "Chloe has been dead for six months! How exactly are you going to make her regret it? "Chloe had the worst luck in the world to be born into a family like yours!" My brother's body stiffened as he dodged the broom. "You're not joking? Chloe is really dead? How is that possible?" "Get out! Get out! You heartless animal!" My brother fled in a panic. 5 I followed my brother into his car. He lit a cigarette. Through the swirling smoke, I saw his face was dark and unreadable. Knowing I was dead, did my brother feel even a tiny bit sad? In the glow of the cigarette ember, my brother's phone rang. He looked down at it. The contact name read: My Sweet Harper. Heh. Harper was My Sweet Harper. And me? Oh, I was The Debt Collector. That was how the whole family saved my contact. Surprisingly unanimous. My brother answered the phone. Harper's slightly choked, raspy voice came through. "Brother, what did my sister say? Is she still mad? Don't argue with her. I'll go over and apologize. She's stubborn. After she donated marrow the first time, she said she'd never acknowledge us again, that even if she died on the streets, it had nothing to do with us. I'm so scared she might do something foolish." Hearing this, my brother's originally heavy expression instantly cleared up. "Hah! Chloe is really pulling out all the stops now. She's actually faking her own death!" I froze. My brother thought I was faking my death. No investigation. No asking for proof. Right. Because they fundamentally didn't care about me. They always relied on their own subjective assumptions. "Then what do we do? Mom's body can't wait." "I don't believe it. Without Chloe, you're telling me we can't find another suitable marrow donor?" Right. I was always the one who shouldn't exist. 6 When my brother got back, he embellished the story of me "faking my death." The whole family instantly launched a crusade against me. "Just as I thought. A selfish, ungrateful wolf who only cares about herself." "How did I give birth to something with no heart?" "My sister must still be mad at me. I'll go apologize. I'll beg for forgiveness." The condemnation reached its peak amidst Harper's crying. While comforting Harper, they used even more vicious words to curse me. Liam half-embraced Harper, gently patting her back to soothe her. "Harper, it's not your fault. Kindness isn't an excuse for Chloe to bully you. Someone as malicious as her is destined to be unloved." Harper sobbed softly against Liam's chest. But I remembered things from the past. Back then, Harper's biological mother stole me and threw me into a dumpster. I was picked up by human traffickers, who sold me to a couple that hadn't been able to have a child for years. Less than a year after adopting me, the couple had twins—a boy and a girl. After that, my originally ordinary life turned into a living hell. At only three years old, I had to start doing chores. I had to take care of my younger brother and sister. The slightest mistake earned me a heavy slap from my adoptive father. Simply having enough to eat and staying warm was a luxury for me. In those bitter days, Liam was one of the very few lights in my life. He would secretly slip me an egg on the way to school. He would treat my wounds after my adoptive father beat me. We got into a top university together, and naturally, we became a couple. Just when I was wholeheartedly looking forward to spending the rest of my life with him, he got together with Harper. "I shouldn't have pitied her back then. She's just a heartless, ungrateful monster." Liam's cruel words snapped me back to reality. So, being with me was just out of pity? When I was tutoring Liam, he once praised me: "Chloe, you are truly the most wonderful girl in the world." After we got into university together, there was an opportunity for a three-month study abroad program. The university intended to send me. But Liam really wanted to go. He held me and begged me to give the opportunity to him. When I nodded, he happily picked me up and spun me around. "Chloe, don't worry. I'm working this hard so I can give you a better life in the future. I want you to have the most beautiful wedding when you marry me." Those promises from back then, Liam discarded like garbage. I was the only one gripping them tightly, refusing to let go. Even when what I was holding rotted away in my hands, I still clung to it like a lifeline. And Liam? He had forgotten long ago. 7 My father and brother used all their connections, trying to find another suitable bone marrow match for my mother. But a suitable match wasn't that easy to find. Within half a month, the doctor issued an ultimatum. They had to find a match as soon as possible. Otherwise, my mother was in critical danger. So, the family started calling me again. Still unreachable. They looked at each other and realized that besides calling me, they had absolutely no other way to contact me. My father coughed. "Do any of you have phone numbers for Chloe's friends or classmates?" Everyone's eyes turned to Liam. Liam pulled out his phone and called a few classmates and friends he remembered me being close to. "Chloe? I haven't talked to her in almost a year." My brother's face darkened. "This Chloe is a total freak. She doesn't even have a single close friend or classmate. Who knows where she ran off to hide, not caring about anything. She deserves to be hated." My mouth tasted bitter. If I had a choice, I wouldn't want to stay here either. I didn't want to be hated either. I wanted to be loved by everyone, just like Harper. 8 "Why don't we try this?" Harper showed everyone the screen on her phone. It was a local emotional mediation TV show that was currently very popular. At that moment, an ad for the show was playing on the screen. "Love at 8:30, let's meet in love. If you have any emotional problems, family conflicts, or need help finding relatives or friends, you can come to us." My father hesitated a bit. "This is on television... will it look bad?" After all, the Sterling family was a prominent name locally. If this got on TV, and things went wrong, they'd become a laughingstock in their social circles. Harper bit her lip. "But we can't reach my sister. We're doing this to save Mom. As long as we can contact my sister, we should try any method." My brother also thought it made sense. "Yeah. It's not our fault anyway; we're the victims here. If that evil Chloe isn't afraid of losing face by abandoning her own biological mother, why should we care?" My father hesitated no longer. He immediately contacted the TV station, first promising a three-million-dollar sponsorship. Half an hour later, the station sent a crew over to interview and film. I couldn't help but want to laugh. My family. Really hilarious. I was already dead. Were you going to put on a show for the whole city, or even the whole country? 9 "Chloe, come back. Mom doesn't need you to donate bone marrow. Mom is just afraid she doesn't have much time left and wants to see you one last time." "Sister, please come back. It's all my fault. You can hit me or scold me, I promise I won't complain. Just come back. Dad, Mom, and Brother miss you so much." "Chloe, come back. I didn't treat you well before and made you unhappy. I'll treat you better from now on." "Chloe, come back. Mom and Dad miss you." "Chloe, as long as you come back, Harper and I will cancel the wedding." The family that cursed me out in the hospital completely changed their tune in front of the camera. A family that looked forward to my return like this... that was what I had always desperately hoped for. Except, this was all fake. It was just to get me to come back and donate bone marrow to my mother. Even though it was fake, I embarrassingly watched it all. If only this was all real. From the moment I could remember, my life had been dark. How I longed for light to shine in. I thought Liam was the light, but just as he was about to pull me out, he shoved me away, letting me fall into an even deeper abyss. Later, I thought the Sterling family was my salvation. Turns out, the Sterling family was just another abyss. My existence seemed to have never been wanted.

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