To the Man Destined to Kill Me - Chapter 63

That morning, the White Mansion was in chaos. Scarlett’s siblings had heard Scott’s revelation without having slept a wink.

The siblings’ reactions were varied. Aaron, with a dark expression, left the room saying he needed to sober up. Amanda, pale as a ghost, watched her husband John closely.

The most intense reaction came from Susan. She was so agitated she could hardly speak, rushing at John every chance she got.

“Are you out of your mind? Are you even human?”

Susan charged at John, so quickly that her siblings couldn’t stop her, grabbing him by the collar.

“Stop hitting him! Don’t treat him like that!”

Amanda shouted as she pulled Susan away. She felt a great deal of pain seeing John in such a pitiful state. The atmosphere was tense, teetering on the edge of collapse.

Aaron stepped in. Surprisingly, he remained the calmest.

“Mandy, Mandy. Calm down. Scott, take Susan and go outside for a moment. She should have a drink of cold water, or maybe sleep would do her more good.”

Following Aaron’s command, Scott dragged the furious Susan out of the room. Aaron himself wasn’t in a good state either. He barely contained his sense of betrayal and his emotions, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

“John, you should go wash your face. You should also apply some medicine and change those bloodstained clothes.”

Aaron’s neck was red with anger, and his fists were clenched tight.

Amanda, who had stayed close to John, tried to lead him away, but he didn’t move an inch.

John, deeply depressed, kept his eyes tightly closed, hiding everything inside. His efforts to stay calm were painfully evident, and Aaron’s face showed utter disgust.

“Scarlett… we might need to send someone to her. She could have a breakdown.”

“Enough of Scarlett’s name! Go wash up instead.”

Aaron ground out each word, then, unable to hold back his anger any longer, stormed out of the room. The door slammed shut behind him. Amanda, who had stayed by John’s side, embraced him tightly.

John washed his face and tried to pull himself together. It was all his fault, but the pain was a separate matter. The fact that everything was being exposed all at once was incredibly hard to bear. Amanda sniffled.

“What is happening? John, are you okay?”

It wasn’t that Amanda wasn’t shocked by what John had done, but she understood him. She loved her husband and wanted to be his strength.

“How is Abigail?”

“She’ll be fine. John, I understand you. And I’ll always be on your side. Your siblings will understand, once they calm down.”

“If I wanted them to understand, I wouldn’t have kept this hidden.”

“John…”

Amanda hugged John tightly, who looked as if he’d aged ten years overnight. John squeezed his eyes shut, holding back tears.

He believed his choices had been the best. The love and guilt he felt for his sibling were buried under the word ‘greater good.’

But that foundation was now crumbling. The balance he had barely maintained was on the verge of collapse.

“I’ll go wash up.”

John wanted to be alone. More than anything, he wanted to escape.

From his choices, from his parents’ shadow, and most of all, from this reality.

“An affair would’ve been better. How… how could they do this to their child?”

Susan, soaked in despair, wiped her cheek. Even she, who was usually dry-eyed, couldn’t help but shed tears when she thought of her poor younger sibling.

“This is worse than an affair. John, both our parents… it’s too cruel.”

“It was our parents’ will. There must have been a reason behind it. It’s hard to understand, but… we should try to consider everyone’s position.”

“Don’t give me that ‘sanctimonious’ talk. Just stop.”

Scott shot a snide remark at Aaron, who looked thoroughly frustrated.

“Do you think I’m happy about this situation? But sitting here just complaining won’t change anything. We need to focus on comforting Scarlett, who’s the one suffering.”

“Hah. Do you really think what that bastard John White did was right?”

Before Aaron could respond, Susan cut in. She was so exhausted, she brushed her hair out of her face.

“The parents are even harder to understand than John.”

Among the siblings, only John and Susan had children. Susan, being a mother, found it even harder to forgive their parents and John. This situation was terrifying beyond words.

“Will? Great intentions? What’s the point when my own child will cry tears? What use is any of this? It hurts more to see Isaac’s hand pierced by a thorn than to see someone else’s leg broken. How could our parents be so cold? How could John…?”

Susan shuddered and stood up, shouting.

“What was he thinking? I need to ask him. Is he even human? How shameless!”

Aaron blocked her path, grabbed her by the shoulders, and took a deep breath.

“Susan. Everyone’s upset, so please calm down—”

“Calm down? Does this situation not bother you at all? Let me go!”

“You should go see Scarlett first.”

“What can we do for her? You think we didn’t know? Do you really think we understand how hard this is for you? We… I… Scarlett… Oh my god, Scott, why did you tell her?”

Susan, on the verge of tears, wiped her eyes. Scott, as if protecting her, pulled her away from Aaron and hid her behind him.

“First, we need to calm the situation at home. I’ll go meet Scarlett later this afternoon. Since I was the one who told her everything.”

“I think it was a mistake to tell her. She’s sick, and you just gave her a shock. I’m really worried.”

“You’re hiding the truth from Scarlett just because she’s sick? That’s just toying with her. Don’t deny who she is. She’s not a doll. If everything around her is a lie, she has every right to tear that world down.”

“There was no need to get that worked up. We’ve already accepted the reality, so you should—”

“Accept it? We don’t have time! Scarlett’s going to die—”

Scott couldn’t finish his sentence. Aaron, unable to hold back any longer, swung his fist. Susan, exhausted by the scene, turned away with a sigh.

Scott and Aaron exchanged punches, hitting each other’s faces and bodies. They rolled on the floor, not hiding their anger toward each other.

“I told you, I don’t want to hear about Scarlett dying again.”

“Now you’re going to admit it? We’ve got the best doctors and the best medical mages, but Scarlett’s reached her limit.”

“Shut the hell up!”

“If you were so worried about her, you should have stayed by her side! You always just talk!”

Scott, mounting Aaron, grabbed him by the neck and swung his fists. Aaron reached out, pressing his fingers into Scott’s eyes to subdue him. Aaron easily freed himself from Scott’s grasp and jumped to his feet, kicking him.

Susan, unable to stand by any longer, stepped in. She pushed Aaron aside and helped Scott up, then spread her arms between the two brothers to create distance.

“You two can’t be fighting now. Get a grip.”

Having regained her composure, Susan left them to their fight and went to find John. Amanda, pacing in the room, instinctively clutched her chest when she saw Susan. As soon as Susan saw John, she spoke coldly.

“Leave this house, John White.”

“Susan!”

“Mandy, stay out of this. John, I care about Scarlett more than you. Leave this house. At least Scarlett should have a place she can still call ‘home.’”

“Fine. I’ll go.”

“There’s no such thing as a perfect secret. If you were going to take this on, why did you do it?”

“It was the best I could do. And I still believe it was the right choice.”

“You’re crazy. What did you think when you saw Scarlett? Didn’t you feel sorry for her?”

“…”

“What about the wounds she’s suffered? Didn’t you feel sorry for a life where she couldn’t do anything the way she wanted?”

“That’s why I couldn’t say any more. I knew the shock it would cause her.”

“You were supposed to be a parent to her.”

John’s eyes trembled. His face crumpled. He clenched his teeth desperately, as if trying not to fall apart.

“Your parents’ actions are shocking, but what you did was betrayal. The betrayal of the parents she trusted.”

‘I know I’m not really her child. Fine, I’m just her sibling.’

Scarlett’s screams echoed in his ears. John fought back tears, pushing them down. He had done his best. His best just hadn’t been enough for Scarlett.

Seeing his shoulders collapse, Amanda stepped in.

“Susan, please think about how hard it’s been for John alone.”

“At least John isn’t dying. There’s a vacant mansion near the parliament, so he can stay there. Pack up and leave now. I can’t live in the same house as you.”

“John is the eldest son of this house! Even if he leaves, he leaves on his own terms, no one can kick him out!”

At that moment, Scott, with a disheveled face, appeared.

“Mandy, are you going to leave the sick person outside alone?”

“Fine. I’ll go.”

The siblings all lived together in the White Mansion because of Scarlett. They had gathered there when they realized their dying sister, lonely and without friends, needed them.

Now that Scarlett was gone, there was no reason to stay. And if Scarlett could never come back to the house, that reason was even more gone.

Amanda and John began preparing to leave. Although Amanda was reluctant to leave the house, she had no choice but to follow John’s decision.

The vacant mansion near the parliament had all the furniture they needed. Their clothes could easily be fetched by someone.

Aaron, sitting in his room smoking a cigar, watched as John and Amanda left the White Mansion. He wasn’t immune to the sense of betrayal he felt from John.

It was none other than Susan who saw them off. Scott left first, claiming he was going to see Scarlett, leaving them to go on their way. Susan, without acknowledging John, spoke to Amanda.

“Amanda, even though things have turned out like this, you’re still part of our family. Don’t feel too bad about it.”

“I understand… but…”

Amanda looked up, her heart aching as she looked at her husband, beaten up by her siblings.

“I’ll go.”

John and Amanda got into the carriage. There was no formal goodbye between John and Susan. The only one who waved at Abigail through the window was her aunt.

Just as the carriage was about to leave, Julia, in shabby clothes, appeared in front of them.

“Julia Ashford?”

Susan glared at her with disdain. Julia shrank back at Susan’s fierce gaze.

“I’m looking for John White.”

Hearing Julia’s voice, John opened the carriage door. Julia’s face brightened immediately upon seeing him.

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