“What nonsense are you spouting, Shawn? People who know you might recognize you as Shawn Wood, but those who don’t might just think you’re an outdated, overly dramatic lunatic”
I tilted my head, feigning thought before continuing with a mocking grin.
“I only kneel for the dead. Tell you what, go take a dive off a building, and I’ll happily bow three times to send you on your way.”
Shawn’s face darkened instantly.
Behind him, Linda put on her usual act, speaking in a soft, tearful voice.
“Shawn, I know Sierra doesn’t like me, and it’s fine if she bullies me. But how could she say something like that to her own brother?”
She widened her eyes, letting tears glisten as she deliberately assumed an innocent and childlike expression.
Alec, standing nearby, caught sight of her performance.
A shadow of something dark and unreadable flickered in his gaze before he spoke quietly.
“Sierra, if you’ve done something wrong, just admit it and apologize. There’s no need to—”
I cut him off, my own eyes widening in mock distress.
“Sorry, I don’t understand whatever nonsense you’re saying. Care to try again in plain English?”
“Enough!” Shawn barked sharply.
“Sierra, you’re a young woman! Have you no sense of shame? Who taught you to speak so crudely and behave so disgracefully?”
As always, he didn’t believe a word I said.
No matter what came out of my mouth, it was useless.
Instead, he always judged me with intense bias, nailing me to the pillar of shame time and time again.
I curled my lips into a smirk, mimicking his cold expression as I replied, “Mom and Dad are too busy to bother with me. So, guess who taught me?
“Of course, it was you, my dear brother.”
…
In my previous life, I had always felt a mix of fear and admiration for Shawn.
He was several years older than me, and in my eyes, he had always been an imposing figure.
When we were younger, Mom and Dad were often tied up with work at the company, leaving him in charge of me.
Whenever I made a mistake, even a small one, he’d strike my palms with a ruler or punish me by withholding meals.
