Chapter 1

When I was ten, Matteus secretly played with fire in the storage room and caused a massive blaze.

Trying to save him, a burning beam fell on me, leaving 80% of my body with severe burns.

I went from being a sweet, adored little girl into a monster.

For ten years, Matteus was the kindest person to me.

He often held me as I trembled from the agonizing skin grafts, his eyes red as he whispered:

“Lena, I’ll take care of you forever. Anyone who dares to humiliate you, I’ll kill them.”

Mom and Dad also spent every last penny for me. In this house, I seemed like the most cherished treasure.

Until that day, when Matteus brought home a beautiful fiancée.

I heard it with my own ears, Matteus, the one who swore to protect me forever, his voice ice-cold:

“Don’t worry, once we’re married, I’ll send that monster to a care facility out in the countryside.”

“Just looking at her face makes me so disgusted I lose my appetite.”

I knew then, it was time for me to leave.

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The lights were off in the room, and the curtains were tightly drawn.

I was used to the dark.

Because only in the dark,

the person in the mirror, like a melted wax figure, wouldn't look so grotesque.

“Lena, drink your medicine.”

Mom came in with a bowl, her eyes somewhat evasive.

The medicine was bitter, but I didn’t even flinch, tilting my head back and swallowing it down.

After multiple skin grafts from the burns,

my facial nerves were damaged, so I could barely make any expressions anymore.

“Mom, is Matteus coming home today?”

My voice was hoarse; my vocal cords were also injured in that fire.

Mom’s hand, as she took the bowl, paused, then she forced a smile:

“Yes, of course, he’s coming home. It’s your birthday, after all.”

I nodded, though it was an almost imperceptible movement.

That fire ten years ago.

Matteus was completely unharmed.

But I was turned into half-human, half-ghost.

Since then, my birthday had become our family’s grim anniversary.

Every celebration felt like a constant reminder to everyone.

Of what I had sacrificed for this family, and what I had become.

The sound of keys turning in the lock came from outside the door.

Even through the door, I could hear the lightness in Matteus’s footsteps.

This was rare.

Ever since my accident, Matteus had always been heavy in this house, carrying a guilt-ridden silence.

“Mom! I’m home!”

Matteus’s voice was high-pitched, filled with barely concealed joy.

Immediately after, a soft female voice chimed in:

“Hello, Aunt Eleanor, I’m Chloe.”

I sat in the darkness, my fingers instinctively clenching the bedsheet.

Due to skin contractures, my hand was twisted like a bird's claw.

We had a guest.

And it was a girl Matteus had brought home.

I heard Mom’s flustered voice:

“Oh, oh, hello… Well, you didn’t tell us you were bringing anyone…”

“Just wanted to give you a surprise,” Matteus said with a laugh.

“Chloe is a colleague from the hospital, and she’s my girlfriend.”

The living room filled with cheerful chatter.

The sound of fruit being sliced, the TV, and that girl’s laughter, clear as a bell.

Her laugh was so lovely.

Unlike mine, which only pulled at the scars on my face, making me look worse than if I cried.

I hunched in the corner of my room, trying to make myself as invisible as possible.

This wasn’t the time for me to appear.

As long as I didn’t show myself,

Matteus would still be that excellent doctor.

A perfect man, without a blemish.

Not a "pity case" with a monster for a sister.

But biological needs are uncontrollable.

I’d been holding it in my room for three hours.

Listening to the noise outside die down slightly, I thought they’d gone to the kitchen.

I put on my heavy baseball cap, pulled up my specialized face mask, and donned long sleeves and pants.

Only after making sure not an inch of my skin was exposed did I carefully push open my door.

In the living room, Chloe was sitting on the sofa, peeling an apple.

Hearing the door open, she turned her head.

Our eyes met.

She froze.

Even though I was completely covered,

my twisted posture, and the dark red scars peeking out from the edge of my mask,

still exuded an unsettling aura.

“Ah—!”

A scream tore through the cozy atmosphere of the house.

The fruit knife clattered to the floor.

Chloe recoiled in terror, pointing at me:

“W-what is that thing?!”

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