Chapter 4

When I woke up, I was already in a hospital.

I slowly moved my eyes to check the time.

Only six hours remained until my death.

Beside me was my friend,Mark Miller, his eyes red-rimmed.

Years ago, Mark had strongly opposed me getting together with Clara, saying she wasn't worth marrying.

But I hadn't listened. We had a huge fight, so much so that he didn't even come to my wedding.

I knew I shouldn't bother him now,

But besides him, in this world, I truly couldn't find anyone else.

"What the hell happened to you? Weren't you so smug after marrying Clara?"

"Weren't you three living happily ever after? How did it come to this? Why did the doctor say your organs are failing?"

Mark's voice was choked with tears. I wore a breathing mask, smiling at him.

When we were kids, we made a pact: if one of us reached the end of their life,

The other would, no matter what, take care of things afterward.

I couldn't speak anymore, so I forced myself to raise my hand and point to my bag.

Mark pulled out several agreements from the bag.

He looked at the papers for a moment, then nodded slightly and put them into his own bag.

Thankfully, our privity hadn't changed over the years. We didn't need words to understand each other's thoughts.

Only three hours remained until my death.

I gave up on resuscitation.

After another bout of unconsciousness, I woke up.

Mark showed me his phone. It was a message from Alex:

[Liam Davis, I won! I got everything of yours.]

[You thought you could compete with me? Blame your own incompetence. Who asked your parents to love me so much?]

[Just quietly leave the Davis family! I'll take good care of your parents, and your wife and daughter.]

After Mark read it, he cursed loudly in the hospital room.

I sighed, a self-deprecating laugh in my heart.

In my entire life, I had never regretted anything, except for asking my father to sponsor Alex.

I saw Alex in a dilapidated orphanage.

I was volunteering with my teacher there,

That day, it was snowing heavily, and all the other children were huddled inside for warmth.

Only Alex was in the backyard, scrounging for scraps in a dumpster, picking at discarded bones.

I couldn't bear to watch, so I begged my father to sponsor Alex.

After that, Alex and I became inseparable friends.

The next year, Alex joined my class.

As soon as he arrived, he charmed both teachers and students with his supposed brilliance.

Whenever someone praised him, I felt incredibly proud;

Until later, things started to go wrong.

My friends inexplicably began to drift away, suddenly treating Alex as their best buddy;

Girls who used to like me grew cold, showering Alex with declarations of affection instead;

Even my parents constantly pushed me to bring Alex home for dinner, to stay over.

They even split my own room, turning half of it into Alex's.

I blame my own naiveté and dullness back then.

I never realized that Alex's greatest talent was to, amidst others' praise,

Steal everything that belonged to me.

By the time I came to my senses,

My room was gone.

My family was gone.

Everything I had was occupied by Alex.

I actually once asked Alex why, but his answer sent chills down my spine:

"Liam, did you actually think I'd be grateful for your help? Grateful? How could I be?"

"I hated seeing you so smug, so proud in front of me. I swore I'd take everything from you."

"All I wanted was to see the look of pure despair on your face when I stripped you of it all!"

...

I once thought I could drive Alex away.

I also thought I could make my parents and Clara see his true face.

But I was too naive.

I underestimated Alex's tactics, and even more, I overlooked the affection my parents, Clara, and Lily had for him.

I had utterly lost.

Only nine minutes remained until my death.

My consciousness began to fade, my vision blurred.

But I still saw a message from Mom on Mark's phone:

[Liam, could you get someone to paint the walls in your old room blue these next few days? Your brother likes blue!]

[Also, Alex will be discharged in about two weeks. Once he's out, you'll need to move some of your things out; he'll need space for his stuff!]

Even at the last moment of my life, Mom was still concerned about Alex.

It seemed I truly wasn't important in her heart.

Then, so be it...

Mark seemed to be crying and screaming something in my ear, but I couldn't hear it anymore.

After so many years of fighting, I was truly exhausted.

Finally, I could get some good sleep...

On November 24th, Liam passed away at a hospital in Coast City, aged only 29.