1. "Birthday Gift"

On my 23rd birthday, no one greeted me with a “happy birthday.” It hasn't been a prosperous occasion ever since I was born.

The servants in the house ignore me as usual. My stepsiblings won’t care to give me gifts. It’s not like I hoped they would.

However, my father brought something that will make my birthday memorable.

At the end of the winter when spring was about to bloom, my father came home with a grim reaper.

“Listen everyone. Starting from now on, this man will be your brother,” my father, Callix Blaine, introduced.

Beside him, a tall man stood. He has hair that is as dark as nightfall, red eyes as dark as blood, a majestic nose and sharp jaws which show his masculine appearance. His hairstyle with hair pomade further accentuated the shape of his forehead. And due to his black frock coat, that perfectly emphasized his broad shoulders and narrow waist, he looked truly sexy.

If I keep on talking about his appearance, I say there won’t be an end to my praises. Yet, there’s one thing that will stop me from adoring this man.

‘It is because I know his identity.’

“His name is Chaylen. Today, he will be Chaylen Blaine. The Second Son of Blaine Corporation,” father continued to introduce. He gently pushed the man’s back, as if encouraging him to say something.

The man looked up to see the people standing near the second-floor railing. Here, my stepsiblings and I stood in line.

The eldest son gritted his teeth. The eldest daughter clenched her fists. The second daughter raised her brows. But I only gave a nonchalant look to our dearest guest.

“Good day. My name is Chaylen.”

His abyss-like voice was terribly deep. Hearing it again for the second time, my hands unknowingly tightened around the railing. Even though I know that someday he will show up, somehow, it still gives me a suffocating feeling.

‘Get a hold of yourself. You cannot show fear,’ I calmed myself as I barely kept my stance.

“I am happy to finally meet my brother and sister,” he said with a shy smile on his beautiful lips.

I doubt my stepsiblings feel the same way. They won’t possibly be happy to see our new brother. Because in this family, “the more, the merrier” does not work. The more people mean more competitors against the succession of our father’s wealth.

But it wasn’t the case for me.

Because if my father brought this man as my birthday gift, I would gladly accept it.

It is either I’ll regret accepting him or I’ll thank heaven for bringing him here. Nevertheless, for someone like me, I should grab even the slightest opportunity I have to escape from this hell.

I took a deep breath. And then, my eyes met his.

The moment his red eyes peered at mine; I pulled the corner of my lips for a smile.

Then, I opened my mouth and spoke enthusiastically.

“Brother Chaylen!”

As I shouted that way, everyone in the mansion looked at me. I tucked my red hair behind my ears and struggled to lift my waist to walk down the stairway.

The eyes that followed my every movement were clearly filled with astonishment. Mainly because I am doing something very unusual right now.

Who would have thought that the timid and gloomy youngest daughter of the Blaine Family would cheerfully greet her new brother and even run down to see him up close?

No one imagined that. But I did. Countless times to be exact.

I strode towards Chaylen despite being pierced by cold gazes. It was funny to see people glance at me as if saying: ‘Are you allowed to do that?’ without actually saying it to my face.

In fact, even smiling at someone was a very trivial act for me.

When I stood in front of Chaylen, the eyes that looked over me were as sharp as an ice pick. A life on a single strand of rope.

Yet, I declined to stop here.

“Welcome, brother,” I greeted him with the sweetest beam I have.

Chaylen’s red eyes shook a little. And he stared at me without blinking, as if he would not miss a single thing.

“My name is Ophelia. I am so happy to see you too,” I said.

His widened eyes subsided. For a moment, he had this stern reaction in his face which gave me winter deep within my bones. However, after a few seconds, he smiled back the same way I did.

“Nice to meet you, my sister Ophelia,” he replied.

From the moment he murmured my name, I knew that the lying game would start.

Chaylen reached his hand out and held mine.

I flinched at his touch and was stunned at the next thing he did.

He kissed the back of my hand, and that sent spine-twisting terror to my body. When he lifted his head, I saw a glint of blood lust in his eyes.

It was so quick. But that look reminds me who he really is.

He isn’t my brother, nor a gentle and shy man.

Chaylen is someone that mustn’t become my enemy.

“You are as pretty as spring that is about to bloom, sister,” the Mafia boss praised with a voice as cold as winter.

********************* ********************************

“Is he happy to see us? That’s b*llshit,” Madeline, the second oldest daughter of the family, said as she crossed her arms.

“Aren’t you happy to see another member of the family?” Caroline, the oldest daughter, answered in an apathetic voice.

“As if. Why would I see other garbage in the house?”

Standing in the corner, I watched my stepsiblings as they showed their disapproval of this matter. We are inside our father’s office, waiting for him to officially talk to us about our new stepbrother.

Everyone is on edge because they are all scared of losing a part of their inheritance and shares of their father’s wealth.

As for me, I don’t give a damn about that.

I am the illegitimate and dejected youngest daughter of the family. Everyone has hated me from the day I stepped inside this mansion. Spoiler alert, it is a mutual feeling. I also despised everyone in this sh*tty place.

They look at me as if a rag has more worth than my existence. I looked at them as polluted air which I don’t want to co-exist with.

That’s why I have to survive if I want to keep living.

“Anyway, where is Simon? Is he out again?” Madeline asked.

“That man rarely comes back home. Do you think he will come back after father brought our new brother?” Caroline responded.

“Why not? It is our sister’s birthday after all,” Madeline said before she cast a look in my direction.

One by one, they stared at me. It was as if the invisible turned visible for the first time. Something that I really hate to happen.

“Were you that happy to see your birthday gift? Ophelia?” Madeline said in a murderous tone.

Clutching my hands together, I bowed my head and opened my mouth.

“I didn’t know that the head of the Blaine family would give me a gift like this.”

The way I worded it felt so distant, as if I was talking about another family. But I know they like it this way. It makes them dance on clouds whenever they hear me say words, as if I am an outsider.

“And it seems you like it so much. Didn’t you?” the man, who was keeping quiet for a long time, spoke.

Slowly, I lifted my head and looked at the oldest son of the family -- Justine Blaine.

The cold gray eyes gawked at me with authority.

My hands trembled and I didn’t bother to hide them.

My fear, my anxiousness, my weak presence, these are the masks I need to wear in order to stay alive.

“I just…” I uttered before I felt a strong force pulling my hair backward.

The pain itched on my scalp. I was forced to look up and see my abuser right in my face.

“And what? Are you happy to see him?” Justine asked while making a fake laugh as if he found me ridiculous.

“Ahhhh! B-Brother, please let go. It hurts!” I cried as my eyes misted with tears.

But Justine didn’t intend to let my hair go. He clutched them around his strong palm and pulled me closer to him. My hands went on his chest, and in an instant, his face was two inches away from me.

Justine squinted at his fiercely torn eyes.

“And you even dare to smile?” he asked in a throaty voice filled with anger and resentment. “Did you lose your discernment due to that bastard’s handsome face? Is that why you did something you never do?”

“B-Brother….” I begged in a quivering voice.

“I told you to stop calling me like that! Stupid moron!” He shouted before he threw me somewhere.

I hardly fell on the ground and felt the throbbing pain in my waist. My back hit the couch and my elbow got hurt as it slammed down on the hard floor.

I felt like throwing blood as I caught my breath while sitting pathetically on the floor. When I lifted my head, nonchalant gazes welcomed me.

Whether I get hurt or humiliated, no one will dare to reach out their hands and help me. Because seeing me groveling and kneeling down like a dog is part of their entertainment.

‘I am an expert at giving what they want to see.’

“I am sorry!” I apologized while kneeling down. “I will never do it again. I am sorry!”

Pathetic, worthless, timid, gloomy, and hopeless. That is how everyone sees me. But little did they know, it was only a part of my game.

Every day, my life is at stake. If I show them a single chance that I can compete with them against the inheritance, one of my stepsiblings will definitely try to kill me. Therefore, ever since I was young, I have pretended to be an idiot sister.

“It makes me feel good to see you back to where you are. I almost puked out when I saw you smiling happily before,” Madeline laughed evilly while watching me on the floor.

I clenched my hands and bit the flesh inside my mouth.

Even though I mastered the way to become a pushover, it would be a lie to say that I wanted to stay in this position forever.

Horses get tired too.

Dogs get thirsty.

I’ve been planning countless times on how to escape. And now that a chance has come, I swear not to miss it.

With my calculative eyes, I glanced at everyone inside this office.

‘Do you all think that our new stepbrother came here just to get an inheritance?’

Pathetic dumb people. They don’t know the real reason why Chaylen pretended to be our brother and came inside this family.

‘Chaylen’s real intention is to kill everyone.’

He might have looked like an innocent and gentle man. But the look in his eyes mirrored mine. It was filled with despair and murderous intent. I could tell how much hatred he has against this sh*tty family.

But unlike me, Chaylen has the power to bring everyone down.

Yet I won’t join the majority.

I won’t die with them!

So, laugh as much as you can.

Stomp me as much as you want.

And let’s see who will laugh at the end.

“Where’s Justine?”

At the voice, everyone looked at the opening door beside me. Even if my knees were wobbling, I stood as quickly as I could and bowed my head to our father, Callix.

Callix entered his office with small steps, and I felt his judgmental stare as he walked past.

The end of my hair shook from the wind coming from him. When I lifted my head, I saw our father sitting in front of his desk.

“He might come. As soon as he heard that he had to call someone his ‘older brother’, I am sure he would,” Madeline explained. “Anyway, what was that dad? A brother all of a sudden? Who's the mother this time?”

“Watch your mouth, Madeline,” Caroline threatened.

“Why? I think you feel the same, sister. Aren’t you concerned that someone would take your place as the successor?”

“Shut it up.” When Justine spoke, Madeline stopped talking as she rolled her eyes.

Sighing, our father looked at us in a not-so fatherly way.

“I know that everyone was shocked to see him,” he said. “But I already told you that Chaylen is a part of our family. Don’t make me say things that will ruin my dignity as the chairman of Blaine corporation.”

How obvious. Who cares about manners and one’s family name? Everyone knows how dirty father's work was.

“As long as you don’t give him a share in the corporation, I don’t think anyone in this place will protest to father,” Caroline said.

My stepsiblings are crazy about shares. As of now, Justine has the highest shares in the corporation. He has 17%. Caroline has 12%. Madeline has 6%. Simon has 3%. And I have… well, a small piece of land from a faraway province.

In short, my father does not want to give me a chance to inherit his business. He isn’t fond of me, nor do I.

But while looking at father right now, I could tell that he would give Chaylen a large number of shares.

I don’t know how Chaylen fooled my father into thinking that he was his son. But the look in father’s eyes when he introduced him was priceless. It was as if he had found the gold that he had been searching for years.

How much will he give him?

“Chaylen has no shares,” dad said.

For a moment, everyone sighed in relief.

“But I will give $10 billion as his inheritance.”

10 billion dollars?!