My Sister's Scraps, My Fortune

My parents and sister Maya died when their yacht exploded at sea. There were no survivors.

Staring at the empty house and mountains of debt, I was absolutely heartbroken and ready to jump off the roof when a flood of cruel comments suddenly appeared before my eyes:

【Your parents actually won $300 million in the lottery and took Maya overseas to live the high life.】

【Maya has no clue her poor, blind ex-boyfriend—the one she dumped—is actually Liam King, heir to the wealthy King family. He was just faking being poor with her.】

【When Maya blows through all the money and comes back, Liam King will be furious and lock her up to punish her.】

【Chloe, jump already! We’re waiting for Maya to get back.】

I suddenly changed my mind about dying.

That night, soaked to the bone and drunk, I stumbled into Liam King’s apartment.

After a wild night with Liam, I woke up with every muscle in my body sore.

Liam opened his eyes right at that moment.

He was blind.

He’d lost his sight in a car crash six months earlier.

My sister Maya had dumped him countless times, disgusted by his poverty and disability.

But for a split second, I had this weird feeling he was staring straight at me.

But just as quickly, his eyes went back to their usual empty, unfocused stare.

He spoke in a rough, hoarse voice:

“Maya, is that you?”

The malicious comments surged again:

【What the hell? Chloe didn’t kill herself? How is she sleeping with Liam?】

【Unbelievable! Is she trying to impersonate Maya? Liam’s vision was restored ages ago. If she dares lie to him, she’ll regret it big time!】

So he could see this whole time.

I bit my lip, trying to calm my racing heart, forcing helplessness into my voice:

“No, I’m her sister, Chloe. My sister… she’s gone.”

“Yesterday, I meant to bring you some of her things, but I got drunk and don’t remember anything after that.”

Glancing at our torn clothes balled up on the floor, I looked away awkwardly.

“Did you mistake me for Maya last night? I’m so sorry—I shouldn’t have drunk so much, but I was just so heartbroken.”

“I’m all alone now, after all.”

I let out soft, trembling sobs.

The comments swirled:

【What an idiot! She’s still making excuses for Liam. Liam wasn’t really blind. Yesterday, when she threw herself at him soaking wet, I saw Liam react right away.】

【Any guy would react to a hot, wet girl throwing herself at him. This chick’s a total schemer, isn’t she?】

A slight tremor ran through my body.

The thin blanket slipped off my shoulder, exposing red marks on my pale skin.

Liam’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

After a long pause, he finally spoke:

“I’m sorry. I thought you were someone else.”

With teary eyes, I fumbled to wrap the torn clothes around myself.

“In that case, let’s just forget this happened. I’ll leave now. Please don’t be upset.”

I stood up, my legs wobbly, nearly collapsing.

Liam reached out to steady me.

The second his fingertips brushed my wrist, I flinched.

The comments started again, spewing insults:

【Liam won’t be upset. He already knows Maya faked her death.】

【Even those debt collectors? He hired them. Pushing Chloe to suicide was his first warning to Maya.】

【Maya has no clue her spot’s been taken.】

【This is so frustrating! Chloe, just die already!】

I ducked my head and rushed out the door.

When I got home, the debt collectors who’d been hanging around downstairs were gone.

My heart dropped. They really were sent by Liam.

I shut the door and collapsed onto the floor, completely drained.

Every inch of my body ached.

Of course, I hadn’t been drunk.

Originally, when I was desperate, I just wanted to get a little sympathy from Liam, hoping he’d go easy on me.

I never expected him to react so intensely, keeping me up all night.

I curled my lips into a bitter smile.

Liam had lost his eyesight in a car crash while saving Maya.

But after he went blind and became “disabled,” Maya wouldn’t even look at him. She never answered his messages.

She made him wait three hours in the freezing winter rain while she video-chatted with someone else upstairs.

She hated his cheap gifts, tossing them in the trash right in front of him.

I used to think he was wasting his time.

But now, it seemed like it was all just some rich kid’s game.