“Lemira, are you going to admit your mistake or not?”
Lemira Langston’s mouth and nose were submerged, a burning sensation in her throat as she choked on water.
Gasping for air as if clawing back from the brink of death, she opened her eyes to see her second elder brother, Lucian Langston, on the poolside, and the fourth elder brother, Caspian Langston, holding Evelina Sterling in his arms. A flash of astonishment crossed her eyes. This scene felt eerily familiar.
Hadn’t she died? Could it be she had been reborn three years earlier, on the day Evelina was officially adopted by the Langstons?
At the party, Evelina had set her up, making everyone believe Lemira had intentionally pushed Evelina into the water.
Caspian was the first to reach them, but he only saved Evelina, leaving Lemira, who also couldn’t swim, struggling in the water.
Lucian even demanded whether she admitted her mistake or not, implying he wouldn’t save her if she didn’t.
Desperately struggling in the water, Lemira admitted her mistake, begging her brothers to save her. Only when she was at death’s door did they pull her out.
Since then, she dared not provoke Evelina, tiptoeing around, trying to please her brothers. But what did she get in return?
Evelina stole her thesis, and Lucian testified for Evelina, making her the plagiarist who got expelled.
When Evelina needed a kidney transplant due to her frail health, her third elder brother, Rowan Langston, personally took her to the surgery room.
Evelina needed to boost her resume with international competition results, and Caspian, her fifth elder brother Evander Langston, and the sixth elder brother Alaric Langston didn’t hesitate to kick Lemira out of the team.
When Lemira found evidence of Evelina’s plagiarism and forged medical records, she brought them to her eldest brother Asher Langston, hoping to expose Evelina’s true face.
But she only faced anger, no one believed her words, they didn’t even look at the evidence closely. Asher kicked her out of the house to reflect on her actions.
She ended up homeless, penniless, enduring hardship on the streets.
As the memories flooded back, Lemira stopped struggling, letting herself sink to the bottom of the pool.
Her eyes wide open, expressionless, as if she were dead. She watched her brothers surround Evelina on the shore, heartache piercing through her even on a second glance. How laughable. She, the blood sister, was less valued than an outsider.
Lucian, who had been focused on Evelina, turned towards the pool only when the sound of Lemira’s struggle ceased-Lemira had sunk to the bottom.
At the sight of this, Lucian’s face turned pale, “Lemmy!” With a splash, Lucian dove in without a second thought.
A gleam flashed in Evelina’s eyes the moment she saw Lemira sinking, thinking it would be better if she died.
Feigning weakness, she clutched at Caspian’s sleeve, weakly saying, “Caspian, I should save Lemmy too, it’s because of me that she fell in.”
Caspian, already worried, quickly comforted Evelina upon hearing her words, “Don’t be silly, Lucian’s got it. Lemira brought this on herself; she won’t die!”
Caspian turned his gaze back to the pool, his eyes filled with complexity.
In the water, Lemira saw Lucian swimming towards her, his concern seemingly genuine despite having forced her to admit her wrongdoing and watching her struggle with indifference before.
This time, she didn’t care for him to save her. A mocking glint appeared in Lemira’s eyes as she turned and swam to the surface.
In her past life, after the drowning incident, Lucian had forced her to learn swimming with Evelina.
Haunted by the trauma, yet eager to please Lucian, she overcame her fear, only for Lucian to praise Evelina for her bravery in facing her fears, ignoring the severe aftereffects Lemira suffered from being deliberately left in the water. But no one cared about her condition; Lucian only had eyes for Evelina.
“Lemira, what are you playing at? Do you think pretending to drown will erase your mistake?” Lucian blocked her path, sensing something different about Lemira. When had she learned to swim?
Lemira looked up at Lucian, who she once adored the most. Because Asher was so strict, only Lucian showed her some warmth. But now, Lucian’s eyes only held disgust and impatience.
Evelina’s frail voice reached them, “Lucian, don’t blame Lemmy for this. I know she’s always disliked me being a Langston. It was greedy of me to wish for a family. Please don’t fight over me, you all mean a lot to me.”
Caspian raised his head and glared at Lemira, “Are you happy now? If it weren’t for her father dying to save you, she wouldn’t be an orphan. He should never have saved an ungrateful wretch like you! It would’ve been better to let you die!”