The Echoes of a Shattered Box Chapter 2

He saw my open suitcase, a look of surprise flashing across his face:

"Nora, where are you going?"

"Boarding at school."

I kept folding my clothes without looking up, my tone flat.

My brother frowned, confused.

"Just because of Chloe?"

I shoved my last T-shirt into the suitcase.

"Freshman year is important for building a foundation. I want to focus on my studies."

I paused, then added:

"You can give this room to Chloe from now on."

In my past life, Chloe used all sorts of lame excuses to try and steal my room.

First, she said she was afraid of the dark and the guest room was too isolated.

Then, she said she wanted to be closer to Mom and Dad to bond with them.

Later, she straight-up cried, saying my room had good natural light and she needed the sunlight to regulate her mood.

And every time I refused, my parents would call me "petty," "immature," and "selfish."

Since the outcome is already predetermined, why waste the effort?

Where I live makes no difference to me.

My brother was silent for a few seconds.

"Nora, do you dislike Chloe?"

I stopped what I was doing and looked up at him.

"I don't like or dislike her."

"I just think this will be easier."

My brother stared at me for a good while, finally patting my head.

"Nora, I know having someone new in the house suddenly might take some time to get used to. But you have to believe that even with a new sister here, Mom, Dad, and my love for you will never change."

Never change?

I zoned out for a second.

When I ranked first in my grade, my dad just said, "Not bad, keep it up."

When Chloe went from fifth from the bottom to tenth from the bottom, the whole family celebrated like it was a holiday, praising her "rapid progress."

When I was injured and hospitalized, my parents sent the nanny to take care of me, saying they were too busy with work to get away.

When Chloe got a fever from a cold, my parents took turns taking time off to sit by her bed. My mom even said with red eyes, "Chloe has suffered so much since she was little. We need to double our efforts to treat her well from now on."

I pulled myself back from my thoughts, a faint smile curling the corner of my mouth.

"Mhm, I know."

After Liam left, I pulled an exquisite wooden box from deep inside my closet.

It was a music box, hand-made for me by my grandfather before he passed away.

Sadly, in my past life, Chloe smashed it to pieces.

It was the first time I got so angry I hit her.

She ran crying to Mom and Dad to complain about how wronged she felt.

"I... I just had never seen such a pretty music box and wanted to pick it up to play with it. But sister yelled at me and wouldn't let me touch it. I got scared and accidentally dropped it."

"Mom, I really didn't mean to, wuuu wuuu wuuu."

My mom didn't even ask me a single question before tearing into me.

"Nora, how could you treat your sister like that! It's just a music box, couldn't you just let her have her way a little?"

Right.

Just a music box.

But they forgot, I treasured it like my own life, because it was the last memento my grandfather left me.

I closed the lid and gently placed it at the very bottom of my suitcase.

Taking away my last keepsake.