The Misunderstood Sister

When my brother's new girlfriend from abroad showed up, I was busy decorating the mansion I had just bought for my wedding.

I wanted to greet her warmly since it was our first meeting.

Instead, she swung her hand and slapped me hard across the face.

This old hag is still trying to seduce my man? You're nothing but a gold digger! she screamed.

She mistook me for my brother's mistress and ordered her bodyguards to beat me until I was hospitalized.

Even after learning who I was, she just glanced at me with disdain.

She rubbed her belly, which wasn't even showing yet, and smirked.

"I'm carrying the only male heir to the Caldwell family fortune. Between a grandson and a worthless burden of a daughter, who do you think they'll choose?"

She had no idea that my father had a vasectomy right after I was born.

As for my brother, he was just a child my parents had kindly adopted.

1.

I held my tablet, scrolling through the different interior design styles the decorator had sent me.

I was having a hard time choosing.

This mountain villa was my carefully selected wedding home, and I wanted it to be perfect.

While I was agonizing over the details, the doorbell rang.

I put the tablet down, assuming it was my fianc, Lucas.

He had been worried about me being overworked lately and checked in on me constantly.

He called it a "surprise inspection," but he really just wanted to bring me dinner and spend the night.

I smiled and opened the door, but I froze the very next second.

It wasn't my gentle, caring fianc standing there.

Instead, it was a woman with heavy makeup and trendy clothes.

She wore sky-high heels and designer brands from head to toe.

Behind her stood several burly bodyguards.

She looked like a spoiled brat straight out of a soap opera.

The woman scanned me from head to toe with a look of pure disgust and hostility.

A cold sneer played on her lips.

"So this is who he's hiding? Just an old hen. My Jasper really must be blind!"

My blood boiled instantly.

Who was this woman, and why was she insulting me in my own home?

"Watch your mouth! If you keep talking like that, I'm calling the police!"

"The police? Ha!" The woman laughed as if I'd told the funniest joke in the world.

"Do you even know whose house this is? You old hag, how dare you act high and dry after seducing someone else's boyfriend?"

I was completely baffled. "Who are you? And who exactly is your boyfriend?"

Suddenly, she slapped me across the face so hard my ears rang.

She pointed a finger at my nose and spat.

"Stop playing dumb! I'm Luna, Jasper Caldwell's official girlfriend. You really thought you could lure him away? Look at yourself!"

Jasper Caldwell?

My brother?

It clicked. This woman was Luna, the new girlfriend my brother had mentioned.

But Jasper told me she was sweet, gentle, and understanding.

How could he be dating this monster?

"You've got it all wrong. I'm Jasper's older sister," I explained, clutching my throbbing cheek.

"Sister? Is that the story you're going with now? You think I'm that stupid, old lady?" Luna sneered.

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my temper in check.

"I really am his sister. You can call him and ask."

"His sister? Please, that's the oldest lie in the book."

She shoved me hard, sending me stumbling back.

She looked me up and down with pure contempt.

"Old hags really do have the most tricks up their sleeves."

I was shaking with rage, but before I could speak, she raised her heel and kicked me violently in the stomach.

The sharp pain turned my world black.

I lost my balance and fell heavily onto the hard floor.

"You..." I gasped, the pain so intense I couldn't finish the sentence.

"What, going to play the victim now?"

She stepped closer, looking down at me with a triumphant smirk.

Just then, my phone rang. It was Jasper.

I reached for it, but she grabbed my wrist in a vice grip.

"Oh, you want to tattle on me?!"

The next second, she smashed my phone onto the floor.

The screen shattered into a spiderweb, mirroring the desperation in my heart.

2.

"Beat her! Hit her harder! Don't stop until she can't move!"

She screamed like a rabid animal.

"I'll take the blame. If you do a good job, I'll give you a bonus!"

The bodyguards looked at each other, appearing slightly hesitant.

"What? Are you ignoring my orders now?!"

She roared and kicked one of the guards in the shin. "You useless idiots!"

That was all it took.

The guards swarmed me, raining punches down on my body.

I didn't even have time to react before I was knocked flat.

Punches landed on my head, my stomach, and my joints.

Each blow felt like a hammer, bringing agonizing pain.

I curled into a ball, trying to protect my head.

"Please stop... I beg you..." I cried out, but they only hit me harder.

She stood to the side, her face twisted with a sick sense of pleasure.

She started filming the whole thing on her phone while laughing.

"That's it! Keep going! This is what happens when you touch my man!"

My consciousness began to fade, and the world became a blur.

I could only hear her shrill laughter and the heavy breathing of the men.

Just as I was about to black out, she finally shouted, "Stop."

The guards stepped back immediately, looking energized by the violence.

I lay limp on the floor, feeling like every bone in my body was broken.

Even breathing felt like a monumental task.

She knelt down and snapped a few photos of my face.

"How does it feel? That's the price for crossing me!"

I closed my eyes, unable to look at her disgusting face any longer.

"Still acting tough, I see."

She stood up and pulled a thick stack of cash from her bag.

She tossed it onto my bruised body with a look of disdain.

"Which one of you wants to 'play' with her today? Whoever does it gets twenty thousand dollars!"

The guards' breathing turned shallow.

Twenty thousand was a lot of money to them.

Their eyes turned red with greed as they stared at me like predators.

I widened my eyes in horror and tried to crawl away, but there was nowhere to go.

"Don't... don't do this! I'm Jasper's sister!"

"Sister?" She laughed until she shook.

"You really think I'll believe that? You and Jasper look nothing alike!"

I closed my eyes in despair. Was this how it was going to end?

"I'll give you double! Triple! Just let me go!" I screamed, my voice cracking.

She scoffed and grabbed the money from a guard's hand.

She stuffed the bills into my mouth and hissed.

"You think your money means anything? It all comes from my man anyway!"

I shook my head, trying to spit the money out, but she pinched my jaw shut.

"Hold her down!" she ordered.

Suddenly, a pair of rough hands tore at my clothes.

"No! Don't touch me!" I struggled wildly, but I was too weak.

One guard reached for me, and I fought to cover myself, but he only got more aggressive.

"This one's got some fight in her!" he chuckled, his hands roaming over me.

I felt completely hopeless.

Tears blurred my vision as I screamed for help.

My voice echoed through the empty villa, but no one answered.

Only Luna's laughter filled the air.

"Stop! You animals! I'm going to report you all, and I won't stop until you're in cages!"

I tried to use the law as a final shield, hoping to scare them.

My eyes burned with pure hatred.

Maybe it was the look in my eyes, but one guard started to look nervous.

"Miss Luna, maybe... maybe we should stop?"

The others hesitated and pulled their hands back.

Luna frowned impatiently and marched over to me.

She delivered two brutal kicks straight to my abdomen.

"Ah!" I curled up in agony.

It felt like my insides were being ripped apart.

Sharp, rhythmic waves of pain pulsed through my lower body.

"What's wrong? You feel sorry for this trash?"

Luna turned on the guards, screaming at them.

They looked at her crazed expression and shook their heads quickly.

"Don't stop! Keep going! I'll give you each forty thousand!"

At the mention of more money, greed won out again.

They started boasting about how they would teach me a lesson.

"Don't worry, Miss Luna. We'll show her who's boss!"

Jasper, you coward, where are you?

Am I really going to die here today?

Suddenly, a guard pointed at my skirt, his voice trembling.

"Look! She's... she's bleeding!"

I felt a warm, thick liquid flowing out of me.

My lower stomach cramped violently, as if something was being torn away.

Luna rushed over, but instead of being scared, she looked even more enraged.

She slapped me again.

"You bitch! You actually dared to get pregnant with my husband's child!"

I was dizzy, the world spinning around me.

Child?

I was pregnant?

I froze, my mind going blank.

I was actually going to have a baby!

But before I could even process the news, a wave of terror crashed over me.

I was losing my baby.

I clutched my stomach and screamed with every ounce of my soul.

"Save my baby! Please, save my baby!"

3.

"You bitch, how dare you be pregnant!"

Luna saw the blood, but there wasn't a hint of pity in her eyes.

If anything, she was even more furious.

She started kicking and punching my stomach again.

"No! My baby! Someone save my baby!" I wailed, my voice becoming a hoarse rasp.

My vision grew darker, and my consciousness began to slip.

"Throw her in the pool!"

Two bodyguards dragged me like a sack of trash toward the edge of the water.

The cold concrete scraped my skin, but I didn't even have the strength to fight back.

"Wait!"

Luna held up her phone and snapped a picture of me.

"Tsk tsk. Look at you. What a pathetic sight!"

In the photo, my hair was a mess, my face was swollen and blue, and my clothes were torn.

I looked like a broken doll.

She sent the photo to Jasper with a disgusting caption.

"Honey, I took care of her. You won't be mad, right? Love you, mwah!"

She showed me the screen with a triumphant grin.

"Ugly hag, my husband won't care what I do to you."

Just then, her phone rang.

It was a video call. I recognized Jasper's profile picture immediately.

A tiny spark of hope flickered in me. Maybe he would recognize me.

Luna answered and pointed the camera at me.

She put on a fake, pouty face and spoke in a high-pitched, whiny voice.

"Honey, look at this woman. She was bullying me! She even tried to hurt our baby!"

Jasper seemed confused for a few seconds on the other end.

Then he finally spoke. "Who is that? Why is her face so swollen? She looks old and hideous!"

His words felt like a knife to my heart.

My own brother couldn't even recognize me!

"Oh, honey, she's just that old hag you've been keeping in this villa!"

Luna emphasized the words "old hag" with venom.

"What villa?" Jasper asked casually.

He didn't look at me for more than two seconds before turning his attention away.

Luna panned the camera around the room.

"Honey, look how big this house is! I want to live here from now on!"

Jasper finally realized where she was. His face turned ghostly pale.

"Honey, why would you give her such a big house? I've never lived in a place this nice! I thought I was the most important person to you!"

Luna kept complaining, her voice dripping with fake hurt.

"Throw her in!" Luna commanded the guards impatiently.

I didn't even have the chance to cry out before I was tossed into the water.

The freezing water swallowed me whole.

I struggled to reach the surface, but I only swallowed mouthfuls of chlorinated water.

My mind began to drift in the cold depths.

I thought I saw my parents looking at me with worried eyes, before everything went black.

4.

When I finally woke up, I was in a hospital bed.

I was covered in bandages, and every inch of my body screamed in pain.

I tried to sit up, but I was so weak I couldn't even lift a finger.

"Oh, so you're still alive?" Luna's sharp voice pierced the air.

I forced my head to turn and saw her sitting in a chair by my bed.

Her legs were crossed, and she was scrolling through her phone with her bright red nails.

She didn't look guilty at all.

"You..." I tried to speak, but my throat was so dry I couldn't make a sound.

"What about me?" Luna looked at me sideways.

"Want to settle the score? Look, I didn't know you were actually Jasper's sister."

The door burst open, and Jasper rushed in, looking frantic.

When he saw I was awake, a look of relief washed over his face.

"Elena! You're finally awake!"

"Jasper... call... the police..." I managed to whisper from my parched throat.

Luna burst into a loud, exaggerated laugh.

"The police? It was an accident! Besides, we're family now. Calling the police would be so embarrassing."

"She's right, Elena. Don't be mad. It's not a big enough deal to involve the cops."

Jasper added with a forced, pleading smile.

"Luna and I are getting married soon. Just give her a chance and let it go, okay?"

Married? He was actually going to marry this monster?

I stared at him in disbelief.

This was the brother I had raised, the one who used to be so kind.

Now, he was saying these things just to protect a woman like her!

"Not a big deal?! Look at what she did to me!"

The pain made it almost impossible to speak. "How can I even have my own wedding now..."

"Wedding?" Luna squealed as if she'd heard something ridiculous.

"You? Getting married? Have you seen yourself in a mirror lately? Who would want an old wreck like you?!"

Jasper frowned and told Luna to be quiet so I could rest.

"I'm just telling the truth!" Luna grumbled.

"If your parents weren't rich, nobody would want a burden like her. They even bought her this mansion. I've never even lived in a place that nice!"

Jasper patted my hand condescendingly.

"Elena, don't take it to heart. She's just blunt. Don't be sensitive."

"Jasper, how could you do this to me?!" I roared, my voice sounding like broken glass.

"Did you forget everything our parents taught you? Did you forget how I took care of you?!"

Jasper flinched, his eyes darting around, unable to look me in the eye.

"I... I just want everyone to get along," he stammered. "You don't want to worry Mom and Dad, do you?"

"Worry? Did you even tell them what happened?!"

Jasper looked down at his feet. "I... I didn't want them to worry, so I didn't say anything..."

"You..." I was shaking with fury.