Seven Years a Shadow: The Stand-In's Escape novel Chapter 19

I looked at her with hope, thinking that perhaps this time, we would break through the estrangement.

Maybe, just maybe, she would embrace me like she always did Yuna.

But she wiped her tears and, still crying, said something even more heartless.

She said, "Child, life and death are fated. No matter how unwilling you are, you have to accept it."

She pressed her hand to her chest, her tone full of sorrow.

"If you get sick, you can't drag Yuna down with you. If I lose both my daughters, how will I live?"

It was then that I finally understood. My mother wasn't afraid of losing both daughters.

She was only afraid of losing Yuna.

I lost all interest and turned to Yuna, the person directly involved.

Since I had been brought back into the family, Yuna had been relatively kind to me.

Though she often said things that sounded nice but were empty, I understood it was probably because she had been raised in a sheltered environment.

At least, when Henry bullied me, she would scold him.

So I still held on to a sliver of hope.

But now, Yuna's attitude completely changed. She glared at me with furious eyes.

"South, you're doing this on purpose!"

She stood up, her anger spilling out as if she had been holding it in for a long time.

"I've wanted to say this for a long time. You've always thought that our parents sending you away to be raised was an injustice, so since you came back, you've been acting all gloomy, looking for trouble with everyone."

"You always act like you've suffered some great hardship out there, but don't think we don't know. You just want them to feel guilty, don't you?"

Her chest heaved with emotion as she tried to control her sobs.

After a brief pause, she continued,

"But there's a limit to everything. We've tolerated all your little actions, but now, when it's something this serious, you bring it up so casually, don't you just want to put our parents in a difficult position?"

"If they refuse to donate, you'll make them look heartless and cruel. If they agree, they risk losing both daughters."

"You're so vile, why can't you just let us be happy?"

Yuna rushed to hug my mother.

And my mother, upon hearing her words, finally began to sob uncontrollably.

"Yuna, stop talking, it's all your father's fault for wanting a son and daughter. If not..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but everyone knew what she meant.

She was about to say, "If not, we wouldn't have had South."