Cast Out, Then Called Back

Chapter 5

Word Count: 610 | Released on: 10/07/2025

as going, my vision clouded by the water on my face and in my eyes. The slap from my birthday still throbbed on m

th no destination in sight. Where could I go? What was

of concern. For a split second, a foolish, desperate part of me thought she was

running after her, thei

yelled, his voice laced wit

coat around her shivering body, hi

o earth. They weren't worried about me. They were worried abou

A wave of blackness washed over me, and my legs gave out

lled up to the curb, and a strong arm

re you a

or. His kind, worried face

I whispered, m

itcase, and the scene with my brothers a few feet

e firm. He effortlessly lifted my s

ing with our sister?" Ethan

ld and level. "She could have collapsed out here. I'm taking h

not to say anything, but the word

team?" Liam lo

two were supposed to be a part of. The one you gave up. An

their faces a mixture

ensen said gently, guid

ep forward, his hand ou

iver's seat and pulled away from the curb, leaving my brothers

chool, sitting with me on the porch swing, his arm around my shoulde

d softly from the driver's seat. "You

my eyes. "It's just... the

Chapter End

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Cast Out, Then Called Back

Duwu Qingyang Modern

“The day my world fell apart was my 21st birthday, meant for joy and family warmth. Instead, it brought the stinging heat of a slap across my cheek. My older brothers, Ethan and Liam, surprised our family by bringing home Lily, a seven-year-old orphan, daughter of a student who died alongside our revered parents in an accident that orphaned us as well. They saw her as a duty, showering her with the affection that had once been mine. On my birthday, the day I was supposed to feel special, Lily had a little "accident"-a glass of milk spilled on my laptop, destroying years of my medical research. Lily cried, claiming I had pushed her. Ethan' s cold voice, "Anna, what is wrong with you?" was followed by his hand cracking across my face. Liam, usually gentle, pointed a shaking finger at the door: "Get out. Don't ever come back." They believed Lily, condemning me without a second thought. I was cast out, a stranger in my own home, dismissed as dramatic. Their blind devotion to her twisted everything between us, turning love into an unbearable weight of betrayal. While they took Lily on the Northern Lights trip they had promised me, I signed away the next ten years of my life. Days later, they would receive a formal letter: Anna Miller had been accepted into a confidential, ten-year medical research program, in complete isolation. She could no longer come home.”