Chapter 6: When Has Jeremiah Ever Spoiled Me?
In reality, every gift I had ever given Elsa was carefully chosen and brand new, but she always claimed they were too expensive and refused to accept them. Later, I downplayed their value. I believed she would understand their worth, given the Brown family’s influence on her tastes. Yet, she always assumed I belittled her and saw her as inferior. Elsa prided herself on being virtuous and noble, so I knew I had to provoke her insecurities to deal with her. As expected, her expression soured, but she maintained composure.
Hurried footsteps sounded at the door, and I looked up to see Jack rushing in. Noticing Elsa’s downcast face, he immediately questioned, “Are you picking on Elsa again? You know she isn’t in good health, and you’re not a child; how could you be so immature?” Jack’s outburst came out of nowhere. I knew Elsa must have badmouthed me, fabricating incidents I never committed. When had I ever picked on her? Elsa must have been feeding him lies for some time. Otherwise, how could Jack, who had always doted on me as a child, change so drastically as an adult? Now, all he did was defend Elsa.
Elsa got up to calm him down, conveniently omitting everything that had just happened. I let out a sarcastic laugh and interrupted, pointing to the necklace Elsa clutched. I mocked, “Does giving her a necklace count as picking on her now? You sure have a unique definition of bullying.” Elsa reluctantly showed Jack the necklace. Then, she belatedly explained, “That’s right. Jane was giving me a gift. She wasn’t trying to pick on me.” Jack froze upon seeing the necklace. Everyone knew its significance to me; giving Elsa such an important necklace demonstrated my regard for her. Realizing he’d wronged me, he was momentarily stunned, awkward about his hasty judgment but too stubborn to apologize.
“If it’s a gift, just say so. What’s with the tone? Anyone would have misunderstood. Jane, soften up. You know that others aren’t going to like you if you’re too strong and possessive. Only if you were softer, Jeremiah wouldn’t have…” He stopped mid-sentence, a thought seemingly crossing his mind. He glanced at me, sighed, and changed the subject. “Forget it. This is how you’ve always been, and you can’t change it now. I guess Jeremiah is the only one who’s willing to spoil you.”
I couldn’t suppress the cold laugh that escaped me. When had Jeremiah ever spoiled me? Men certainly had a different interpretation of being spoiled, huh? Remembering Jack from my past life, my gaze grew colder. The brother I had always respected had left me to die in a fire for Elsa. From that moment on, I had lost all hope in him. The fire had consumed all familial bonds. Suppressing my anger, I ignored him and headed upstairs. “I’m tired. Sara, show them out,” I commanded.
“Jane, I’m your brother. What kind of attitude is this…” Jack’s dissatisfied voice trailed from downstairs, but I didn’t bother to listen. I had more pressing matters to attend to. Returning to my room, I packed my belongings. What seemed like a modest amount filled several boxes. I had the chauffeur load them into the car and drove away from the house I shared with Jeremiah. Moving out was the first step in my decision to divorce him. I’d rather take the initiative than wait for him to bring it up.