Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 215: The music box

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Anna left Alice’s villa and walked alone on a suburban road.

She was in a daze, her mind foggy, and the wound on her hand, left untreated, had begun to scab over.

The items she had prepared in her pocket went unused,she didn’t even have the courage to pull them out in the end.

She had lost, completely and utterly.

Why? Why had Ryan rejected her under those circumstances? Why did he choose to stay there instead of leaving with her?

Was it all just wishful thinking on her part? Did Ryan not need her help at all?

Muttering to herself, the road ahead seemed blurry.

She moved forward like a puppet, unsure of where she was even supposed to go.

“Hey! Watch it! Are you blind? Look out for the car!”

The scream seemed to pierce through Anna’s eardrums as she numbly looked towards the source of the noise.

At some point, a car had screeched to a halt right in front of her, and she was standing in the middle of the road.

So that was it, she almost died.

Realizing what had happened, Anna felt a strange sense of relief, her shoulders sinking as she withdrew her gaze.

It was just a near-death experience, no big deal.

Ignoring the driver’s shouts, Anna slipped back into her dazed state and continued walking.

Maybe dying wouldn’t be such a bad option after all.

Hope leads to disappointment, and after enough disappointment, one naturally starts to crave release.

Walking past the traffic lights, the surroundings began to look familiar. Anna didn’t know how long she had been walking, but it was now getting dark.

The ache in her calves was her body protesting,she had somehow walked from the suburbs back to the city.

“It looks like I’m almost there…”

Anna looked around, her gaze falling on a familiar street, and she let out a self-deprecating laugh.

She could have completely broken away from her family, yet deep down, she still longed for it.

That place she couldn’t really call home—was it really where she ended up when she wasn’t thinking?

“I guess I’ll go get some money,looks like I’m running low on living expenses.”

Giving herself a reason, as if afraid of regretting it later, Anna hurried towards the direction of the house.

She had given herself countless reasons before, imagining a warm, harmonious family atmosphere with loving parents upon returning home.

She had given them countless chances, but they never changed.

Life doesn’t always give you second chances. What’s gone is gone, and no matter how hard you try, you can’t grasp it again.

That was her reality now,even if she wanted to change, there was no opportunity left.

Anna’s home was in an old neighborhood within the city’s second ring, a place that was decent when her parents got married but had since declined.

Next to the neighborhood was a commercial street dominated by bars, a relic of the old city area that absorbed many laid-off workers.

The initial conflict seemed to revolve around this house. Sometimes Anna wondered if things would have been different if they hadn’t lived here.

Her father was always full of complaints, ever since Anna could remember.

He would rant about how if they had bought a house in the city center back then, the property value would have skyrocketed by now, which always led to arguments with her mother.

During those times, Anna would cover her sister’s ears, and they would hide in their bedroom.

Talking about it now was pointless,even if she wanted to hear their arguments, she couldn’t anymore.

She visited once a month, not to see her parents—who didn’t care much about her visits—but to check on her sister.

The familiar environment held her childhood memories. Anna could find her way to the iron security door even with her eyes closed.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a blood-stained key, only then noticing the wound in her palm.

The wound no longer hurt, but her heart still did.

Ryan seemed no different from these people. She thought she was needed, but that wasn’t the case.

The sunlight wasn’t hers to claim. Remembering Alice’s smug expression, her last bit of hope was about to shatter.

Anna easily entered the room, which carried a musty smell, indicative of its disuse.

The first thing she noticed was an envelope on the coffee table. Without opening it, she knew it contained three thousand yuan—her allowance for the month.

Her relationship with her current mother was non-existent, except for this financial transaction.

Pocketing the envelope, Anna’s thoughts were clearly elsewhere.

She slowly walked over to a wall adorned with an angel statue, beneath which a cabinet held two framed photographs, both showing signs of age.

These photos were the real reason for her visit.

Anna automatically ignored the larger frame, her eyes settling on the smaller one.

“How have you been, little sis?” she murmured, as if having a heart-to-heart, her hand gently touching the frame, filled with a bitter sweetness.

She couldn’t find that little girl anymore, and the cold, harsh touch of the frame felt like a monster gnawing at her reaching hand.

Yet, she had to put on a brave face.

“Me? I’ve been alright,” she continued.

“I’ve recently fallen for a guy. He’s really nice to me, handsome, and has a great personality.”

“He doesn’t mind my issues either,I think he might be the one.”

As Anna caressed the frame, she thought of Ryan, how everything should have unfolded as she imagined—Ryan realizing her worth and falling for her, just like her inexplicable feelings for him.

But she messed it up, just like before, ultimately discarded.

“Do you ask how he sees me? He likes me too.”

“He’s a bit shy right now, hasn’t admitted his feelings, but I know I’m in his heart.”

Her hand, stained with blood, trembled slightly.

Anna bowed her head, her eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings in a storm, as if they might tear apart at any moment.

She wanted to cry, really cry, but she couldn’t do that in front of her sister,she didn’t want her to worry.

“So, I’m doing fine,” she forced herself to say.

“Take care of yourself too, and if you miss me, just tell me. I’ll come to see you.”

Her voice was laden with immense pain, her mind inevitably drifting back to that dark night.

If only her parents had listened to her pleas, if only her father hadn’t taken her sister away in his rage, if only he hadn’t drunk that night.

Would the accident have been avoided? Would her sister still be here?

She loved her sister as much as she despised her family.

Nothing could be reconciled, and she couldn’t let go. She was made of suffering, destined to live in pain.

If someone could reach out to her, would she accept? If it were Ryan, maybe she would.

But that hope was over now.

Alice’s assured victory had deeply wounded her,Alice didn’t realize how lucky she was to be chosen by Ryan.

After all, that was the little bit of sunlight meant for someone else.

“I’ll just grab something and leave. Take care of yourself, and don’t be too naughty,” she whispered to the memorial tablet, wiping the moisture from her eyes as she headed to her room.

Her room had turned into a storage space, barely recognizable.

Anna didn’t care,without expectations, nothing could hurt her.

She expertly slid open the wardrobe door and crawled inside, feeling for the protrusion on the wall.

This was the sanctuary she and her sister had created in their childhood, a safe haven from the wars at home.

Her fingers finally felt the fabric, and she reached deeper, touching something cold.

“Found it, good, it’s still here.”

A slight relief crossed her face as she barely made out the object in her hands by the dim light.

It was a wooden music box, bought at a fair when they were children.

There had been only one left, and both sisters had loved it.

They had a good relationship and didn’t fight over things, so they made a gentle wager: whoever found happiness first would keep the music box.

Now, Anna held the music box, but where was her happiness?

The wardrobe door closed, plunging her into darkness, and the sound of a girl sobbing quietly filled the space, heartbreakingly poignant.