MoboNovel Lite
Chapter 1
“Alice, do you even realize your mistake?”
Alice’s mouth and nose were submerged in water, which choked her throat painfully. As she opened her eyes from the brink of death, she saw her second brother, Noah, on the poolside, along with her fourth brother, Caleb, who was holding Chloe in his arms.
A flicker of shock crossed her eyes; this scene felt all too familiar. Had she not died? Was she somehow reborn on the day three years ago when Chloe was officially adopted by her family as a foster daughter?
The memory came flooding back: At the banquet, Chloe had deliberately schemed against her, making everyone believe she had pushed Chloe into the water on purpose. Caleb had been the first to notice them, but he only saved Chloe, leaving Alice, who couldn’t swim, to struggle on her own in the water. And then, Noah was pressing Alice to admit her fault, implying that if she didn’t, he wouldn’t save her.
Desperately, she struggled in the water, begging for forgiveness, pleading with her brothers to rescue her. It was only at the point of near death that she was finally pulled out.
From that moment on, she dared not provoke Chloe again, carefully trying to please her brothers at home, but what did she ultimately gain?
Chloe stole Alice’s thesis, and Noah testified for Chloe, branding Alice a plagiarist and getting her expelled.
When Chloe needed a kidney transplant due to her poor health, Alice’s third brother, Alex, personally took Alice to the operating room to give Chloe a kidney.
When Chloe needed to boost her international competition results, her other brothers—the fourth brother Caleb, the fifth brother Finn, and the sixth brother Luke—had unceremoniously kicked Alice off the team.
Alice discovered evidence of Chloe’s plagiarism and forged medical records and brought it to her eldest brother, hoping to expose Chloe’s true nature.
But instead, she stirred up public outrage; no one believed her, and they didn’t even bother to look at the evidence closely.
Eldest brother Ethan kicked her out of the house to reflect on her actions. She found herself homeless, penniless, and suffering greatly.
As memories flooded back, Alice gave up struggling and sank directly to the bottom of the pool. She opened her eyes wide, her expression blank, as if she had already died. She watched her brothers gather around Chloe on the shore, and even seeing it again, her heart still ached with piercing pain.
How ridiculous.
She, as their biological sister, couldn’t even compare with an outsider.
On the deck, Noah had been entirely focused on Chloe, and only when he no longer heard Alice’s struggles did he turn to look at the pool—Alice had already sunk to the bottom. Upon seeing this, Noah’s face turned pale: “Alice!”
Without a second thought, he jumped into the water.
When Chloe saw Alice sink, a glimmer of delight flashed in her eyes; it would be better if Alice died. She feigned weakness, tugging at fourth brother Caleb’s sleeve, saying weakly, “Caleb… I want to save Alice, too. She fell into the water because of me.”
Caleb, who had been worried, quickly reassured Chloe, “Don’t be ridiculous. Noah’s got it. Alice’s just reaping what she sowed. She won’t die!” He turned his gaze back to the pool, his expression complex.
Underwater, Alice saw Noah swimming towards her, his face etched with worry, a worry that seemed genuine. Just moments ago, he had been forcing her to admit her fault, coldly observing her struggle in the water.
This time, she didn’t care for his rescue. A hint of sarcasm flickered in Alice’s eyes as she turned and swam away from the surface.
After the drowning incident in her past life, Noah had forced her to learn swimming with Chloe. She had already been left with a trauma, but to please Noah, she had pushed through her fear and learnt to swim, but Noah only praised Chloe’s bravery, ignoring Alice’s silent struggle. Little did he know that the time Alice was intentionally left in the water had left her with severe aftereffects.
No one cared about her well-being; Noah’s eyes were only for Chloe.
“Alice, what’s this charade? Do you think pretending to drown will erase the mistake you just made?” Noah blocked her path, feeling that Alice seemed to have changed significantly. When did she learn to swim?
Alice looked up at Noah, who had once been her favorite. Her older brother, Ethan, had always been strict, but Noah had been a little bit kinder to her. Now, however, Noah’s eyes were filled with disgust and impatience.
Chloe’s soft voice cut through the air. “Noah, it’s not Alice’s fault. I know she never liked me joining the family. It was my greed that led me to hope for a family. Please don’t argue because of me; you’re all so important to me…”
Chapter 2
Caleb glared at Alice. “Are you satisfied now? If it weren’t for her father dying to save you, she wouldn’t be an orphan. We should never have saved such an ungrateful ingrate! It would have been better to let you die!”
Noah frowned. “Alice, you need to have a conscience. We should treat Chloe like family. It’s what we owe her, and it’s what you owe her too, understand?”
“Noah, someone like her, who is so ungrateful, wouldn’t have pushed Chloe into the water if she understood. Uncle Black would be better off saving a dog than saving her!” Alice felt as if she were in a wasteland, completely chilled. If she could, she would rather not have been saved. She endured the fiery pain in her lungs and hoarsely said, “It was indeed my fault, it won’t happen again.”
Because she would never do something so foolish again. Since they preferred Chloe as a sister, she would step back.
“Alice, were you really doing that on purpose? Did you know Chloe can’t swim? You could have killed her!” Noah was disappointed. He had hoped it was just an accident, but it turned out Alice was so malicious? When had she become intentionally put Chloe in danger.
At that moment, the family doctor arrived, and Caleb turned to angrily scold Alice: “You better pray that nothing happens to Chloe; otherwise, when eldest brother returns, you’ll be in for it.” Noah took a few steps but then turned back to see Alice standing there, drenched and pale, and his heart softened a bit. He said, “Go change your clothes. The banquet is about to start.”
Alice remained silent, and soon she was left all alone.
She waited until they all left before bending over and coughing violently, as if she were trying to cough out her lungs. She swallowed the crimson taste in her throat and propped herself up to return to her room.
Lying in the bathtub, she closed her eyes, recalling how in her past life, after being homeless and darkened, she had wanted to kill Chloe. But she had failed. She was locked up in a mental hospital by eldest brother and tortured to death by the caregiver arranged by Chloe. She covered her face and laughed, her voice bitter, feeling quite good about it.
When Alice opened her eyes again, her gaze was icy cold.
After changing her clothes, she looked at her bedroom, which felt somewhat unfamiliar. In her past life, this room had ultimately been given to Chloe, while she had ended up in Chloe’s small room. Alice saw the family photo on the table, a young couple holding a baby, with six little boys standing beside them. Unfortunately, just a few years after her birth, her parents died in a car accident. The driver saved her first, but when he returned to rescue her parents, the fuel tank exploded, killing him too. Chloe was the driver’s only daughter, who had been frail and sickly since childhood. After the accident, Ethan had taken Chloe into their home. And everything changed. All her favorite brothers turned their attention to Chloe. “Chloe’s unwell, so I especially hired a chef to prepare meals suitable for her. Alice, you supervise Chloe to eat properly.”
“Alice, Chloe wants to learn painting. You’re already good at it. Let her have the teacher.”
“Alice, withdraw from the competition. Let Chloe, who’s second place, represent the school. She’s been preparing for a long time.”
“Alice, Chloe’s grades are low. Attend the same university as her so you can look after her.” Alice pressed her hand against her head, feeling a sharp pain radiate through her heart. She took shallow breaths, managing to swallow down the discomfort. She vowed never to have any ties with this family again!
She put the photo away and began to gather her belongings.
Before long, a servant knocked on the door: “Miss, the banquet has started. Mr. Welch wants you to change your clothes and go down.”
“I know.”
Alice opened the door and strode towards the lively venue outside.
The servant’s eyes widened as she murmured, “What on earth is the young lady wearing? Has she lost her mind?”
At the banquet, Chloe was dressed in a white evening gown, her long black hair cascading down her shoulders, exuding the innocent charm of an innocent, sweet girl. Noah and Caleb stood beside her, looking at Chloe with gentle affection.
The scene was undeniably heartwarming.
Noah couldn’t help but think of Alice, wishing she could be as well-behaved and understanding. In recent years, Alice’s temperament had become increasingly arrogant and overbearing.
“Alice’s here!”
Chapter 3
When Alice appeared, everyone turned to look. Faced with their gazes, Alice remained expressionless.
She wore a simple T-shirt, but atop her head was an exquisite golden phoenix crown, a deep green necklace around her neck, jade bangles on her wrist, and a pink diamond ring on her finger.
Laughter erupted around her.
“Alice’s so gaudy, wearing all that jewelry at once! She looks like a newly rich person,” one guest scoffed.
“I think Alice is deliberately showing off her expensive stuff to embarrass Chloe.”
Alice strutted up to Chloe, her tone calm. “Congratulations, you have finally become a member of the Welch family today.”
In her past life, once Chloe joined the Welch family, her nightmare began. No matter how hard she tried, how much she cowered and obeyed, her brothers all favored Chloe. Noah had even said he wished Chloe were their real sister. This time, she wouldn’t cling to any nonsense about familial ties.
Seeing all the valuable items on Alice, Chloe felt a surge of jealousy, but she didn’t let it show on her face. She shrank her neck at first, then answered cautiously.
“Alice, I know you’re upset, but don’t worry, I won’t compete with you for your brothers‘ affection. After all, I’m just an outsider. You’re their real sister. How could I ever compare to you?” As she spoke, her eyes began to redden.
Alice smirked, a perfect picture of a delicate white lotus. In her previous life, she had been completely fooled by Chloe’s innocent act, only to see the woman’s true colors just before her demise.
Caleb noticed the tension, quickly interjected, “Don’t cry, Chloe. Who says you’re an outsider? From today, you’re my little sister.”
Chloe lowered her gaze, hiding a fleeting look of triumph.
Noah presented Chloe with a box. “Chloe, this is a gift for you.”
Chloe feigned surprise. “Noah, isn’t this a gift for Alice? I can’t accept it!”
When Alice saw the limited edition figurine inside the box, she wasn’t surprised at all. After all, in her past life, Noah had also ‘kindly‘ taken it upon himself to give the figurine she had waited so long for to Chloe as an apology.
Noah said, “Take it. It’s what she owes you.”
Caleb, dissatisfied, said, “Alice, even though Chloe isn’t holding a grudge about you pushing her into the water, and the second brother has given her a gift, what about your sincerity?”
Alice nodded. “I know. So, I brought a gift to apologize.” She took off all her jewelry and placed each piece on a platter.
“This antique crown is from Ethan.”
“This emerald pendant is from Noah.”
“This hundred-year-old ginseng is from Alex.”
“This rare pink diamond ring is from Caleb.”
“This jade bracelet is from Finn.”
“And this gold trophy is from Luke.”
Alice placed them on the plate one by one. “These are all very important to me, and as an apology gift, it should be sincere enough.”
She had anticipated Caleb’s demand for an apology, so she had prepared these items. Ever since Chloe came to the Welch family, Alice’s brothers had never given Alice anything decent, and these were the only valuable things left. In the end, they would all be taken back by her brothers for various reasons to give to Chloe.
When Caleb saw the items on the plate, his expression froze. These were Alice’s most treasured possessions! How dare she?
Noah pursed his lips. “Alice, what do you mean by this?”
“Noah, I said these are my sincere apologies. Caleb, do you think it’s enough?” Alice’s expression was flat, her emotions unruffled.
When Chloe saw the items in the box, she was taken aback, unsure of what Alice was trying to pull—was this a strategic retreat?
Chloe quickly piped up, “Alice, these are gifts from the brothers to you; they’re too precious for me to accept.”
Caleb angrily retorted, “Exactly! These are our gifts to you; how can you just pass them on to someone else?”
Chloe’s smile faltered slightly as she bit her lip. “Yes, Alice, I’m just an outsider. How could I deserve such gifts?”
Caleb, realizing he’d misspoken, quickly explained, “Chloe, that’s not what I meant. I’ll choose a new gift for you. How could you accept something that someone else has received?”
Chloe immediately brightened. “Thank you, Caleb.” Caleb’s heart softened. This was the obedient little sister he had always wanted.
Noah sighed, “Alice, what are you throwing a tantrum about now?”
These gifts had always been precious to Alice; no one was allowed to touch them. He never expected her to lay them all out as an apology to Chloe! Was she trying to sever ties with them? Or was it because he had taken her figurine to apologize to Chloe that she was sulking? Noah was sure Alice didn’t genuinely want to give them away!