Everyone Loved Me After I Left

I was reunited with my parents at the police station as the last of the rescued trafficking victims. My mother, Serena Hadley, clung to me, sobbing uncontrollably. My father, Vincent Kingsley, kept bowing to the officers. He was so grateful that he even tried to get on his knees just to thank them. My fiancée, Alina Prescott, gave me all the gifts she had saved for me over the years, telling me she had never forgotten me for a single day. At that very moment, everything I'd endured for 12 years just to find my way home all felt worth it. However, Cameron Kingsley, the orphan of my father's old friend whom he'd adopted, stood by the door with tears in his eyes just as we were about to depart. Serena immediately let go of me. Alina's gaze instinctively drifted toward Cameron, while Vincent hurried over to reassure him that they loved him more. I made an excuse to use the restroom, unable to bear the sudden change. Then, I overheard my parents talking. "Jasper is actually back. What are we going to do about his engagement to Alina? Cameron loves her so much. I can't stand the thought of seeing him hurt." "Then, Cameron can get engaged instead. Who knows what Jasper went through during all those years he was trafficked? After everything he's been through, he's no longer worthy of marrying Alina. Besides, we'll have plenty of time to make it up to Jasper later." I leaned against the wall, drained of all strength, and texted the friend who had been rescued with me. "I don't think I should've come back. Come get me. I want to leave." "Did you tell them you're dying of late-stage cancer?" Chapter 1 No Longer Home "You went through so much just to come home, and you're leaving now? Won't you regret it?" I typed the words "I won't." My fingers were trembling, but I couldn't bring myself to hit send. "Stop being such a porcupine, Jasper. Give them a chance to get close to you. And give yourself a chance, too." Vincent held my hand tightly as he led me outside. He was afraid of losing me again. Maybe I really was being too sensitive. I instinctively reached for the back door just like I used to as a child. However, Serena got there first, climbing into the back seat with Cameron and Alina. My feet stopped moving. Serena glanced at me a moment later, her face awkward. "Jasper, you can sit in the passenger seat." When I was little, she had always said the front seat was too dangerous. As I was her precious child, she couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to me. I guess that wasn't the case anymore. I stiffly pulled my hand back and forced a smile before taking the passenger seat. I saw Alina holding Cameron's hand tightly in the rearview mirror, comforting him. She didn't even seem to remember that I was her fiancé. … When we got out of the car, I saw the same house we'd lived in when I was a child. "Your father was afraid you wouldn't be able to find your way home after you came back, so he refused to move." Vincent looked at me, his eyes red. "Dad…" My chest tightened, and the tears I'd been holding back for so long nearly spilled over. I lowered my head and walked inside. My foot slipped just as I rounded the corner into the living room, and my elbow slammed hard against the floor. A dance mat had been laid there. "Are you okay?" Alina hurried over and helped me up. I shook my head, but the pain in my injured right leg was starting to throb. "Cameron works so hard. He practices dancing every day." Serena looked proud as she said it, but she never told Cameron to move the mat. When I still lived here, Vincent had been afraid I might trip over something because this spot was a blind spot. He never allowed anyone to leave anything here. I looked farther inside. The little wooden rocking horse I'd loved and my school awards were gone from the TV cabinet, replaced by pictures of Cameron. The house still looked the same from the outside, but everything inside had been redecorated around Cameron's tastes. Suddenly, I felt like I couldn't breathe. I pressed a hand to my chest, and that was when I knew. This place had stopped being my home a long time ago. Chapter 2 No Room for Me "Jasper, I'll take you upstairs." I froze and looked toward the room with the best sunlight on the first floor. Wasn't that… my room? Besides, the man who'd bought me had hacked through my lower leg with an ax when I tried to escape and make my way home six years ago. Ever since then, climbing stairs made my lower leg ache terribly. I tried to act spoiled like I had when I was a kid, holding on to a sliver of hope. "Dad, can I stay in my old room downstairs?" Something flickered in Vincent's eyes, and his expression turned uneasy. "The room downstairs… We turned it into Cameron's suite. It connects to his dance room, so it's more convenient that way." My throat tightened. "So, I don't have my own room anymore. What about my things? Did you… throw everything away?" Vincent said nothing, while Serena awkwardly looked away. "This is all my fault. This isn't really my home. I really shouldn't be taking up Jasper's room. Mom, Dad, I think I should just go back home." Cameron started to sob and turned as if to leave. Vincent panicked and immediately stopped him. "This is your home. Where else can you go? I told you that you and Jasper are both my sons." Cameron looked at Serena with a wounded expression. "I'm just scared. I'm scared that now that Jasper's back, you won't want me anymore." Serena's heart broke for him. She pulled Cameron into her arms. "You're my precious child." Then, she turned to me. "Jasper, what difference does it make where you stay? Have you had it too easy all these years? How did you become so fussy?" Alina looked at me with displeasure as well. When I saw how fiercely they protected Cameron, I couldn't help but feel a sharp pain in my chest. "Did you ever think I might come back someday when you remodeled the house for him? Or… did you never expect me to come home at all?" Vincent suddenly slammed his hand against the armrest. "Jasper, what kind of nonsense are you talking about? Show some respect! I'm the owner of this house, and Cameron is part of this family, too. We can renovate it however we want. What right do you have to question us?" Serena hurried to get Vincent his blood pressure medication. "You just got back, and you're already turning this house upside down. You were the one who disappeared for all those years. Cameron was the one taking care of us and being a good son. It's one thing if you're being ungrateful, but now you're even fighting him over a bedroom? "You really know how to make trouble. If I'd known, it would've been better if you hadn't come back." Serena muttered it under her breath, but I still heard every single word. She was willing to say something like that to defend Cameron over nothing more than a bedroom. I nearly staggered and fell. I looked up and stared straight at her. "Mom, did I really disappear on my own?" Cameron had always fought with me over everything 12 years ago. Frankly, we were always at each other's throats. Vincent couldn't take it anymore and stayed away from home for days on end. Eventually, Serena started suspecting that he was cheating on her. I overheard her secretly saying that she wished Cameron were her son. After all, he was so well-behaved and knew exactly how to please Vincent. That day, Serena told me to wait for Vincent downstairs at his company. When I saw him, I was supposed to tell him that I missed him so much that I'd come there on my own. She said this time she would make Vincent give in and feel guilty. I was a little scared, but I did what she told me. I did it because I wanted Serena to know that I was no worse than Cameron. I could be a good kid too. However, someone forcibly carried me away just as she left me alone. "Of course, it was your own fault. How would I know why you went outside? You were always a troublemaker as a kid, running off wherever you pleased." Chapter 3 The Dance Video Serena acted like she couldn't care less and still tried to argue her way out of it. I couldn't stop shaking. Vincent's expression darkened. "Enough, Jasper. Stop with the snide remarks. Your mother cried whenever you were mentioned during the years you went missing. You have no right to blame anyone else. Also, I've officially adopted Cameron. He's part of this family now. "Don't you dare bully him again." I looked up at him, my heart tightening with every beat. So, they'd replaced me with Cameron a long time ago. Whatever. It was just a room. I wasn't going to be alive much longer anyway. "Fine. I'll stay in the guest room on the third floor." When I finally gave in, Alina, who had been silent until then, shoved the camera in her hand at me. "It's supposed to snow heavily tonight. Film Cameron's dance video. It'll help you two bond as brothers." I stared at her in disbelief. "Alina, my heart was damaged when I was a kid because I saved you. I can't be out in the cold. Did you forget that, too?" "Stop lying. I just found out that you weren't the one who saved me back then. It was Cameron." My breath caught. "What did you just say?" Alina sneered. "Are you seriously still pretending? I already asked your parents about it. They told me it was Cameron who saved me, but you stole his credit." I stared at my parents in disbelief. They avoided my eyes. "It was Cameron who saved Alina. We can't favor you just because you're our biological son." The damage to my heart from all those years ago started to ache again. I couldn't help but wonder now just what had all those stitches, all those times I'd been rushed back from the brink of death, been for? "You're Cameron's brother, so I'll let the fact that you lied to me go. But as for the engagement, it should go to him instead." There was contempt in Alina's eyes. I was so disappointed that I wanted to laugh at their faces. If that was how things were, then there truly was nothing left to explain. "Fine. Give it to him." I saw the relief spread across my parents' faces. The snow was coming down hard. Alina kept scooping it up with her hands and sprinkling it over Cameron. She was a violinist, so her hands were the most important things to her. Yet, she was willing to let her fingers turn purple from the cold for Cameron, smiling so happily all the while. Cameron kept complaining that my filming was awful. … In the end, I stood in the snow for two hours, my heart and leg aching to the bone. I didn't know whether I was imagining it, but it definitely felt like my cancer was spreading faster. He looked incredible dancing on camera. Truthfully, I envied him a little. If I had never been kidnapped, if I'd grown up surrounded by love… Would I have turned out like him? The heater in the third-floor guest room was broken. I curled up under the blankets that night, my leg throbbing with every passing breath. I didn't sleep a wink. … As soon as morning came, I went to a nearby dance studio and signed up for classes. Although this was likely the last time I'd be able to experience what it was like to be in Cameron's shoes, it was still enough. However, I had barely done the first move when someone slapped me hard enough to send me crashing to the floor. My cheek went numb from the pain. "I knew it. I wondered where you'd gone so early in the morning. Just because you didn't like your room, you ran off and decided to ruin Cameron's life." Vincent grabbed me by the collar and hauled me to my feet. "What are you talking about? I don't know what you mean." I was dazed from the blow and covered my cheek with my hand. "Don't play dumb!" Serena rushed over, jabbing a finger so close to my eye that her nail scraped across my eyelid. Pain shot through me. "How could you still play the fool? One of Cameron's students was injured last week and ended up paralyzed. The parents were already making a scene. Yet, you dare show up here dancing with your bad leg?" Chapter 4 The Family I Came Home To "All the parents are questioning Cameron's teaching credentials. They're saying he's a heartless teacher. They're demanding refunds and withdrawals because of it! Are you happy now?" Cameron leaned against Alina, his shoulders trembling. She wasn't annoyed that his tears were soaking her designer dress. Instead, her eyes were filled with concern. "Go tell them your leg was injured in an accident. Tell them you crashed your car or fell or something. I don't care what you say. Just make it clear that Cameron had nothing to do with it!" Serena shoved me toward the parents. Someone tripped me, and I crashed to my knees. People crowded around me, their whispers growing louder. My lips trembled as my failing heart pounded weakly against my chest. What was I supposed to say? That I had no right to learn how to dance? That the man who bought me had sent me to a widow in a village who wanted a child when I was 15? That they had beaten my leg until it broke when I tried to escape? "Say something!" Serena screamed so loudly her voice nearly broke. "Are you mute? Help Cameron!" She grabbed my yellowed, malnourished hair and yanked hard. I covered my head. Every ounce of strength drained from my body as I knelt there numb. "I'm sorry, everyone. I injured my leg because I was careless and got hurt while messing around. Cameron has nothing to do with it. Please don't misunderstand him. He… He's a kind and responsible teacher." The parents started pointing and whispering mean things about me. "He looks like trouble. Just look at his mouth. It's covered in scars." "I heard some people like to get into that kind of extreme stuff. Who knows what this kid gets up to in private." "Cameron looks like a respectable guy compared to him. He obviously wouldn't deliberately hurt a student." Serena looked satisfied, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothing out. "Jasper, why are you still kneeling? Get up." Only then did Cameron come over to help me up. However, I immediately felt a sharp sting in my arm, as if a needle had been driven deep into it. The pain made me shove Cameron away. "Ah! My leg!" Cameron suddenly fell to the floor, clutching his leg and screaming. I froze. "He stabbed me first—" Vincent slammed the cup in his hand against my head the very next second. My vision immediately blurred with agony and dizziness. Alina shot to her feet and took a worried step toward me, but Cameron grabbed her. Serena rushed over and wrapped her arms around Cameron, wailing. "How can you be so vicious? You're a cripple yourself, and now you're jealous of Cameron and trying to hurt him? He's been so good to you. He even gave you his old clothes to wear. What more could you possibly want?" Vincent's voice turned icy. "You really are a jinx. Our family was perfectly fine until you came back, and now you're even hurting my son. If I'd known… you would've been better off dying out there." I stood there, numb. This was the home I had fought so hard to return to. These were the parents I had missed so desperately for 12 years that I used to wake up crying every night. Blood from my forehead ran into my eyes, blurring my vision. I didn't even have the strength to wipe it away. I let out a quiet chortle. "Yes, I was the one who didn't know my place. I've already caused enough trouble for your family. I'll go back, pack my things, and leave." Alina blocked the doorway, her brows drawn together. "Jasper, can you stop being so stubborn? I've been waiting for you… No, your parents have been waiting for you all these years. How can you just leave like this? Come on. Apologize to your parents. Then, be a good boy and apologize to Cameron." I tried to pull away from her, but she happened to grab the exact spot on my arm where Cameron had just stabbed me.