Chapter 128 Miranda's Reason

Chapter 128 Miranda's Reason


My fingers curled into trembling fists.

"What?"

Miranda looked almost amused. "You heard me." She said flatly like she was commenting on the weather.

I took a shaky step toward her. "How could you be so cruel?"

My chest tightened painfully.

"He's your family."

"You share the same father."

"How can you stand here saying those things?"

Miranda's smile slowly disappeared, not particularly because she looked guilty but because she looked irritated.

"Cruel?" She laughed. "You think this is cruel?"

She folded her arms. "Oh, Reet… you've seen nothing yet."

A chill raced down my spine.

Then she leaned slightly closer. "I've only just begun."

I stared at her. "What are you talking about?"

Her eyes hardened. "Dylan ruined my life, and now, I'm simply returning the favor."

I blinked repeatedly. "What?"

My voice cracked. "What are you even saying?"

"How the hell did Dylan ruin your life, huh? What did he ever do to you?"

Miranda clenched her jaw as anger crossed her face. "He ruined my life by being my father's adorable son!" Her voice echoed loudly through the corridor.

Several conversations immediately stopped, and people turned to look at us.

A nurse looked over in concern.

An elderly couple waiting nearby stared openly.

Someone whispered, "What's happening?"

I didn't care if they stared.

She laughed bitterly. “He ruined my life by simply existing.”

I furrowed my brows at her.

"Our father..." She practically spat the word. "...pretended I didn't exist."

"He hid and buried me."

"Kept me locked away like some disgusting family secret." Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

But they weren't tears of sadness; they were filled with rage.

"I spent my entire childhood wondering what was wrong with me."

"What made me so shameful and unacceptable?"

"Why wasn't I good enough?"

She took another step closer. "Meanwhile, Dylan..." She almost hissed his name. "...got everything I could ever ask for from him."

"The attention."

"The love."

"The family."

"The name."

"The future."

She laughed again.

Only this time, her laughter sounded broken. "Do you know what it's like?"

She demanded.

"Do you know how I've suffered?"

"How I've endured?"

"Because Dylan happened to be my father's son?"

I stared at her silently.

For one tiny second, I saw a lonely little girl underneath all that hatred.

One who had spent years wanting someone to choose her.

Someone to acknowledge her and love her.

But then, that tiny glimpse disappeared beneath years of bitterness.

I slowly shook my head. "It wasn't Dylan's fault."

She froze.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "If anyone is to blame, it's your father."

"He failed you."

"He neglected you."

"He made those choices."

"Dylan didn't."

"He was just a child."

"He didn't even know you existed."

Miranda's eyes darkened instantly. "Shut up."

"No," I answered firmly. "You shut up." My own anger had finally caught up with my grief.

"You've spent years blaming the wrong person."

"You've punished innocent people."

"My father."

"Dylan."

"My mother."

"Me."

"Everyone except the one person who actually caused your pain."

Her breathing became uneven. "You absolutely know nothing!"

"I know enough."

"No!" She shouted. "You don't!"

For a brief second, her entire expression cracked.

"I was miserable." Her voice became quieter. "My whole life."

She laughed bitterly. "Do you know the only thing that ever made me feel alive?"

I frowned.

"It was the fact that Dylan was my childhood crush." She smiled sadly.

I remembered she'd mentioned that in passing in the hallway right before I broke up with Dylan.

But I still felt blood drain from my face.

"I adored him." She bit her lip. "I watched him from afar and imagined..." Her voice broke for the first time. "...that maybe one day..." She stopped herself and smiled bitterly.

"But then I discovered the truth that he was my stepbrother." She shook her head.

Every word she said sounded poisoned.

"The one person I loved became the one person I could never have." She closed her eyes briefly. "And then..." She opened them again.

"I found out something even worse." She blinked several times as if to blink back some invincible tears.

"Our father..." She almost laughed. "Was willing to hand over his entire empire to Dylan."

"Everything." She whispered.

"The businesses."

"The money."

"The family name."

"Even the future." Her fists trembled. "And I was supposed to stand there and watch."

She looked directly at me. "I couldn't."

"I refused to."

"I decided I wasn't going to disappear again."

Silence stretched between us.

My heart hurt because I could finally understand where the hatred had started, not where it ended.

Still, nothing justified what she'd done.

Nothing ever could.

I slowly shook my head. "No."

She frowned.

"You're insane," I murmured.

"Everything you've done..."

"The lives you've destroyed..."

"The people you've hurt..."

"You call it revenge." I felt tears sting my eyes again. "But it's cruelty."

"You're insane, Miranda," I added.

Her expression twisted immediately. "Oh, spare me."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't stand there acting morally superior. I've lived through hell."

"So has everyone else because of you!" I shouted back.

"My father is missing because of you!"

"Dylan is fighting for his life because of you!"

"My mother pretends not to cry every night because of you!"

"You don't get to call yourself the victim anymore!"

She stepped forward aggressively. "And you don't get to judge me. You don't know what…"

"You kidnapped my father!" I cut her off.

"You manipulated Kevin!"

"You ruined people's lives because you couldn't deal with your own!"

She laughed harshly. "And I'd do it again."

"You'll what?"

“You heard me.”

Our voices echoed through the corridor.

People had completely stopped pretending not to watch anymore.

Doctors.

Visitors.

Nurses.

Everyone stared.

But still, neither of us cared.

She pointed a finger directly at my face.

"You stole Dylan from me."

I scoffed in disbelief. "I stole nothing…"

"He chose you; that's why I hate you!”

“I noticed." I snapped.

"You don't deserve him!"

"And you do?"

"I deserve everything that should've been mine!"

"Nothing about this was ever yours!"

"Enough!" The voice cut cleanly through our argument.

It sounded deep, cold, and authoritative.

Both Miranda and I instinctively turned toward the source.

Standing several feet behind us with a face carved from pure anger…

Was Dylan's father.