Chapter 87 : Think About Who I Am Now
Nigel rushed at her, lifting his hand to slap Allison, too. Before he could strike, Allison looked straight at him and said in a challenging voice.
“Before you touch me,” she said, “think about who I am now.”
He was startled, like his body had shut down. He could only stare at her.
Allison glanced at his raised hand and added, “Maybe you haven’t seen what Jareth does to people who challenge him. Want to find out?”
For a moment, it looked like Nigel might back down.
Then he shoved her to the floor.
“Oh, that explains it. You’re showing your claws now because some man is backing you?”
“I’m your brother. Your family. And you threaten me with an outsider?” He shouted, jabbing a finger at his own chest.
“Tell me honestly. Haven’t I always treated you well?”
He didn't wait for her to answer.
“When we were kids, Dad was never around. Toby had school. I was the one who carried you on my back every single day. I wrecked my back doing that. I still can’t sit or stand for long.”
“And when you were thirteen, you fell sick after obsessing over those roses outside the courtyard wall. You’d cry for no reason. I traveled across half the country to find a skilled doctor who could develop a rare medicine to cure you. I almost got kidnapped on the way.”
Allison’s eyes reddened. Her nose stung. Even though she knew they were family, Nigel’s words made her chest ache, yet she didn't look away.
Nigel went on.
“That jewelry cabinet I gave you. Do you remember it? It wasn’t just a gift. I made it myself. I had no idea how to do it at first, so I learned from scratch. It took six months for me to learn the technique. My fingers were sore and aching. I finished it until my fingerprints were nearly gone.
Tears slipped down Allison’s cheeks, yet she held herself together.
Maybe his own words moved him, because when he saw her crying, Nigel’s nose twitched and his voice trembled. “So why are you crying? If there's someone who should cry, it should be Sherrie. You’re the one who slapped her.”
Allison curved her lips into an empty smile. She let the tears fall. She wasn't crying out of weakness or guilt, only because she didn't understand why they ended up hurting each other.
Nigel hadn't lied. Their bond as siblings had once been real. He had cared for her.
And maybe that was why it hurt so much now.
Allison wiped her cheeks and said, “So you remember all of that? Every detail. You’ve kept it all and laid it out like a case file now.
She took a breath. “I admit it. When we were kids, you were the best big brother. You were the kind who made me believe. Even when I was left to die in a burning house. Even when I was locked away in that asylum. I kept making excuses for you.”
He must have been misled. This was not like him. Someone else must have turned him against me.
“You started treating me differently. And I didn’t hate you for it. I blamed myself. I kept asking myself why you changed. Why the Nigel, who used to love me disappeared. Was I a disappointment? Was I that hard to love? Was I really so unbearable that you couldn’t stand me anymore?”
Nigel’s chest rose and fell. Her words threw him off.
Still, he didn't think he was wrong. In his mind, this was all Allison's fault. He had never meant to hurt her.
Allison’s voice sharpened. “But in the end, I figured it out. It wasn’t me. And it wasn’t Sherrie either.”
Nigel’s expression darkened. If it wasn’t you or Sherrie… then what? Me?
Allison lifted her chin and finally spilled out the pain she had kept to herself all these years.
“It’s you, Nigel. You’re the one who changed. The brother I loved died a long time ago.”
Nigel stared at her, his eyes wide and wet. Shock and anger crashed together in his chest, pushing hard against the tears that threatened to fall.
Allison said, “The man standing in front of me right now, the one swinging his fists at me, is Sherrie’s brother. He’s not the Nigel who died long ago.”
“You’re cursing me? You want me dead?” Nigel was furious, and his voice trembled. He couldn’t tell the reason behind the tight, twisting pain in his chest. He only knew one thing. He was angry. The little sister he had raised like a precious gem had just wished for his death.
Smack. The slap that hadn't landed earlier finally struck Allison across her face. She took it without flinching and without a sound.
Nova let out a sharp cry, shoved Sherrie aside, and rushed over to shield Allison.
Her voice rose indignantly. “Nigel! You almost killed her with that kick, and now you’re hitting her again? What kind of brother does that?”
Nigel shot back angrily, “She slapped Sherrie twice and cursed me to die! What kind of sister does that?”
“So when a big sister lays down the rules, she deserves to be slapped, but when a big brother throws a punch, that’s perfectly fine?” Allison leaned against Nova as she struggled to her feet.
Then she added in a sharp and cold voice. “And you still have the nerve to say you’re not a hypocrite?”
Nigel’s anger ignited the moment he heard Allison’s sharp remark, “You still shouldn’t have cursed me!”
He felt insulted and humiliated.
“You kicked me so hard I couldn’t get out of bed, and you didn’t say a word about it. I say one bad thing about you, and suddenly I’m the devil? And you still have the audacity to talk about how good you were to me? That so-called kindness, was it just to send me to my grave?”
“You!” Nigel thought she was only this arrogant because she had Jareth backing her.
There was no way he was letting her get away with it. He grabbed her arm and started dragging her. “You’re coming home with me.”
Nova won't let that happen.
She yanked hard on Nigel’s wrist and shouted at the top of her lungs to draw attention.
“Help! There's a human trafficker here! He’s kidnapping someone!”