"Do you still remember how you got this scar?" Gloria stared at the scar and stroked it gently with her fingers.
Harry was weak, and his face was pale. After a while, he said, "I don't remember."
Gloria smiled faintly. "When I was in primary school, I hid my family background and was bullied by senior students. Later, you found it out and dragged me to your bedroom. Harry, you were so good at dealing with wounds. You helped me treat my wounds and then drove me out of your room. I was afraid that you would tell Grandpa. If so, he would be disappointed in me and think that I was useless. I was worried for the whole day. Seeing that he did not blame me, I knew that you didn't tell him. Later, for a long time, I came home with injuries every day, and you caught me and pulled me into your room to treat my wounds."
Gloria exerted more force on her finger and pressed the wound on Harry's shoulder. "Your injury was caused by fighting with rogues. You were injured to protect me. I thought you were powerful and you would protect me."
Gloria asked Harry, "Do you remember what you said when you were fighting with them?"
Harry's eyes blinked in confusion.
Gloria continued, "You said, 'No one is allowed to bully Gloria except for me.'"
Harry pursed his pale lips even tighter.
"Since then, I didn't hate you that much. I knew that not only my grandpa loved me, but my brother would also protect me," Gloria looked at Harry and said.
Harry's shoulders trembled. He seemed to have thought of something, and there was a different emotion in his eyes. He lowered his head and almost buried it in his chest.
"We were once close." Gloria stared at the back of Harry's head. A sentence choked in her throat, and her eyes gradually turned red. She asked, "But why did we become enemies?"
Harry grabbed the sheet, and his heart beat rapidly.
It was strange. He didn't eat anything, but why did he feel much more bitter? He stared blankly at the quilt on his body.
"My brother said that only he could bully me, but what happened later on? I once thought that he was my protector, but why did we change after growing up?" Gloria asked with red eyes. Even when she went through bad times, she never cried. When she had just found out about Patrick's deception, she was still able to stay calm.
Gloria felt strange. She was good at controlling her emotions, and she had long been cold and indifferent. Why did her eyes turn red?
"Grandpa gave you everything," Harry said weakly after a long time.
Gloria met his eyes.
"I'm jealous of you too." Gloria's eyes were filled with complicated emotions. Harry could not bear her gaze, and his scalp was numb.
Finally, he spoke out loud about the thoughts he had hidden for decades. "You were jealous that Dad and Mom cared for me, and I was jealous that Grandpa taught you himself. I was the eldest son of the Carter family, but Grandpa only paid attention to you, not me. I was a good-time boy, and Grandpa would not stop me. You played for a while, and he scolded you strictly. I wanted him to pay attention to me, so I played for longer every day. I couldn't understand why Grandpa treated you so well, but ignored me. As I grew older, I cared more about his care and guidance toward you because he never taught me in person like that. The older I was, the more jealous I became. However, you didn't know about it."
There was a trace of surprise in Gloria's eyes. This was the first time she had put away the bias and listened to Harry's real thoughts.
Harry finished telling his story. Gloria's eyes showed a hint of irony. "You are wrong. Grandpa did not give me everything. When he was alive, he had warned me more than once that the Carter family was yours. He said to himself."
Harry could not believe what he heard.
He looked up at the familiar face. Gloria had the same unhealthy and pale face as him.
In a daze, he seemed to have seen the eighteen-year-old Gloria who was flushed with confidence.
"You had long known Grandpa's intentions?" Harry swallowed. "Then why do you still care about him so much? Grandpa had passed away, yet you still returned from Waikiki Beach because of him."
Gloria smiled, and her eyes were rarely gentle. She looked at Harry and said, "Because only Grandpa cared about me in the past. Although I knew his care was conditional, I still appreciated it. When he passed away, I knew what the truth was. But I chose to lie to myself."
The complicated emotions in Gloria's eyes confused Harry. She said, "I would rather deceive myself than admit that I haven't been loved by anyone."
Harry's eyes widened in shock. After being separated for more than ten years, he felt pity for the sister he had once hated so much.
Gloria did not say that Harry, who she once thought would protect her, forgot his promise. In his heart, there was nothing but jealousy.
Harry closed his eyes and felt as if the scar on his shoulder was burning. In the past ten years, he had regarded the scar the same as other ones. They were all from fights after all.
But now, he felt that the healed scar began to hurt, more painful than ever.
Gloria looked at Harry. His cheeks were sunken, his eyes were closed, and his eyebrows were furrowed in pain.
She took out her phone from her bag. When she turned it on, many missed calls and text messages popped up.
They were all from Patrick.
Gloria ignored them and tapped on another number with her thumb. After the ringing, she heard a voice from the other side of the line. "Hello, Miss Carter."
"Is there a small chance of finding a suitable person to donate marrow to my brother?"
The person was silent for a while before saying, "We are still trying our best to look for suitable donors. If we don't give up, there will be a chance even at the last moment. Miss Carter, you are so concerned about your brother. I believe that there will be a miracle."
Gloria lowered her eyes and thought, 'A miracle? It is not much different from having no hope.'
"I called you to inform you that there is no need to continue your work. We have found one."
"That's impossible. We are the largest organization and have abundant resources, so we won't miss anyone." The person was shocked.
"I will get someone to settle the payment for you." Gloria lowered her eyes, making it hard to see her expression.
She didn't want to say more and ended the call.
Harry didn't know how he felt at the moment. He looked at Gloria absent-mindedly.
He used to think that she was cold-blooded. Now, he knew that she had done so much for him in private but never told him.
Harry felt bitter and said in his heart. Gloria never boasted about her kindness and didn't even mention it.
He recalled that Camille had cursed Gloria for being cold hearted.
"Gloria." He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say.
"Harry, you will live." Gloria smiled and stood up.