Chapter 1346: The vixen who ruined everything

[Short Flashback]

Many years ago...

"Jessa..."

"Jessica..."

"Jess..."

The young Jessa rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue, unable to concentrate on her studies with her brother calling her name repeatedly. With an exasperated sigh, she turned away from her study desk and glared at the mess sprawled across her bed.

"Jason, can you not lie on my bed when you haven’t showered for days?" she scoffed. "And can you stop bothering me? Can’t you see I’m studying?"

The young man on her bed turned to her with a lazy smile. "I can see that. And that’s exactly why I’m bothering you. The exam’s a month away, and you’re already burying yourself in books!"

"I’m not like you, okay?" she hissed. "I have ambitions, and if I want to achieve them, I need to study hard. We’re not rich, Jason. And I’m not just going to laze around when I could be learning more."

"Oh, come on!" He sat up sluggishly. "Jessa, do you really think I’m doing this for fun? Mom and Dad are worried about you! I mean, you don’t even have friends!"

"I don’t need friends."

"You don’t have any hobbies!"

"Studying is a hobby."

"And you never see the sun on weekends! It’s Saturday, but while every other kid is out meeting friends or partying, you’re here!" He grumbled in distress. "For once, just hang out with your brother, will you?"

Jessa deadpanned, unimpressed by her brother’s argument. Unlike Jason, who was content with scraping by, she wanted more. Their parents wouldn’t scold her if she were like him, but she couldn’t accept mediocrity.

She wanted to be someone important—to make a difference. More than that, she didn’t want to burden their parents. They had her and Jason later in life, and as they aged, Jessa couldn’t bear the thought of them working themselves to the bone just to send her to college.

She would be the first in their family to step foot in a university. And she would be the first to graduate. That was what she wanted, but also, not at the cost of her parents working at old age. So, she was planning to get a scholarship by having good grades and studying hard.

But alas...

"Just tell Mom and Dad that I went out with you, Jason," she sighed heavily. "Honestly, they wouldn’t be worried if you just kept your mouth shut."

"I can’t help it!" Jason jumped off the bed and stood beside her. "Jessa, just come with me this once, okay? It’ll be fun!"

"I don’t like your friends. They’re... exhausting."

"You can’t say that when you’ve never even hung out with them!"

Reluctance flickered in her eyes, but she knew her brother wouldn’t let her be. He was persistent, but she also knew he cared.

In the end, she nodded.

Jason’s grin stretched from ear to ear. In an instant, he dashed out of her room. Seconds later, he reappeared, shoving a paper bag into her lap.

"What’s this?" she asked, startled.

"I know you think your brother is a good-for-nothing, but I saw this outfit on a mannequin while hanging out with my friends. It’s the latest trend, so I saved up my allowance!" Jason laughed proudly, his voice nearly deafening her. "Wear this tonight, aight?"

"Fine."

"Awesome!" Jason whooped before skipping out of the room. "Mom! Dad! Jessa’s coming with me tonight! And she’s definitely not going to drink alcohol or make out with anyone!"

Jessa shook her head, listening to his loud voice echo through their small home. But as she looked down at the paper bag, the corner of her lips curled into a subtle smile.

"That fool..." she muttered. "No wonder he never eats lunch at school."

Jessa and Jason weren’t particularly close—or at least, that’s what she liked to claim. But the truth was, her brother had always been a good guy. Even when he was the popular one and she was the loner, he had always looked out for her.

Because of him, no one ever picked on her at school. Other students simply left her alone.

If being a good brother meant protecting her even when she didn’t ask, then yes, she had a good brother.

A passionate, silly one.

And she thought—no, believed—that even as they grew older, they would always be like that.

Him, the big brother she could trust.

Her, the reliable younger sister.

And together, they would always have each other’s backs.

Until...

Until he brought a woman home.

---

SLAP!

Jessa’s head snapped to the side, the sharp sting burning her cheek.

A metallic taste filled her mouth.

Blood.

Wide-eyed, she stood frozen, her mind blank as she processed what had just happened. Slowly, she looked up at the one who had struck her.

Standing before her was the brother she once knew—the silly, passionate Jason.

But he wasn’t alone.

Clinging to his side was her—that vixen. The woman who had wronged Jessa and yet had the audacity to twist the narrative.

"Jessa, I know you didn’t like Priscilla from the moment you met her, but how dare you push her down the stairs and kill our child?!" Jason’s voice roared, seething with rage.

Jessa’s breath caught in her throat.

What did he just say?

She opened her mouth, but before she could speak, she caught the faintest smirk on the corner of Priscilla’s lips.

"You lying bit—"

SLAP!

The second blow landed harder.

The first had shocked her. The second confirmed what she had feared all along.

The brother she knew was gone.

And with all the rage she had swallowed since the day that woman came into their lives, Jessa knew.

Jason had done it.

He had finally crossed the line.

For the first time, their arguments erupted into a full-blown physical altercation. No more verbal disputes—no more bitter, restrained words.

And that day, Jessa knew.

She had lost her brother forever.

It was a hard pill to swallow, one she had refused to accept when she first noticed the changes in him—how he treated her, how he treated their parents.

Jason was no longer the caring brother she had grown up with.

No longer the son their parents had raised.

He had walked down a dark path.

All because of a vixen... who ruined everything: her brother, their family, and her life.