Chapter 3Love and Hate Are Too Luxurious

Amelia's business was booming, and she was constantly flying all over the country. The day she secured her first round of angel investment, she was so ecstatic she took us all out for a celebratory dinner.

Halfway through the meal, she got a call from Linda, who hadn't joined us.

"Amy, I'm in trouble," Linda cried over the phone. "Some guys have me cornered at a bar."

Without a second's hesitation, Amelia dropped her chopsticks and ran out.

She never came back whole.

Protecting Linda, Amelia was struck in the back of the head with a liquor bottle. By the time Leo and I reached the hospital, she had the mental capacity of a five-year-old child.

She had forgotten everyone and everything, except me. Her little brother.

My world collapsed.

While grappling with my own grief, I tried to push Leo away. "When Amy was herself, she loved you more than anything," I told him, my heart breaking. "She wouldn't want you to waste your life on her now. As her brother, I'm making the decision for her. You two should get a divorce."

Leo gripped Amelia’s hand, tears streaming down his face as he shook his head fiercely. "I will never leave her. Never. Not even in death."

His devotion was absolute. In a moment of naive gratitude for his loyalty, I signed over all inheritance rights to Amelia’s company to him.

Linda, consumed by guilt, locked herself in her room, drinking herself into oblivion. It was Leo who finally kicked her door down and doused her with a bucket of cold water.

"If you want to make things right with Amelia," he yelled, "then you'll get your ass up and help me protect her company and this family!"

From that day on, Linda became a different person. She joined the company and shouldered the burden of caring for us all.

At the time, I was drowning in grief and uncertainty. Linda's constant presence and support became my only lifeline. We got married, and by my sister's hospital bed, she swore she would take care of me for the rest of her life, just as Amelia would have wanted.

Linda's phone rang, pulling me from the depths of my memories.

Leo, as if desperate to escape the past, suddenly became talkative. "Don't be mad at Linda," he said, a smug tone creeping into his voice. "She's the CEO of a publicly-traded company now. She's a very busy woman." He rolled up his sleeve, deliberately flashing a limited-edition vintage watch. "She got this for me last month for my birthday. Flew to an auction in Paris to get it."

Linda ended her call. "What are you two talking about?"

Leo took her hand, his touch sickeningly affectionate. "I was just saying, Paul's clothes look a little worn. I'll pick out a few of my old suits for him later."

My voice was devoid of all emotion. "Don't bother. I wouldn't want anything you've touched."

Leo's face turned ugly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I met his gaze directly. "You know exactly what it means."

If it hadn't been for that night, for that "accident," it should have been my sister standing here now, successful and triumphant.

Amelia’s descent into a childlike state was a wound in my heart that would never heal. But life had to go on. In the darkest hours of the night, I would find a sliver of comfort, thankful that Amelia had left me with two people who were closer than family.

The night before I left for grad school, Linda promised me again and again that she would take perfect care of Amelia. Lost in despair, I clung to her words like a drowning man to a raft. I believed her.

And at first, she was flawless. She seemed determined to give me all the love Amelia no longer could. Every two weeks, she would fly to my city, terrified I might be feeling lonely or neglected.

"Paul," she would say, her eyes shining, "the day the first snow falls, we'll have our wedding. We'll be the happiest couple in the world."

The city where I studied was known for its year-round warmth, but that winter was unusually cold. The forecast predicted the first snow in fifty years would fall on Christmas Day.

I used the money I'd earned from a part-time job to buy a diamond ring. I secretly bought a ticket home, planning to surprise them.

But when I opened the door to our home, the surprise was mine.

There was my sister, chained to a radiator, emaciated and frail.

And in front of her, on the floor, were two naked, writhing bodies.