The first time Ethan saw me, he looked at me lecherously.

One night, he sneaked into my room and groped me. I wasn't having it and smashed a lamp over his head.

The next day, I packed my things and returned to school, far away from this mess.

I thought he must have hated me ever since.

A bastard asked his sister to marry another bastard.

I stood still, calmly speaking, "Do you remember what he did to me?"

Amanda quickly smoothed things over. "Oh, your brother is doing it for you. Ethan doesn't even look down on you!"

Her eyes gleamed with shrewdness as she revealed the real reason. "Besides, if you marry him, we can get a house for Zed. He won't have to worry about finding a wife in the future!"

Zed, grabbing my clothes. "Auntie, I want to get married!"

I looked down, smiling, hiding the mockery in my eyes. "Alright! I promise you have a house to get married."

At the dinner table, they laughed and planned after my marriage.

I ignored them.

That night, I cried, letting go of any hope for family.

These past years, I had been saving to buy a house near the hospital to move out.

Luckily, the hospital was in an old part of town where prices were reasonable.

Working the night shift, I had time during the day to visit houses.

I only had enough savings for a down payment, so I bought a small one-bedroom apartment.

Though small, it was enough for me.

After viewing the house, it was dark. I hurried to the bus stop to go to work.

"Lisa?"

A male voice made me look back. I saw those familiar, lecherous eyes again.

Ethan grinned, his face oily and red. "I heard you work at a hospital?"

I nodded indifferently.

He squinted, his mouth twisted in a greedy smile. "Being a nurse is great! When we get married, we won't have to pay for hospital visits."

I forced a smile, unable to hide my disgust.

Thinking I was shy, he kept bragging about his family's new houses.

I pointed at the approaching bus. "We'll talk later."

I walked away.

Behind me, Ethan raised his voice. "I'll come to discuss our marriage!"

I was organizing patient records when the call from home came.

Amanda's voice was tearful. "Lisa, help Zed!"

I interrupted her sobbing on the phone, "What's wrong with him?"

She choked out. "Zed has a terrible stomachache. He keeps throwing up everything he eats."

It turned out he had food poisoning from eating too much of the red corn.