I recalled carefully. It was the scene when I attended my father's funeral. It had been five years since I returned to this land once again.
My older brother, Tomas Danes, furious, rushed over and grabbed my collar, raising his hand as if to strike.
"Claire, how dare you come back?"
Tomas' sudden outburst interrupted my thoughts.
Instinctively, I gripped his hand and pushed him away forcefully.
I was not the young girl who could be easily knocked down by his fist anymore, nor was I the girl from a past life who would meekly accept his slap with guilt.
Smoothing out the wrinkles in my collar, I coldly questioned, "I'm not the one with a guilty conscience, so why wouldn't I dare to come back?"
"How dare you..."
"What? Just because you're loud doesn't mean you're right."
It was probably the first time Tomas encountered his meek sister standing up to him. He stuttered, unable to utter a word.
"Tomas, it's our father's funeral today. Do you have to make a scene?"
The villagers were always keen on gossip.
A disturbance today would become tomorrow's talk of the town, spreading through households as fodder for dinner conversations, a topic for idle chatter.
"Or..." I paused, moving closer to him. "Do you want everyone to know that you refused to save your own father to buy a house?"
Tomas was shocked, his eyes evading. "I... I don't know what you're talking about!"
I chuckled inwardly, thinking, "What a 'filial' son!"
In my previous life, I rushed to the hospital upon receiving the news, but I never even got to see my father one last time.
Over the phone, my mother berated me, accusing me of being heartless and of not showing an ounce of filial piety.
In my past life, I foolishly blamed myself, thinking if I had known about my father's illness earlier, rushed over with money, perhaps he wouldn't have died.
But later, Tomas got drunk and accidentally let it slip.
In the past, my father suffered a sudden heart attack due to his old age, but the surgery still had a forty percent chance of success.
However, during those days, Tomas was preoccupied with repaying the mortgage, and the post-operative medical expenses were exorbitant. In the end, fearing it would all be a waste of money, he simply chose to forgo the surgery.