6 Chapter 6

Madeline left after staying with her mother for a long time. She returned home when it was only an hour before midnight.

She felt guilty for Nathan because she had left that fifteen-year-old boy to clean the house and cook all by himself most of the time, but she needed to work, and they couldn't afford a housekeeper for now. 

Madeline unlocked the door and looked around to see if the house was clean.

She was relieved that it seemed Nathan could once again fend for himself. So she checked into his room and, unsurprisingly, saw him playing an online game on his computer.

She leaned on the door and knocked on it to announce her presence.

Nathan ignored her despite not wearing a headphone, so she called his name, "Nathan, it's time to sleep. You're going to school early tomorrow."

…

Nathan ignored her again, which was unusual because he'd usually listened to her and turned off that game. 

"Nathan—"

"Shut up," Nathan said curtly, and Madeline was stunned. The teenage boy finally looked over his shoulder, staring at his sister coldly, "You're trending everywhere on the internet, Sis."

"Ah—well, it can't be helped, right?" Madeline tried to defuse the situation, knowing that her brother must've been disappointed in her for acting like a whore on TV.

After all, she was portraying a demeaning character far from her authentic self in real life. 

"Just think of it as a character I'm playing. I was an actress, after all," Madeline said.

"I never saw you playing as a slut before," Nathan sneered. "You're right. You're a natural."

Madeline felt tight in her heart. She clenched her fist as she got triggered by her brother's cruel words. She wanted to scold her brother for insulting her, but at the same time, she also had no credibility to do so when she acted shamelessly on TV.

"Don't speak to me like that, Nathan," Madeline said agitatedly as she suppressed her anger. "I'm doing this because I need to earn money. Don't you know that Mom also needs a lot of money for her treatment? We also need to pay Dad's debt and also your tuition. Do you think I—"

Madeline finally stopped talking when she realized that ranting about all these financial burdens to her fifteen-year-old brother wouldn't mean a thing.

After all, Nathan was burdened already by being independent on his own and having an infamous sister who was probably the butt of a joke in his school probably worsened his situation.

The least Madeline could do was to let him vent his frustration by himself.

So she took a deep breath to calm down and said, "I've left you an allowance on your kitchen counter. The fridge has been stocked. I'm going to my room now."

"Yeah, go to your room. I can't bear to look at you anyway," Nathan said before he returned to his game, ignoring Madeline completely.

Madeline sighed. "Don't forget to sleep early."

She closed the door and left Nathan alone.

Nathan stared at the computer screen, playing games with his online friends. But he seemed to be unresponsive as he kept thinking about Madeline.

He read those top posts on various social media, all slandering and mocking her sister for acting like a slut, for being a shameless mistress, and for being a genuinely horrible human, all of which were false.

Nathan clenched his game controller and bit his lip to numb the pain. Then he muttered his dear sister's name, "Maddy, why?'

**

Madeline returned to her room and threw herself on the bed. 

She buried her face in the pillow.

She wanted to scream, but the wall wasn't thick enough to stop her voice from leaking. She didn't want Nathan to hear her scream.

So she simply sobbed without making too much noise, trying her best to stay strong despite all the horrible circumstances she was in.

'If only I get a second chance, I would've turned my life around and become an actress or singer again,' Madeline lamented. 'I don't want to do this, but I have no choice, so why is my brother punishing me? What would happen once Mom heard about this as well?'

The more Madeline thought about her situation, the sadder she got. But she knew that she needed to move on and started another day tomorrow with an interview where she had to wear the same skimpy dress that only riled up dirty men who only wanted to see her naked and for other people to judge and demean her.

It was degrading, especially for a woman who had been working hard as a singer and actress since she was young. 

"I just want a second chance. Please give me a chance to prove myself that I'm much more than a whore…" Madeline muttered before she fell asleep with her tears dampening the pillow.