Becoming the real heiress with cancer

chapter 1

I was linked to a Sickness Transmigration System.

It dropped me into the body of Harriet Bernal, the true heiress, half a year after she'd been found by the wealthy Bernal family.

On my very first day here.

Someone splashed a whole plate of food right onto me.

Hot curry sauce ran down my face and neck, and fish balls rolled off my clothes onto the floor.

The heat stung.

I stared at the boy in front of me, my face blank.

My gaze was blank, devoid of any emotion.

Everyone else was startled by his actions too.

Laurel, my mother, gasped, "Elton, what are you doing!"

Elton's face flickered with a hint of regret, but the words that burst out were nothing but blame.

"It's just that she always has that deadpan face! Renata talked to her, didn't she hear?"

Renata looked guilty at his words.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was because of me..."

She looked at me apologetically.

"My third brother didn't mean it. Harriet, can I apologize to you for him?"

Elton instantly bristled.

"Who is she, anyway? Why would you even apologize to her? Renata, why do you even bother with her?!"

I gave a faint, bitter smile.

I wondered, too, what the original Harriet meant to them.

Renata stood, surrounded by my three brothers, dressed in a pristine white dress, her hair perfectly styled.

Meanwhile, my clothes were stained yellow with curry, and the smell of food clung to me, even without looking down.

Renata.

The family's precious darling.

This name shouldn't have been hers.

I ignored Renata.

I picked up the last remaining fish ball that had landed on my lap, swallowing it along with the curry still clinging to my lips.

It wasn't the taste I remembered.

I got up and left.

"I'm full. I'll head back to my room now, thank you."

As I turned, I met Mrs. Ward's worried gaze. I managed a small smile for her.

Silence fell over the dining table.

Bernal and Laurel looked displeased.

Brian, my eldest brother, said in a low, stern voice, "Elton, you genuinely crossed a line this time. Harriet didn't do a thing."

My original self in the previous world was already dead.

Late-stage stomach cancer, died at eighteen.

I had died a slow, agonizing death from the pain.

There was no one by my side.

Aside from that single fish ball just now, I hadn't eaten anything solid for nearly three months.

Perhaps the System, taking pity on my miserable existence, brought me to this world.

This body also had stomach cancer.

But it hadn't progressed to a terminal stage yet.

The System said the original girl had taken sleeping pills and committed suicide today.

Frequent abdominal pain accompanied by coughing up blood had made her aware of her body's problems.

But she was afraid that speaking up would cause trouble for the Bernal family.

Making the family, who already disliked her, despise her even more.

So she chose to simply leave this world.

How foolish she was. The Bernal family had vast resources; with proper treatment, she could have definitely gotten better.

This family was truly ironic.

They'd brought their biological daughter back half a year ago and still hadn't noticed she was gravely ill.

"Why am I here?"

A girl who shared my unfortunate fate.

Both orphans since childhood.

Both afflicted with stomach cancer.

Perhaps she was luckier than I.

At sixteen, she was welcomed home by her biological parents.

Perhaps she was unluckier than I.

She never received a single shred of unconditional love before she left this world, becoming an angel.

The System remained silent.

"Has my arrival worsened this body's symptoms?" I asked the System, feeling the metallic taste of blood in my throat.

The System replied, "Yes. Just like your original self, you might... by eighteen."

"But if you cooperate with treatment..."

I spoke calmly, "No treatment."

It didn't matter. I was going to die anyway, so what did it matter? Besides, I didn't want to live.

In the middle of the night, my stomach pain was unbearable, and I tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

It felt like I was back in my previous life.

Every night, I'd curl up, eyes wide open until dawn.

My room was empty. My throat was parched. I fumbled my way downstairs in the dark, desperate for a drink of water.

Instead, I ran into my second brother, Jeremy, in the living room.

Jeremy was a professional gamer, so it wasn't unusual for him to be up at two or three in the morning.

He clearly noticed me too.

He looked at me with a sour expression.

Jeremy was the quietest member of the Bernal family.

The original Harriet had never seen him in a good mood in the six months since she came home.

I ignored him. I figured her very presence was enough to irritate him.

I walked to the kitchen, hunched over.

But I didn't realize Jeremy was startled by my appearance.

Under the dim nightlight in the living room.

He clearly saw me sweating profusely from the pain, my lips pale.

Aside from the angry red scald mark on my cheek, the rest of my skin was shockingly pale, almost translucent.

I, however, was used to my sickly appearance, so I paid it no mind.

I leaned against the sink, trying to rest, but the next second, a wave of nausea hit me, and I threw up blood.

"Ugh."

I choked, tears welling up from the pain.

A sound came from the kitchen doorway. Jeremy had followed me in.

I quickly turned on the faucet to rinse the blood from the sink, then cupped my hands and drank a few gulps of tap water.

Then I heard Jeremy's deep voice. "If you're going to drink water, drink warm water. Cold water can upset your stomach."

I softly hummed in response, lowering my head, trying to walk past him.

The original Harriet had barely exchanged words with Jeremy, and I certainly wasn't eager to get tangled up with this family.

But Jeremy grabbed my wrist.

I turned my head to look at him, my voice hoarse. "Second brother, is something wrong?"

Being so close, Jeremy saw the wound on my face more clearly.

He frowned, silent for a moment, then asked, "Why haven't you treated the scald on your face?"

I looked at his seemingly impatient expression.

I just assumed he thought it was some kind of attention-seeking stunt.

I pulled my wrist free, nodded vaguely. "Yeah, I'm heading back now."

He was too close. Jeremy turned on the light, then walked closer to the sink, frowning.

Though the blood had mostly washed away.

He still keenly noticed the faint reddish stains lingering in the sink...