High-Maintenance Heiress Has a Deadly Meltdown

As the sole heiress of the illustrious Chapman family, I am born with severe sensory hypersensitivity, causing overwhelming episodes. Raised like a princess by my three fiercely protective older brothers—Adam, Beau, Claude—every detail of my life is tailored to perfection. Even the temperature of my drinking water has to be measured to the decimal. Everything changes when a new intern, Sunny Sinclair, joins Chapman Group. She calls herself Sunny the Sunshine, yet all she does is lower her head and wipe her tears whenever trouble arises. Somehow, she bewitches all three of the Chapman brothers. Before long, they start calling me difficult and spoiled, praising her instead for being humble, sensible, and easy to please. Then comes my birthday party. Sunny arrives wearing my haute couture gown and breaks the vintage pearl bracelet my late mother has left me as an heirloom. With reddened eyes, she hides behind Adam Chapman, my eldest brother, and whispers, "I didn't mean to. I just wanted to touch it." My second brother, Beau Chapman, looks at me with icy contempt and scolds me for being spoiled. My third brother, Claude Chapman, gently wipes away Sunny's tears, comforting her. I stand there in silence for three seconds. Then, my hypersensitive attack strikes. Clutching my chest, I break down on the spot, sobbing until my whole body convulses before collapsing to the floor. The three brothers who have been condemning me earlier turn deathly pale. They drop to their knees in panic, begging me to breathe. Too bad. When someone with a rare condition like mine is pushed past the limit, the consequences can be life-threatening. Chapter 1 My eldest brother, Adam Chapman, was the first to snap out of it. He shoved Sunny Sinclair aside and dropped to his knees beside me, trying to ease me down flat on my back. "Nance! Nance, look at me! It's me, Adam! Take a deep breath!" My second brother, Beau Chapman, came scrambling over, practically falling to the floor beside me. His hands shook as he frantically dug through my bag, searching for my medication. My third brother, Claude Chapman, was a doctor. His face had gone pale as he pressed a finger beneath my nose, his voice trembling with panic. "Oxygen! Get the portable oxygen tank now!" Sunny, who had been protected behind my brothers just moments ago, was now curled up in a corner, petrified. Tears streamed down her face. "I-I didn't know Ms. Chapman would react like this. I just wanted to touch the bracelet. Is she mad at me? I-I'm so scared." Hearing that fake, overly sweet voice of hers made my breathing grow even more labored. I had always suffered from severe sensory hypersensitivity. When I was a baby, if the temperature in my room changed by even half a degree, I would cry all night until my lips turned blue. If a single loose thread in my clothes brushed against me, my skin would break out in large patches of red rashes. After our parents passed away, my brothers took turns holding me through countless sleepless nights. Whenever they carried me, they barely even dared to breathe too heavily. No one understood my condition better than they did, yet today, for an intern they had barely known for three months, they let her wear the custom-made gown I treasured most and destroyed the only keepsake Mom had left me. Claude pressed the oxygen mask over my face, but I clenched my teeth and refused to breathe, no matter what. "Nance, please, I'm begging you! Just inhale!" I stared at him with wide, tear-filled eyes. Tears slipped down the corners of my eyes as my chest heaved violently from the lack of oxygen. Sunny was still crying softly nearby. "Claude, is she just trying to scare us? Back in the countryside, I got bitten by dogs before and didn't even act this dramatically." I ripped the oxygen mask off my face and pointed at her, screaming hysterically, "Who do you think you are, comparing me to you and a dog? Get out! Get out of my house!" I screamed until my voice broke, scratching wildly at my neck. In an instant, my pale skin was covered with streaks of bloody scratches. Adam grabbed my hands like he was losing his mind. "Nance, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have yelled at you!" My reaction shook Sunny. She probably thought I would act like those arrogant heiresses on TV, looking down on her and slapping her across the face. What she didn't understand, though, was that people with severe sensory hypersensitivity and overwhelming episodes didn't always care about their own safety once they broke down. Sunny bit her lip, looking wronged. "Adam… I know I spoke without thinking, but how could she tell me to leave? It's pouring outside." By then, I was utterly consumed by my emotions. I tore myself free from Adam's grip and grabbed the fruit knife from the table. "Leave, or I'll kill myself!" The blade pressed against my neck. Beau collapsed to his knees in fear. "Put the knife down, Nance! Please, I'm begging you!" I stared straight at Sunny, madness burning in my eyes. "Aren't you Sunny the Sunshine? Aren't you the one who's so sensible and down-to-earth? What's a few raindrops going to do to you? Now, get out!" Her face turned deathly pale as she turned to my brothers for help. This time, none of them dared to meet her eyes. Adam clenched his jaw and pointed toward the door. "Sunny, I want you to leave. Now." Chapter 2 Sunny might've been kicked out, but I knew this was far from over. That night, my emotions spiraled out of control, and I developed a high fever. My brothers stayed by my bedside for the entire night. When I woke up the next morning, Adam was holding a glass of warm water, carefully checking the temperature. "Nance, it's exactly 98.6 degrees. Just take a sip, okay?" I looked at him coldly and didn't move. My hypersensitivity was never limited to sensory matters. I had obsessive-compulsive disorder with mental and moral contaminations, too. Yesterday, all three of them chose to blame me for Sunny, and that moment had already been imprinted on my heart forever. "I'm not drinking it." I threw off the blanket and got out of bed, walking straight into my dressing room. The custom-made gown Sunny had worn had already been sent for dry cleaning and returned, hanging neatly in the closet. I picked up a pair of scissors. Right in front of Adam, I cut the million-dollar gown into pieces. Beau and Claude had just reached the doorway when they saw what I was doing. They immediately held their breaths. I had been like this since I was young. If someone had touched something of mine, no matter how thoroughly it was cleaned, I would feel so disgusted that I would throw up. Once, Claude took a single sip of water from my personal cup. I immediately vomited so violently that my stomach cramped, and I had to be rushed to the emergency room. "Nance, you did the right thing destroying it. If it's tainted, we discard it," Beau said with a forced laugh, trying to appease me. I dropped the scissors and turned to look at them. "Has that intern been fired?" The three of them exchanged glances. None of them answered. Their eyes darted away. Adam sighed. "Nance, Sunny is an orphan. She worked so hard just to get into college and earn this internship." "What she did yesterday was wrong, but it doesn't mean she deserves to lose everything." "Yeah. Besides, she came to work this morning with a high fever and even fainted at the front desk." The nerves in my head throbbed. "So, you guys feel sorry for her?" "No, that's not it!" Claude hurried to explain, "We just think she's had a difficult life. And she really is capable. We just assigned her an important project…" I had no words. I changed my clothes, went downstairs, and told the driver to get the car ready. "Take me to the office." Half an hour later, I pushed open the door to the CEO's office on the top floor of Chapman Group. The first thing I saw was Sunny. She was sitting inside my private lounge, wearing an oversized hospital gown. In her hands was my custom-made fine bone china cup from Monteluce. The moment she saw me walk in, her hand trembled. Water spilled onto the carpet. "Ms. Chapman…" Sunny stood up with tear-filled eyes, looking terrified. "I didn't know this was your cup. I just thought it was a waste for it to sit there unused, and I got a little thirsty, so I used it… "Your brothers said you have too many things anyway and that you wouldn't mind if I used them once." Listening to her sweet, manipulative act, I was so furious that I actually laughed. I walked over and snatched the cup from her hands. "You thought that it being unused was a waste?" I slammed the cup onto the floor. The body shattered instantly, and the flying shards cut into Sunny's calf. She screamed, clutching her leg as she crouched down. "Where exactly did you get the idea that I wouldn't mind?" I followed her logic and completely lost control. "Who do you think you are to use my cup? Do you understand what this is? This is called stealing!" By then, Adam, Beau, and Claude had finished their meeting and returned. The moment they walked in, they saw Sunny's bleeding calf. "Nance, what are you doing?" Beau rushed over and instinctively shielded Sunny behind him. She was crying so hard she could barely breathe. "Beau, it's not her fault. I, being the poor bumpkin I am, got curious because I'd never seen such a beautiful cup before. "I can barely afford to eat, unlike Ms. Chapman, who was born with a silver spoon and has everything. I just wanted to know what it felt like to be chosen for once…" Those few simple words hit exactly where the brothers were the weakest—their instinct to protect the vulnerable. Adam frowned. "Nancy, are you done? It was just a cup. Was it really necessary to hurt her this badly?" Watching them protect Sunny, I felt the familiar wave of overwhelming emotions crash over me again. The sounds around me grew unbearably loud. My heartbeat pounded violently in my ears. I couldn't stop myself. I grabbed the golf club beside me and started smashing everything in the lounge—the computers, the coffee table… Not even the floor-to-ceiling windows could escape. "Am I done, you ask? I'm not going to just stop at a cup. I'm going to destroy everything here!" I screamed. "Aren't you so worried and sad about her? Well, have fun staying in this pile of garbage with her!" Chapter 3 The top floor of the Chapman Group building echoed with the deafening sound of shattering glass. I was like a madwoman, tearing the entire lounge apart. When someone with a condition like mine reached their breaking point, the destruction caused could be terrifying. My whole body trembled with every breath. Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face, but I couldn't stop smashing things. Adam and the others dared not come near me. They were afraid the golf club would accidentally hurt me. They could only stand there and watch until I was completely worn out. The club slipped from my hand. I leaned against the wall, drained of all strength, gasping for air. Sunny hid in Beau's arms, trembling. "Ms. Chapman is terrifying… I only drank some water, and she reacted like she was going to kill me for it." She looked at Claude with pitiful eyes. "Claude, I'm so scared. My leg hurts." As a doctor, Claude instinctively felt the need to tend to her wound. He walked over, tore open the fabric around her leg, and examined it. "It's only a superficial injury. The vein wasn't damaged." My stomach churned at this scene. "You all disgust me." I spat out those words coldly, then turned around and left. … For the next two weeks, I didn't say a single word to them. Instead, I poured all my energy into my personal jewelry exhibition. It was the result of an entire year of hard work. Every single design was birthed from countless sleepless nights. For people like me, focusing on one thing was the only way to calm the storm inside. I locked away each sketch in my private studio at the Chapman residence. No one was allowed inside except me. Three days before the exhibition, I pushed open the door to my studio. My heart sank. The first thing I saw was a floor covered in scraps of paper. Every one of my original design drafts had been cut into pieces and soaked in buckets of colorful paint. In the center of the studio, Sunny was kneeling on the floor, wiping it clean with a rag. When she saw me, she fell backward in shock and landed on the floor. "Ms. Chapman…" My blood ran cold. I rushed forward without thinking and plunged my hands into the paint bucket, desperately trying to salvage the fragments. Alas, it was too late. All of my designs were destroyed. "Sunny Sinclair!" I shrilled like a vengeful spirit. The commotion brought Adam, Beau, and Claude rushing in. When they saw the mess covering the floor, they were stunned. Sunny immediately dropped to her knees and burst into tears. "I don't understand art. I thought those were just waste papers… I saw how messy the studio was, so I wanted to help Ms. Chapman clean it up. "This is how I always helped with chores back in the countryside. I swear I didn't know these were supposed to be important!" She cried as she grabbed onto Adam's pant leg. "Adam, please help me out. I'll make it up to Ms. Chapman. I'll do just anything to pay her back!" He looked at her pitiful state, then at my trembling body and paint-covered hands. "Nance… She was just trying to help. You're talented. I'm sure you can just redraw them. It won't be the end of the world if you postpone the exhibition." Beau nodded along. "That's right. Sunny doesn't even know what paint is. Don't make things more difficult for her." I stared at them, my eyes cold and empty. These were the same brothers I had relied on since childhood. When a little noise kept me from sleeping, they had bought every dog on the entire street and sent them away just to give me peace. Now that my year-long hard work was gone, all they could tell me was to redraw them. I quoted Sunny's words and slowly stood up. "You said these were 'waste papers,' huh?" I walked toward her step by step, looking down at her. "Seriously, who do you think you are to decide that something of mine is worthless? You think acting pitiful and saying you'll do anything can erase what you did?" I grabbed a bucket of red paint beside me and poured the entire thing over Sunny's head. She screamed. "Since you love cleaning so much, use your tongue and lick every drop of paint off this floor until it's clean!" I roared, my chest rising and falling violently. Adam pushed me away. "Enough, Nancy! You're acting like a shrew right now!" Chapter 4 Adam's shove sent me stumbling backward. My lower back slammed against the easel. A sharp pain shot through me, but I didn't even frown. I watched all three of my brothers surround Sunny, who was drenched in red paint, protecting her as if she were the true heiress who had been bullied. "Fine. I'm a shrew," I said with a sneer. I wiped the paint from my hands and turned around, leaving the studio. I didn't cause another scene. Instead, I locked myself in my room. For an entire day, I didn't step outside or eat a single bite. My stomach condition flared up. The pain was so severe that I curled up on the bed, cold sweat soaking through my pajamas. The next morning, the lock on my door was smashed open. A maid walked in carrying a bowl of steaming oatmeal. "Ms. Chapman, Mr. Adam specifically asked the kitchen to make this for you. Have some." I was truly starving by then. The cramps in my stomach were so intense that I could barely think straight. I forced myself to sit up and pick up the bowl. Upon taking a sip, I could taste a faint, strange fragrance hidden in the oats. The next second, my throat suddenly felt like it was closing up. I had been severely allergic to peanuts since childhood. Even the tiniest trace of peanut powder could trigger a violent swelling of my airways. And that oatmeal… I was certain it had peanut butter in it. I slammed the bowl onto the floor. My fingers clawed desperately at my throat, trying to force myself to vomit. It was too late. My airway began swelling shut almost instantly. My breathing was cut off, and my vision darkened. As I collapsed from the bed onto the floor, I could hear the maid's scream slowly fade into the distance. … The next time I woke up, it was the harsh white light of the hospital ceiling that greeted me. Every breath felt like I was swallowing a blade, so I surmised I must've been intubated earlier. Only an oxygen mask sat over my face. I moved my eyes slowly. At the foot of the hospital bed stood Sunny. She was wearing my favorite silk pajamas. In her hand was an apple, which she was peeling slowly and leisurely. We were the only ones in the hospital room. When she saw me wake up, she set down the knife and walked over to my bedside. Gone was the timid, helpless woman she had pretended to be before. She leaned closer to my ear, her voice filled with undisguised malice. "You're finally awake, Ms. Chapman. Do you know? While you went into an allergic shock, your brothers were celebrating my birthday with me downstairs." I glared at her with all my strength. All I could make was a hoarse, broken sound. She smiled even wider. "Indeed, I was the one who added peanut butter to your oats," Sunny continued. "Being picky is a bad habit, so I thought I'd help you get rid of it. Who would've thought you were so fragile, huh? You almost died." She reached out and patted my cheek, her eyes cruel. "Your brothers said your mental state is deteriorating. You hurt yourself and lose control all the time, so you need to be isolated for treatment. "They've already decided to send you to a rehab center abroad. From now on, I'll stay here and accompany your brothers for you. Don't worry. I'll take over everything that belongs to you one step at a time. Your room, your clothes, your existence…" My heart pounded violently. The monitor beside me started blaring with a sharp alarm. I stared at Sunny's triumphant face and suddenly ceased my fit. The next second, I ripped off the oxygen mask and smiled at her.