Maybe even when I’m eighty, there will still be a child inside me, waiting for a love that never came.
My parents flipped through the report with impatient hands. Their faces darkened. Dad set the paper down, his voice low and heavy.
“How could you end up with a disease like this?”
I stared at them blankly. “The doctor said the cause was parental favoritism toward Fiona.”
Mom’s voice shot up. She slammed the table. “Are you blaming us?”
Then came the speech I had heard too many times. The hardships of raising children, the sacrifices she had made, the fairness she prided herself on. She spoke with conviction. “Everything your sister has, you have too. She gets a birthday celebration, so do you. She gets a tutor, you can join in. What else do you want?”
Dad nodded. “Look around. Tell me which other family treats their kids as equally as we do. You’re just not as good as your sister, so now you want to blame us?”
It was laughable, really. They always claimed to be fair.
How long would it take for them to admit the truth?
- K
I let the memories unfold, dull and distant at first, like dust settling on old furniture.
“I did housework every day. Fiona never had to lift a finger.
ルト
“My hair was always cut short because you didn’t want the hassle of tying it up. Fiona grew hers long, beautifully braided with care.
“Every day, I came home to cold leftovers. She always had a fresh, hot meal waiting for her.
2
“When I made a mistake, you hit me. When she made a mistake, you still hit me–because I hadn’t looked after her properly.”
N
Then, an old memory surfaced. It slipped in like a blade, sharp and precise, cutting through the numbness.
I looked at them.
“When we went out to eat, you ordered a family meal that only included one child. Any extra kid meant an extra charge.
“You didn’t want to pay. So, you left me outside the restaurant and took Fiona in with you.
“I was just a kid, standing alone at the entrance while strangers passed by. I almost got taken by someone.
“If that’s not favoritism, then what is?” My voice was steady, but my chest ached. “I don’t understand how parents can be so cruel.”
I was lucky my grandma raised me to see things clearly. Otherwise, I might have spent my whole life desperate for their approval. I might have become someone easy to control, someone willing to sacrifice everything just to be noticed.
For once, they were silent. Maybe they had run out of excuses. Maybe they just couldn’t argue anymore.
Then, Dad exploded. His face turned red. “I must have been blind to raise such an ungrateful, selfish brat!”
+25 BONUS
Chapter 7
Mom scoffed. “Fiona is younger. As her big sister, can’t you let her have a little more? You’re just bitter and sick in the head. If you keep acting like this, people will think we abused you. Stop causing trouble. If you have the guts, just go die!”
I stared at her, at the woman who had given birth to me, the woman who was supposed to love me.
She
was telling me to die.
I couldn’t understand it.
I really couldn’t.
The biggest lie society ever told me was that a father’s love is steady as a mountain, and a mother’s love is selfless.
Children are born loving their parents, but some parents are selfish, calculating, and cruel. Some parents would rather crush you than see you shine.
