Chapter 1
My sister clung to Dad’s arm, acting all sweet:
“Dad, please let me stay with you! You’re my favorite, and I’m not afraid of a little hardship.”
Seeing his usually spoiled daughter say this moved Dad deeply.
He didn’t notice Mom standing nearby with a scowl.
“No way, Amy will suffer with you. I have to take her with me,” Mom insisted.
My sister would struggle with Dad, but what about me?
My parents were fiercely fighting over my sister’s custody, as if I didn’t exist.
In the end, they couldn’t change my sister’s mind about staying with Dad, so Mom reluctantly picked me.
I got into my stepdad’s luxury car with Mom.
My sister skipped away holding Dad’s hand.
Before leaving, she shot me a taunting look.
I didn’t care.
After all, Mom was wealthy now, and Dad’s situation was a mess.
In my past life, Dad and I spent every day hiding from debt collectors.
I couldn’t concentrate on my studies.
His career failure and Mom’s departure devastated him.
He gave up, drank heavily in a dingy apartment, and ignored everything.
Despite being a top student, I couldn’t afford tuition and had to drop out to support us.
We came from the same womb, but my sister was luckier.
She was pretty and knew how to charm our parents, who adored her.
Being younger, they expected me, as her older sister, to concede to her.
Even during the divorce, they only wanted her.
But in this life, she chose Dad, letting him boast in front of Mom.
In the car, Mom started berating me.
“You’ve always been plain and unlikeable. We’re going to live with Uncle Ryan now, so don’t embarrass me.”
It’s laughable; what kind of mother says such things about her own daughter?
But whatever, the car rolled into the upscale villa district.
I knew my stepfather was rich, but I didn’t know he was this rich.
He got me into the city’s best private school.
A driver picked me up and dropped me off every day.
To make up for having dropped out in my past life, I studied hard.
I ranked in the top three every year.
Mom, who usually ignored me, was eager to attend my parent-teacher meetings.
She loved being envied by other parents and praised as an excellent parent by teachers.
Since my stepfather had no children of his own, I thrived in this household.
I even started planning to study abroad.
“Kids shouldn’t think about going abroad. Don’t think you can do anything just because you’re a top student,” my mom snapped before my stepfather could speak.
Later, I realized you don’t need a reason to dislike someone.
Even between a mother and daughter.