Dear Sister, Next Life I’m Yours

When I was ten, my parents’ business went bankrupt, and they were driven to take their own lives. Facing the threats of the creditors, my older sister, who was someone’s mistress, came back. She arrived with bodyguards, sold my parents’ house, paid off the debts, and then forcibly dragged me into a car. “From today on, you’re with me. Mom and Dad’s remaining debt is eight hundred thousand. You’ll earn it back when you’re older.” I glared at her, full of hatred. “Why did you even come back?! Mom and Dad died because of you! Why wasn’t it you who died instead?!”

She fell silent. I’d known since I was little that I had an older sister. She’d left home at 18, claiming our family was too poor to give her the life she wanted. So she got involved with a rich man, becoming his mistress. At school, my classmates would always ask me, “Brooke, is it true your sister became someone’s mistress? How shameless!” “Your sister threw her life away, didn’t she? Is that how your family gets all its money?” “My mom says your sister is shameless and told me not to play with you!” I’d always hated her. Hated her for being shameless and dragging my name through the mud. I also hated her because if it weren’t for her, Mom and Dad wouldn’t have tried to start a business, bought that store, only for it to fail and leave them bankrupt. Now she was back, selling the last tangible memory of our parents. After I cursed at her, she looked at me with a cold laugh. “Oh, believe me, I wanted to die, but I just couldn’t!” “Little girl, you want me dead? Well, I’m not going anywhere! Nobody wants you besides me, so you’d better behave, or I’ll throw you right back where you came from!” At her words, my ten-year-old face went white with fear. Even though I hated her, I knew I had no choice. Our relatives all thought my parents had left me a secret inheritance. They’d barely speak two sentences before telling me to check the bank. They weren’t truly good to me, but this sister, who was practically a stranger to me, didn’t seem much better. But I had no choice; she was my guardian. I took a long-distance train with her to a strange city and then moved into an apartment. It was her place, neatly kept, with men’s clothes and shoes scattered around. My room was upstairs, small, but still pretty nice. “You can do whatever you want normally, but if my boyfriend comes over, you have to stay in your room. Don’t come out and cause trouble for me!” I lowered my head and said nothing. My sister’s boyfriend was a middle-aged man with glasses. When he saw me, he smiled faintly. “So this is Brooke!” I nodded, quickly carried my glass of water upstairs, and shut the door. From his smile, I could tell he was distant. Just like the teachers at my old school. They’d nod and smile at me too, but their smiles never reached their eyes. It was as if I was just some insignificant little thing. As my mom used to say, “Some people have their noses so high in the air, we can never reach their level.” He was one of those people we couldn’t aspire to. Scarlett told me to call him Richard. He owned a trading company in the area and drove luxury cars. Richard would bring gifts for Scarlett when he visited, and snacks for me too. But he only stayed for a few hours, never overnight. I was enrolled in a nearby elementary school. Here, no one knew my sister was a mistress, but I was still scared. Scared someone would find out about Scarlett, scared I’d be mocked. This went on for two years. I started middle school, and during summer vacation, with nowhere else to go, Scarlett took me to her company. That’s when I found out she worked at Richard’s company. On my very first day, I was told that the plump lady in the office was Richard’s wife. In that moment, a chill ran through me. I hated Scarlett for bringing me there. Every time I ran into the boss’s wife, my heart would pound, terrified she’d call me a mistress’s kid. The boss’s wife, Victoria, would always call out to me when she saw me, “Brooke, come help me with this!” She’d ask me to carry her bag and offer me money, but I never dared to take it. I was afraid she’d take it back later, and even more afraid she’d call me shameless. Seeing me refuse the money, Victoria just patted my head. At the end of summer, she bought me two new outfits and even drove me to school herself on the first day. When I learned the school had dorms, I immediately applied.