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Dad shot me a glare before turning to Kathy with a smile, reaching for her hand. The moment they touched, Kathy suddenly pulled back. That’s when I noticed the tape wrapped around her hand. A violin sat in the corner of the living room.
“Are you learning violin?”
“Yes, I recently enrolled in a class.”
What a coincidence–I had also learned violin as a child when I lived with my grandmother. I picked up the violin, casually flipped through the sheet music, and began to play. Dad tried to stop me, but Kathy held him back. I was rusty from not practicing for so long. When I finished the piece, I saw appreciation in Kathy’s eyes and knew I’d done the right thing.
Kathy threw her arm around my shoulder: “This is your home now.”
I relaxed and took her arm. From that day on, I catered to her interests, practicing violin with her every day, I scoured all her social media, working hard to understand her personality, hobbies, and eating habits. Day by day, she finally accepted me completely.
She was generous–sending me to the best high school, buying me new clothes, and giving me $150,000 in monthly allowance. She said, “Since you’ve entered my home, I won’t shortchange
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While my parents looked at me with nothing but disdain, she was different–her eyes held expectation when she looked at me. To repay her, I studied relentlessly, consistently ranking at the top of my class and winning awards left and right.
At the end of the semester, Dad received a call from my homeroom teacher and was ready to hit me before even understanding the situation: “You caused trouble again, didn’t you!”
It was Kathy who firmly protected me and took the call, only to learn the teacher was calling with good news–I’d been named outstanding student representative and received a national scholarship. Dad was stunned, never expecting me to become so excellent.
In my previous life, with my parents constantly fighting, I couldn’t focus on studying. After the divorce, Mom forced me to work, so naturally my grades plummeted. Now, with the good environment Kathy provided, I could finally study in peace.
Because of my excellent grades, the school invited Dad to speak as an outstanding student’s parent. He finally felt proud, and his attitude toward me softened considerably. In this atmosphere, I smoothly made it through high school.
During the second semester of senior year, Kathy asked if I was interested in studying abroad–with my grades, I could
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definitely get into a good university. I was about to happily agree when Dad flatly refused.
“A girl should be grateful just to attend college, and you want to go abroad? Do you deserve it?”
In that moment, I understood that no matter how hard I tried, I’d never earn my father’s love. In his heart, only Larry mattered
most.
In this life, my dear brother lived a completely different life from mine. When he first left with Mom, Kathy had wanted to bring him back. But he disdainfully refused: “You’re the woman who destroyed my parents‘ marriage–how dare you try to be my stepmother!”
Kathy was heartbroken by his words. After spending two Christmases in poverty with Mom, Larry finally waited for Mom to remarry into wealth. He was thrilled, thinking his suffering was finally over, but he had no idea he was falling into a new abyss.
The CEO Mom married appeared gentle on the surface but had a violent temper. In my previous life, he not only beat Mom and me but took pleasure in tormenting me. In this life, how could he possibly spare Larry?
Larry was beaten black and blue, dressed in rags like a little beggar. He finally couldn’t take it anymore and secretly ran out to find Dad for help. He threw his arms around Dad’s legs,
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crying his heart out—a complete contrast to his resolute departure before.
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“Dad, please save me! I don’t want to stay at Mom’s anymore. If I stay any longer, I’ll really die!”
Dad immediately softened, helping him up with a face full of heartache: “Larry, come back quickly. Daddy has missed you to death!”
Kathy didn’t want to take him in, but he made a huge fuss, threatening: “Kathy, if you don’t take me in, I’ll go die.”
Kathy’s heart softened, and she still let him through the door. The moment he moved in, the peace that had existed in our home was completely shattered.
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