Chapter 8
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“As for Mom-”
I let out a derisive laugh.
“Mom only loves Sherilyn. Whether she’s actually talented or not doesn’t matter–she’s untouchable simply because she’s Auntie’s daughter.”
1 didn’t give him a chance to interrupt.
“Mom promised Auntie she’d help turn Sherilyn into a ‘success story.‘ But Sherilyn is still an outsider–Dad is the one holding the purse strings. Do you know how she pulled it off?”
“The very first day Sherilyn came to our house, Mom already had it all planned out. Every resource I had was taken away and poured into Sherilyn instead.”
“My extracurricular classes were canceled. Even my tutoring was stopped. On the other hand, Sherilyn got unlimited investment until everyone around us started calling her talented and gifted.”
“It worked perfectly. Dad became convinced I was an idiot and Sherilyn was a prodigy.”
“And who doesn’t love a prodigy? Even though I’m his daughter, as long as I had no ‘market value, the resources naturally flowed toward Sherilyn.”
Mom let out a shriek beside him.
There was the sound of objects slamming and crashing.
I could feel my combat power peaking.
“And my dear little brother–you had it even worse. You never got a drop of Dad’s resources. You think you grew up in a loving home? That’s only because I was the bitter one, playing both mother and father to you.”
“Most of your expenses are paid by me. As for Mom and Dad–they only ever had eyes for Sherilyn.”
“Sure, Sherilyn likes you–just like a bouquet needs green leaves. The more, the better.”
“Mom, over the years, haven’t you been whispering bad things about me into Dad’s ear, while singing Sherilyn’s praises? That’s the same trick you use on him.”
After so many years, there was nothing left I didn’t understand.
Mom was just biased.
Maybe she didn’t love Sherilyn that much in the beginning, but after pouring in so much time, effort, and money, the sunk cost was too high to walk away.
Dad was the same.
No one fails to love something they’ve personally polished to perfection.
These words shattered Levi’s worldview.
“You’re Ivinal You’re making this un!”
Chapter 7
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“You’re lying! You’re making this up!”
He broke down, shouting, turning to demand answers from Mom.
“To be honest, you two aren’t much to brag about yourselves.”
That last line was the killing blow.
Both of them exploded. Then a loud bang sounded–and the phone line went dead.
I happily opened a bottle of red wine.
Any sister–brother bond between Levi and me had already been worn away by years of
contempt.
If I had to suffer, he wasn’t getting off easy either.
Word later had it that Levi raised absolute hell at home. At eighteen–an already sensitive age–my tearing the veil from his eyes left him in a state of vengeful rebellion.
The outcome?
Mom was so furious she fainted and ended up in the hospital. Dad slapped Levi hard enough to rupture his eardrum, and my brother ran away from home.
As for the supposed culprit, I had the best night’s sleep in ages.
I was woken by a knock at the door.
When I opened it, Dad stepped inside.
He exhaled heavily, his once–cold tone softened. “Things have gotten to this point, and we all bear some responsibility.”
“Your mother is in the hospital, your brother is missing, and I still have to work–I can’t manage it all.”
“Celine, can you go take care of your mother? She misses you too.”
Ah, so now he was trying the soft approach.
I didn’t indulge him. I pulled out the severance letter from before.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to cut ties with me? Don’t you already have Sherilyn, the ‘daughter in all but blood“?”
“All these years, whenever you or Mom weren’t feeling well, I was the one who went with you to the doctor. Remember last year when Mom was hospitalized? I stayed with her day and night for a whole month. And do you know what she bragged about to the people in the ward?”
“She told them she had a refined, dutiful niece. As for me–the one actually caring for her- there’s not a single word.”
Chapter 8
