Chapter 2
else?
06:30
“Next week is Felicity’s birthday. We’ll combine it with
your homecoming party. We’ll have a big double
celebration…” I interrupted my parents for the first time.
“Mom, Dad, next week is also my birthday.”
5
Years of habit meant my parents, when mentioning
Felicity’s birthday, completely forgot it was also mine.
Though born on the same day, Felicity had naturally
claimed the role of “younger sister,” because as “older
sister,” I was expected to be “sensible” and yield to
her. Seeing the guilt in their eyes, I lowered my gaze,
then raised it, a timely glimmer of tears in my own.
“I heard from my brother that sister receives birthday
gifts every year. Even the villa we live in now was
sister’s eighteenth birthday gift.”
“Elara has never had a birthday party, Mom and Dad. If
Elara can do one thing, can she trade it for one
birthday wish from you?” Reborn, what I wanted was
not to compete with Felicity for the “little princess”
title.
Chapter 2
06:30
The birthday banquet was a lively affair. Everyone who
came wanted to see what the Sterling family’s long–lost
“second daughter” looked like. Felicity, dressed in the
custom gown Dominic had ordered for her, was still the
haughty Sterling heiress. While helping me change into
my own gown, Felicity leaned in, her eyes gleaming with
smug triumph.
“Elara, so what if you’re the biological daughter?”
“Now you’re just a disposable, second–tier daughter,
while I’m still the Sterling family’s most beloved little
daughter!”
“Playing these uncouth little games with me, Big Sister
still has a lot to learn~”
She gave a hard tug, and the sound of fabric ripping
echoed. The custom gown I received had clearly been
made a size too small. In front of our parents, Felicity
intimately linked her arm through mine. “Oh my~ Sister
gained a tiny bit of weight, didn’t she~”
The gown had been personally handled by Dominic.
There was no way I could have gained that much
weight in just a few days. Dominic, the culprit, now
looked at me with disdain. “Felicity started controlling
Chapter 2
06:31
her diet half a month in advance. Unlike some people,
who clearly know there will be many important guests,
but can’t even control their own appetites.”
“Being a Sterling heiress isn’t just about the lavish life
you see. Today’s guests are here partly out of respect
for Mom and Dad, partly my long–time business.
partners, and partly Felicity’s close friends. Each of
them is deeply connected to Sterling Enterprises.”
“Mom, Dad, it seems Elara still has a very long way to
go before she’s a qualified Sterling child.”
Without a proper gown, I could only change into
ordinary clothes, making me look like Felicity’s servant
in comparison. Whispers filled the banquet hall.
“Is that the ‘second Miss Sterling‘ they found and
brought back?”
“Dressed so casually at an event like this, she clearly
has no manners!”
“Her demeanor is nowhere near Miss Felicity’s!”
“I really don’t understand why Sterling Enterprises would
bring such a common, half–baked heiress out to
embarrass themselves!”
Chapter 2
06:31 C
“I heard she grew up in a small town. What could she
possibly understand about an event like this?”
My parents, too, frowned, casting a glance my way,
tinged with disappointment. “Elara, follow your sister.
Meet some friends.”
