Chapter 2

"You're still breathing?"

She stood before my dirt-covered self, looking like a princess.

"Some people's lives are just worthless."

Mom, fussing, held an umbrella over Skylar's head, soothing her repeatedly,

"Darling, what if you get sunburnt? Why waste your breath on trash like this?"

I carefully looked at the face I hadn't seen in a year. My mom, meanwhile, wouldn't even spare me a glance.

When I was little, I was the cherished child.

Until my mom brought home a new sister.

She told me,

"You're an older sister now, you have to take good care of your little sister."

I was genuinely happy. I wouldn't be alone anymore.

I never imagined it would be the beginning of my nightmare.

After Skylar arrived, our family miraculously started to thrive, undergoing a drastic transformation.

My parents said it was all thanks to Skylar.

At first, when Skylar took my favorite clothes and my most beloved toys, I'd cry and run to Mom to complain.

But Mom would scold me,

"You selfish thing! What's wrong with giving these things to your sister?!"

Later, Skylar declared I was an inferior person, and my parents demanded I live with the dog.

I shared a bowl with the dog, eating the scraps they threw our way.

When Skylar was in a bad mood, she'd demand Dad beat me.

The man who once cherished me would take his expensive leather belt and lash me fiercely until Skylar smiled.

Little me would kneel on the ground, in agonizing pain, but I dared not cry out.

Because if I did, Skylar would be unhappy.

And if she was unhappy, Mom and Dad would be unhappy.

I endured such humiliation, desperately awaiting the college entrance exams to change my fate.

And Skylar, she even stripped me of that chance.

Thinking of this, I dusted myself off and stood before her, then slapped her.

"Too lazy to listen to your garbage, bitch!"

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