Hailey was the adopted daughter my dad brought home. She was sweet and sensible, deeply loved by my parents, and even received company shares from them. Outsiders knew the Miller family had one biological daughter and one adopted daughter, but they insisted Hailey was the real heiress. After I left, my parents showed up at my company's entrance, begging me to come home. 1. I shot a cold look at my supposedly flustered adopted sister, my good birthday mood vanishing instantly. Just moments before, she'd tripped me hard as I came down the stairs, sending me sprawling. My carefully chosen party dress now had a huge tear in it. Seeing my parents approach, she quickly helped me up. "Chloe, honey, why were you so careless? Let big sis see if you got hurt anywhere?" Her overly affectionate act disgusted me, and I couldn't help but push her away. Unexpectedly, my mother spoke, her face stern, "Look at you, what a mess. You're old enough to know better than to get yourself like this." Then Mom turned to this sister of questionable origin, "She doesn't know any better. Are you hurt?" Hailey shook her head, a flicker of feigned tears in her eyes quickly replaced by a sweet smile. "Chloe's the birthday girl today! Quick, put on the princess's crown." I turned my head slightly, avoiding her gesture, but then paused, slightly surprised. Why did her profile look so much like my dad's? Could it be that she was my dad's... "Chloe, why are you being so difficult?" Seeing me dodge, Mom tapped my head disapprovingly. "Since you don't like the little crown, let your sister wear it. It doesn't matter who wears it." Before I could even protest, Mom took the crown and placed it on Hailey’s head. She looked moved, almost to tears. "This... this is the first time I've ever worn a crown." Dad stroked her hair. "From now on, we'll celebrate your birthday every year too." "Dad will take you to cut the cake right now." Watching the three of them walk away, forgetting who the real star of the day was, they looked more like a happy, harmonious family. Feeling wronged, I lowered my head and went back to my room. The feeling was strong, an intuition telling me she was Dad's biological daughter. Even though Dad always insisted Hailey was just the daughter of the person who had saved his life. 2. "Mom, I need to tell you, that Hailey..." Just as I was about to mention Hailey's resemblance to Dad, she appeared, carrying a plate of fruit. Putting on a show of filial piety for my mom, she said, "Mom, Hailey cut up some fruit for you. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I cut a little bit of everything." This moved Mom deeply. She hugged Hailey and kissed her repeatedly. Then she shot me a reproachful glance, praising Hailey for being thoughtful. I just stood there, stunned. I'd done small things like this countless times before, but my parents never even batted an eye. But when it came to Hailey, how... Resentfully, I squeezed in beside them, trying to get Mom's attention, but her focus was entirely on Hailey. She didn't even spare me a glance. "Oh, Chloe," Dad said later, "I've arranged for Hailey to transfer to your school. Look after her there." "Did you hear me?" I remained silent. Hailey clung to Mom's arm, her eyes full of mockery and triumph, as if showing off that Mom only had eyes for her. But her smugness didn't last long. The first midterm exam at school delivered a harsh reality check. The ranking list posted in the classroom showed me at the top of the grade, while she was in the bottom three of our class. Even the teacher asked me, bewildered, if Hailey and I had the same parents. How could the same genes produce such drastically different results? I happily took my report card home to share the good news with my parents. But as soon as I walked in, I heard Hailey's crying and my parents' comforting words. "Hailey, honey, don't be sad. Whether you do well in school or not, you'll always be the apple of our eye." The apple of their eye? They had never used those words for me. Even now. It suddenly hit me: no matter how hard I tried, how excellent I was, in my parents' eyes, I felt more like the child they'd picked up off the street. Unloved, uncared for. 3. Perhaps my stellar grades provoked Hailey. To prove she was just as outstanding as me, Hailey started studying frantically, eventually fainting in the classroom one day. At the hospital, my parents fussed over her, showering her with concern. But when they saw me arrive, their expressions instantly soured. Mom came straight up and slapped me hard across the face. "Chloe, why are you so malicious? You know Hailey isn't strong, yet you keep getting high scores just to provoke her!" I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, a chill spreading through my heart. They kept saying I was provoking her, but it wasn't like she'd actually died from it, right? "If you love Hailey so much, why did you even have me?" I couldn't help retorting. But Hailey, on the hospital bed, spoke up again, sobbing. "Mom, Dad, I'm so useless. Chloe doesn't like me, I'm bad at school... I really don't want to live anymore." Hailey cried so hard she could barely breathe, making onlookers think I had been bullying her at school. "Hailey, honey, don't you dare think like that. It's Chloe's fault for getting first place." "We've told you, whether you do well in school or not, you're still Mom and Dad's good daughter. It's all Chloe's fault for being so stubborn and difficult. It's not your fault. Don't ever talk about dying again." Such kind parents, such touching family affection. When did I become the stubborn, willful side character in their narrative? The scene made me sick to my stomach. I gave a weak, helpless smile, though my eyes were already red-rimmed. Doing well in school was wrong. Not liking her was wrong. Why was everything always my fault? When they first brought Hailey home, my parents promised they would treat us both exactly the same, be fair to both of us. Was this their idea of balance? A bitter ache filled my heart. I bit my lower lip hard to keep the tears from falling. Leaving the hospital, I squatted by the roadside. A tall, handsome figure entered my vision. Ethan handed me a tissue and brushed the snowflakes off my shoulder. "You little scaredy-cat, did that idiot sister of yours make you cry again?" 4. Ethan was my classmate. In his words, Hailey's brain didn't seem like it had ever been used for schooling. But her academic shortcomings didn't stop her from flaunting her status as the Miller family's eldest daughter to outsiders. Over time, many people came to believe Hailey was the biological daughter, and I was the adopted one just living with the family. My family and Ethan's family had some business dealings, so Ethan and I had known each other since we were kids. He had attended my birthday party last year, so naturally, he knew the real situation between us. "Knowing your temper, I thought you would have ripped that adopted sister's mouth off by now." I shook my head. My parents' behavior had already chilled my heart. I didn't want much to do with them anymore. "Next semester, I'm going to apply for boarding. Out of sight, out of mind." This kind of affection, disguised under the banner of fairness, had never once landed on me. I didn't care for it. Time flew, and soon it was Thanksgiving. At the big family dinner, everyone gathered together. The older relatives heard about my excellent grades and praised me, saying I had a bright future. My younger cousin playfully asked me to share my study tips. Grandpa was especially complimentary, saying I had his spirit from when he was young. I smiled and chatted quite a bit with my cousin. Unexpectedly, these few words made Hailey's face fall. On such a festive day, she burst into tears, a real downpour. Mom and Dad immediately rushed over to comfort her, showering her with jewelry and designer bags to appease her. The other relatives' faces instantly turned cold, muttering about how she was bringing bad luck on a holiday. But, as always, she knew exactly how to soften certain hearts. When she mentioned she was missing her biological parents, Grandpa's expression, though still serious, softened considerably. He gave her a check just as generous as mine. Mom and Dad seized the moment, putting their arms around Hailey and looking pleadingly at Grandpa. "Dad, Hailey's not well, and she's had such a hard life. Why don't we just transfer the shares meant for Chloe directly to Hailey? It would also repay the debt we owe her parents for saving your life." "Chloe is so capable, she'll be fine with or without those shares." Why? My face instantly turned pale. Just because I was capable, they wanted to snatch away what was rightfully mine and give it to their adopted daughter to make her happy? Tears welled up in my eyes, but I clenched my jaw, refusing to let them fall. Only I knew what losing those shares meant in a family like ours. My own parents were stripping me of my inheritance rights— To give them to their adopted daughter. "Chloe is the Miller's biological daughter. If you insist on giving Hailey shares, you can give her some from your own portions." Grandpa's words settled the matter, and the weight in my chest lifted. But that night, my parents came to me with a stock transfer agreement, trying to force me to sign it. They even promised that if I signed, they would ensure I married into a top-tier wealthy family, where I could live a life of leisure as a rich wife. Why don't you offer such a wonderful life to Hailey, the one you cherish like the apple of your eye? 5. "Your grandfather is old, he doesn't understand the situation. Since you're more capable than Hailey, just give the shares to her." I watched all this with cold eyes, searching my parents' faces for any shred of affection for me. Sadly, I found none. "Mom, Dad, Chloe... I don't want the shares. I just want everyone to get along peacefully." Hailey popped out from behind Dad, saying she didn't want them, but her hands were more honest than her words. She helped Mom hold down my hand, urging me to sign my name immediately. I suspected she knew all along that whether she asked for the shares or not, Mom and Dad would snatch them from me for her. Just like she had snatched away all of my parents' love. "If I sign this agreement, can I sever all ties with you?" I stared steadily at Mom, a sliver of hope in my eyes. Mom seemed to think I was overreacting, frowning as she lectured me, "It's just a few shares. Why can't you be as understanding and considerate as Hailey?" "But if you insist on being so difficult, there's nothing we can do." My heart sank to the bottom. The contract was in duplicate. I signed my name, adding the clause I demanded about severing family ties, and had it notarized. On Thanksgiving night, I became truly and utterly alone. Just then, the sound of neighbors setting off leftover fireworks faintly reached me. Ethan's holiday message arrived right on cue. "Hey Scaredy-cat, Happy Thanksgiving." Tears immediately streamed down my face. Why did Mom and Dad have to give all their love for me to Hailey? Was I really the one who was picked up off the street? 6. Disheartened, after the break, I applied for boarding school without consulting my parents. Mom and Dad called a few times demanding to know why. Because my attitude was cold, eventually they stopped contacting me altogether. Hailey sought me out every now and then, claiming she wanted to mend our sisterly relationship, but in reality, she had her eyes on Ethan. His family was prominent, he excelled academically – definitely prime boyfriend material in our circle. But Ethan wasn't blind like my parents. He wasn't interested in idiots. I grew tired of being in the same class as Hailey, so I took internal exams and skipped from eighth grade to ninth. Ethan followed suit, ending up in the same class with me again. If I couldn't fight her, couldn't I at least avoid her? But even skipping a grade somehow provoked Hailey. As soon as she got home, she supposedly fell ill and couldn't get out of bed – who knew if it was real or fake. Unable to reach me by phone, my parents came to the school personally. In front of my roommates, Mom slapped me across the face. She also unleashed a torrent of abuse on my roommates who tried to defend me. Mom forced me to kneel beside Hailey's hospital bed, declaring that if anything happened to Hailey, I would kneel at her biological parents' graves until I died to atone. I knelt for an entire night. Finally, I couldn't hold on any longer and passed out. When I woke up, I learned Hailey was perfectly fine, being pampered by Mom and Dad in a VIP room. Meanwhile, I was lying alone in a standard room, an IV drip in my hand, with no one beside me. Years of accumulated resentment solidified into real hatred at that moment. From then on, I wanted absolutely nothing to do with this family. I blocked my parents' numbers from my phone. After the IV drip finished, I limped back to school by myself. Ethan somehow found out I'd been forced to kneel all night and came to my dorm with other classmates to check on me. My parents, likely feeling guilty about the kneeling incident, brought Hailey to my dorm for a brief, awkward visit. This, however, sparked numerous rumors. Some said Hailey wasn't the adopted daughter after all, but I was the illegitimate one. Others claimed Hailey was the illegitimate one, and I was being bullied mercilessly. I was sure the only ones defending me were Ethan and his friends. But honestly, I didn't care about any of it. I was busy preparing for the entrance exam for a prestigious early admission program at an Ivy League university and had no time for their drama. The acceptance letter was mailed to my home address. Only then did my parents find out I'd gotten into a top school. They even wanted to use my achievement to boast, attempting to mend our broken relationship by eagerly offering to throw me a make-up birthday party. For a moment, I hesitated. I hadn't celebrated my birthday in two years.
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