Chapter 2

To ensure she had a "healthy social life," they raised her allowance to $1,000 a month.

They claimed they didn't want her "begging boys for money."

Meanwhile, when I was in college, they gave me exactly $150 a month.

I had to work three part-time jobs just to afford groceries and textbooks.

Later, Mom actually bragged on Facebook about how she "fostered independence" in her eldest daughter.

The post was flooded with mockery from local moms.

[If you don't want to cherish your daughter, someone else will.]

[Treating your kid like that is how you end up in a cheap nursing home.]

Panic-stricken by the online backlash, they immediately added another $500 to Chloe's monthly allowance.

Every wrong decision they made with me, they corrected by doubling the love on Chloe.

"Summer!"

Seeing me space out, Chloe gave me a hard shove, her tone reverting to her usual bossy self.

"I looked it up on Google. There are allergy meds safe for pregnant women. Prescribe me that. I'm itching to death!"

"I'm not lying for you, Chloe. Tell Mom and Dad yourself."

I turned to leave.

"Summer! Don't you want to know what Grandma Sarah said right before she died?"

I stopped dead in my tracks.

Grandma Sarah was the only person in this world who had ever truly loved me.

When I was little, I proudly brought my report cards and academic awards home, taping them to the living room wall to surprise my parents.

They only gave them a cold, passing glance. "Take them down. It looks messy. You think this deserves a trophy? Summer, you're still far from good enough."

But Grandma Sarah would bake blueberry muffins to celebrate my B-plus.

She would hug me and say, "My Summer is the smartest girl in the world."

She carefully taped together the certificates my mother had ripped down.

"Bring them all to Grandma's house, sweetie. Seeing them makes me happy."

Eventually, my awards covered an entire wall in Grandma’s living room. She boasted about me to every neighbor who walked by.

But when Grandma was terminally ill, my parents hid it from me. They claimed they didn't want to "distract" me from my medical school entrance exams.

Because of their lie, I never got to say goodbye.

Yet, when Chloe was stressed during her junior year of high school, they let her take a gap year to travel across Europe.

How was I ever supposed to forgive them for that?

Suppressing the sharp ache in my chest, I turned back to Chloe.

"Fine. I’ll write the prescription."

The moment I stepped out of the room, my parents swarmed me.

"How is she? Is Chloe okay?"

"I’m getting her meds."

I averted my eyes and walked past them quickly.

They immediately pressed their faces against the glass window of Chloe's room.

"Chloe? Sweetie, are you okay?"

"Okay, okay, Daddy and Mommy won't come in. Just don't scratch your face, okay? It’ll scar, and we can’t have our beautiful girl scarred!"

I forced myself to block out their voices.

But my chest felt like a hollow cave, with cold wind howling through the empty space.

From childhood to adulthood, they had nothing but criticism for me.

Even when neighbors complimented my looks, Mom would scoff:

"Beautiful? Her eyes are as small as a mouse's. And she has such a gloomy personality. I don't know who she got those genes from."

Only Grandma Sarah ever told me I was beautiful.

I'm sorry, Grandma. I'm so sorry I wasn't there at the end.

Back in the room, I handed the pills to Chloe.

"Take three. We need to keep you overnight for observation."

The moment she swallowed them, I asked, "What did Grandma say before she passed?"

"Do you really want to know?"

Chloe arched an eyebrow, a smirk playing on her lips.

"No wonder Mom and Dad say you’re an ungrateful leech who only cared about that old lady."

I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms. "Tell me."

She slid back down onto the pillows. "Tell Mom and Dad to go home first. You stay here and nurse me tonight."

"Chloe."

"Don't think your pregnancy is the only secret I know."