Chapter 2 The Rules Were Never Fair

I curled up on the bed, my head throbbing as though a heavy hammer were pounding against it again and again, waves of excruciating pain grinding through my nerves.

My throat felt as though someone had a hand around it, making it difficult to breathe. My entire body trembled uncontrollably, and my eyelids had grown so heavy that I could no longer open them.

Helpless and terrified, I called out for the person who had always been closest to me. "Grandma… Please help me…"

But no one answered.

…

The sky was just beginning to lighten when I suddenly felt my body become strangely light.

At first, I was relieved. ARIS had been right. I wasn't sick. I'd made it through the night, and everything was fine now. But when I looked down, I realized I was still lying in bed. My face was bluish-gray, white foam had gathered at the corner of my mouth, and my body lay completely still.

But also, I was floating in midair.

Panic seized me. Was I dead?

Yet, in the next second, an unexpected sense of relief washed over me. 'Maybe this is for the best. Mom, Dad, and Maggie never liked me anyway. Now that I'm dead, they won't even have to pretend anymore.'

I drifted aimlessly through the house until, without realizing it, I floated into my sister's bedroom. It was the largest and brightest room in the house, and my parents had decorated it like a lavish princess' bedroom.

The sight reminded me of what had happened three years ago, when my grandmother had suddenly fallen gravely ill and passed away. I was only nine years old. With no one left to take care of me, my parents brought me from the countryside to live with them in the city.

Back then, I had been incredibly envious of my sister, who was two years younger than me. She had grown up with our parents by her side and had always lived in such a beautiful room.

I timidly asked Mom, "Am I sleeping with Maggie from now on?"

Mom sized me up, her expression troubled as she took in the scruffy little country girl who had just arrived from the countryside.

My sister immediately wrapped both arms around Mom's arm, her eyes wary. "No! I don't want to share my room with her!"

Dad led me to the tiny 40-square-foot storage room at the end of the hallway. "You'll have to make do with this for now. Once I make enough money and we move into a bigger house, I'll fix up a proper room for you."

He said it casually, but I nodded vigorously.

After I moved in, I ate quickly and would involuntarily smack my lips while I ate. I thought it would show Mom how much I liked her cooking. But every time we sat down at the table, the disgust on my family's faces was impossible to hide.

Mom impatiently taught me table manners, being even stricter than my teachers at school. Yet, whenever she turned to my sister, she indulged her in every possible way, unable to bear criticizing her even once.

My sister loved strawberries and tiramisu.

Mom would often sneak some into her room whenever I wasn't looking. One time, I caught her doing it, and I couldn't hold myself back. "Why can't you treat us fairly? I'm your daughter too!"

Mom froze for a moment. "You're both my precious girls. It's just that your sister has been weak and sickly since she was little. You're the big sister—give in to her, okay?"

I protested through my tears. "If we're both your precious daughters, then why am I Mallory, with such an awful meaning, while my sister is Margaret, like a precious pearl? Everyone in my village and all my classmates in the city make fun of my name!"

My parents had been rendered speechless.

Not long afterward, Dad brought ARIS home.

"Mallory, Margaret, from now on, whenever either of you wants something or wants more time with your mom and me, ARIS will be the judge. It will decide who performed better and who deserves the reward. We won't favor either of you."

Mom nodded beside him. "Exactly, this is the fairest way. The scores will speak for themselves, and neither of you will have anything to complain about."

My sister bounced over excitedly and looked up at Dad. "If I win, can I make any wish I want?"

Dad smiled and ruffled her hair. "Of course. So make sure you behave well from now on."

…

After washing the dishes, I stood in the kitchen doorway and stared at the machine glowing with its cold blue light, my heart filling with anticipation.

If I worked hard enough, perhaps I could earn a little more of Mom and Dad's love.

Little did I know, they never intended to let me "win" in the first place.