Bang Juna (Izinkan Aku Memilikimu)

A scalding drop of wax splattered onto the back of my hand, causing me to yelp in pain.

My parents turned their heads, their eyes brimming with undisguised disgust.

"Why are you so clumsy all the time?" barked my dad.

I remained silent, but inside, I was bubbling with excitement.

That was because I had been reborn, flung back to my birthday.

In Doreraford, everyone had heard about Andrea Jordan, the delicate darling of the city.

Few were aware she had an older sister.

From a young age, she had been sickly, which garnered our parents' boundless love and attention, leaving me to fade into her shadow.

We were seated in the opulent private room of an upscale restaurant.

My dad, Brent Jordan, waved off the waiter and jerked his chin toward me. "She can handle it."

My mom, Fiona Jordan, offered a rehearsed smile. "We don't need outsiders at our family dinner."

The waiter shot me a puzzled, pitying look before slipping out.

I calmly rose from my seat, refilling their cups and serving the appetizers.

In their minds, I might as well have been the hired help, invisible until needed.

Andrea blinked, innocently tilting her head. "Claudia, would you sing a birthday song? You've always had such a killer voice."

As a child, I had shown a natural talent for singing, but our family's limited finances were redirected to fund Andrea's painting lessons, leaving my passion neglected.

Fiona lit up at the idea, clapping her hands together. "Good idea! It's your birthday, too. Let's make it a double celebration."

My faint smile masked a bitter pang. They'd conveniently forgotten that my actual birthday was a week earlier.

Years ago, Andrea had suggested merging our birthdays to make things more fun, and our parents had jumped on it, gushing over how clever she was.

From that moment on, her birthday overwrote mine, erasing me a little more.

Once, I would have refused outright. But now, reborn and wiser, I played along and began to sing.

Sadly, my voice, rusty from years of disuse, cracked mid-song.

Andrea pouted immediately, and Brent slammed his fist down on the table. "Are you sabotaging Andrea's big day on purpose?"

Fiona's brows knitted in disapproval. "I never pegged you for being this spiteful."

Andrea dabbed at nonexistent tears. "Don't blame her. I'm sure she didn't mean to mess up."

Turning to me with a saccharine tone, she added, "It's scorching today. How about we go swimming later to cool off?"

Panic surged through me.

It felt like an iron grip had seized my throat, squeezing the air from my lungs. Fragmented memories reassembled in my mind like a horrifying puzzle.

In my previous life, Andrea's birthday ritual always included a swim, where she would glide through the water like a graceful mermaid, basking in admiring gazes, while I floundered awkwardly beside her, the overlooked sidekick.

That fateful summer, relentless rains had turned the river into a monster. A flash flood roared in without warning, ripping us from the shore and hurling us into chaos.

By a stroke of luck, a protruding branch caught my sleeve, halting my descent into the abyss.

Andrea wasn't so fortunate. The current claimed her, and her lifeless body was recovered hours later.

Devastated, my parents lunged at me, their fingers digging into my neck as they howled, "This is on you! Why couldn't it have been you instead?"

My boyfriend, Steven Leonard, stood pale but positioned himself between us, murmuring consolations while I drowned in self-blame.

He proposed to me 99 times, wearing down my guilt until I finally caved and said yes.

On our third anniversary, he floated the idea of a family cruise. I'd been naïve, dreaming of reconciliation amid the ocean waves.

But one night, they lured me to the deck under the pretense of stargazing. In a blur, their hands shoved me hard over the edge.

As I plummeted, their faces twisted into masks of vengeance. "Andrea died because of you! Time to taste drowning for yourself!"

Steven's eyes burned with long-suppressed hatred. "I've waited years for this. Go to hell and beg for her forgiveness!"

The frigid water invaded my mouth and nose, pulling me under as I thrashed futilely.

Only in those final moments did the truth crash over me. My parents had always held me responsible for Andrea's death, and Steven's heart had always belonged to her.

I was the outsider and the disposable one.

Reborn, I made a silent oath: I would live for myself and sever all ties with them.