Choose Your Own Family

I was an heir to a great fortune, but my biological parents were deeply in debt, living on the streets. My younger brother had even been so severely beaten by creditors that he was now paralyzed.

I pitied them, so I made the decision to give up my life as a wealthy heir that my foster parents had given me.

To pay off debts, my fiancée was forced to sing at nightclubs, often groped by men. Meanwhile, I took on three jobs. I served tables in the morning and worked as a delivery guy in the evening, working myself to the bone.

One day, I was hired to move mannequins, and it brought me to a luxurious bridal shop. In the VIP room, I found my supposedly paralyzed younger brother in the arms of my fiancée, both of them kissing. And standing beside them, clapping and smiling approvingly, were my biological parents. They were at a wedding shop, happily picking out a wedding dress, as if everything was fine.

I couldn't believe it. I immediately called Solomon Reed, my foster father. "Dad, I made a huge mistake," I said.

Solomon sighed heavily on the other end of the line, his voice shaky with emotion. "You brat. Wait for me. I'll be there to pick you up."

-

I set the phone down, my teeth gritted. I could only stare at the happy scene in front of me.

Giselle Schneider, smiling brightly, was leaning into my brother, Kevin Sullivan's, arms. My father was pulling out his credit card to pay for the dress, without a second thought.

I rubbed my eyes, hoping this was just a nightmare, but the reality of it all hit me. I had been tricked. My family wasn't living in poverty, and they certainly weren't living on the streets, facing constant bullying.

My heart raced with anger as I realized what had happened.

At that moment, the team leader of the moving crew kicked me hard in the back.

"What are you standing around for? Get to work!" he barked. "If you delay this any longer, you won't get paid today!"

The force of the kick made me stumble forward, and it only made me see the scene more clearly.

I was holding the mannequin so tightly it creaked under the pressure, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the sight of the people I had once trusted.

My mother, who had claimed to be looking for me for years, had never cared about me. My fiancée, who had urged me not to forget the "sacrifices" my biological parents had made, was in on it all along.

I couldn't understand why they had gone so far. Why did they lie to me when there was no real debt to pay?

My thoughts were a tangled mess, and the crew leader impatiently kicked me again, his eyes full of disdain.

"What are you doing just standing there? You could never afford these wedding dresses no matter how hard you worked!"

Ignoring his words, I lowered my head and sent my location to Solomon.

But just then, the moving crew leader noticed the deformed mannequin in my hands and flew into a rage. He shoved me hard to the ground, and before I could react, my head slammed against the glass, blood pouring from the wound.

It was then that the people in the VIP room noticed me.

"Darling!" my fiancée screamed, her voice filled with panic.

I instinctively pressed my hand to my forehead to stop the bleeding, but the next moment, I saw her rush to Kevin, hiding in his arms.

She wasn't calling out to me.

In that moment, it felt like my heart had been crushed, like all the life had drained out of me.

The crew leader carefully set the mannequin down, then raised his fist and stormed toward me, shouting curses.

"Idiot, what's your problem? Do you know how much I'm losing because of you? You're broke. Why are you looking at rich women like you think you're some kind of wealthy heir?"

The loud commotion caught the attention of everyone in the room.

My father, dressed in an expensive suit, walked over and looked down at me. "What's this mess? You look ridiculous!"

It was a bitter, mocking question.

If it hadn't been for my attempt to "pay off their debts", would I have aged so fast, becoming like some middle-aged man? Yet here he was, mocking me.

Looking at his cold, indifferent face, I felt my heart drop to the depths of despair.

I had foolishly believed they would feel guilty. How ridiculous. It made me sick to my stomach.

Just then, my mother arrived, her expression a mix of annoyance and frustration. She scowled at me. "We kept it from you because we were trying to protect you. Why did you have to snoop around?"