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Chapter 10
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Escaping My Brother’s Shadow Chapter 10
The summer I graduated, Jubilee City felt like one giant oven.That same summer, I received an acceptance letter for a fully funded Ph.D. program at one of the nation's top universities.Around the dorm, my roommates were busy packing their belongings, getting ready to head toward their own futures.The dorm manager called up from downstairs."Julian! You've got a huge package! Come sign for it!"I wiped the sweat from my forehead and headed downstairs.It was an enormous cardboard box, nearly as tall as my waist. The return address was in Cascade City, and I recognized the sender's name immediately. I borrowed a cart and wheeled the box back to my room. After cutting through layer after layer of packing tape, I found a thick letter resting on top. The handwriting was Dad's, though it trembled slightly, stripped of the firm, businesslike confidence it once carried. The letter was long, painfully long. I only skimmed it.Page after page was filled with apologies, reflections
Escaping My Brother’s Shadow Chapter 9
The atmosphere inside the Smith house in Cascade City had turned ice cold.Ever since returning from Jubilee City, Mom and Dad had been like empty shells, moving through each day without a spark of life.The only thing that ever broke the silence was Ethan's desperate phone calls from Francoria."Dad! I can't pay my rent! My landlord's going to kick me out!"Mom! Can you send me some money? I can't even afford instant noodles anymore!"In the past, whenever Ethan complained, they would have done anything for him.If he had wanted the stars, they would have tried to pull them down from the sky.However, now, Dad simply switched the phone to speaker and answered in the same detached tone he used in his lectures."You're an adult now. From today on, no one is going to clean up your messes and no one is going to support you financially anymore. It's time you learned to take responsibility for your own life."On the other end of the line, Ethan completely snapped."You're the ones
Escaping My Brother’s Shadow Chapter 8
"Julian, we know we were wrong."Dad's voice was so hoarse it barely sounded like his own. He opened his briefcase, took out a bank card, and held it out to me with both hands.I had never seen him humble himself like that before. It was something that simply did not exist in his world."There's $50,000 in this account. It includes your $10,000 academic scholarship, and all the allowance we should've given you over the years."His bloodshot eyes were fixed on me, filled with desperate urgency."We've cut Ethan off completely. From now on, all of the family's resources will go to you."No!"He shook his head immediately."Not just more."All of them."Mom nodded frantically beside him, pushing several shopping bags toward me."Yes! I bought you new clothes, and the newest laptop model. “That old phone of yours should've been replaced a long time ago.""Julian, please come home with us. I've already remodeled your room. It's even bigger than Ethan's was..."I looked at t
Escaping My Brother’s Shadow Chapter 7
Over the next month, autumn slowly settled over Jubilee City.The maple trees across campus turned shades of gold and crimson, and the crisp air carried the clean scent of the changing season.I successfully qualified for the university's academic excellence scholarship. My advisor also selected me for one of the lab's key research projects.My life felt like a sponge that had been dry for years, greedily soaking up the knowledge, opportunities, and freedom that had arrived eighteen years too late.Meanwhile, back in Cascade City...The Smith household was slowly falling apart.Dad used his connections in the education system to obtain my complete high school records, along with the school's archived security footage.He and Mom sat in the administration office, replaying the recordings over and over again.One video showed the winter of my junior year. Snow was falling so heavily it buried the sidewalks. Ethan sat comfortably inside the family's heated SUV, eating a sandwich M
Escaping My Brother’s Shadow Chapter 6
On Wednesday afternoon, my academic advisor asked to see me.He adjusted his glasses and placed a file on my desk."Julian, your family contacted the Office of Student Affairs."His expression was much more serious than usual."Your father identified himself as a professor at Cascade University. He said you've cut off all contact with your family and refuse to respond to any of their messages. “They're asking the university to step in and determine whether you're mentally and emotionally okay."I lowered my eyes to the file on the desk. It was a Student Wellness Report.Highly educated parents never relied on reason alone.The moment they realized they could no longer control me, they turned to institutions and authority, trying to paint me as someone who needed help so everyone else would believe I was the problem.I looked up and met my advisor's eyes without hesitation."I paid my tuition with student loans. I earn my own living expenses through part-time work. And right
Escaping My Brother’s Shadow Chapter 5
The thirteen-hour train ride from Cascade City to Jubilee City carried me past countless unfamiliar towns and endless stretches of open countryside. The coach smelled of stale coffee and greasy fast food.I leaned against the window, watching one unfamiliar landscape after another disappear behind me.For the first time in eighteen years, even breathing felt easy.After arriving at Jubilee State University, I used my student loan to pay my first semester's tuition. Then I spent the last of the money I had earned from my summer job on the bare essentials. Soon, my days settled into a relentless routine: orientation, classes, long hours in the library, and part-time work. From morning until night, every hour was spoken for. I stayed so busy that I never had time to look back.Meanwhile, over a thousand miles away in Cascade City, the realization that I was truly gone began unfolding much too late.Half a month into the semester, I was clearing trays in the campus dining hall w
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