02

Inside the opulent mansion, the crystal chandelier cast a dizzying glare.

I hovered in midair over the living room.

The relatives sat gathered around the sofas, gushing over the brand-new luxury massage chair in the center of the living room.

Uncle Doug ran his hand over the genuine leather and beamed.

"Raymond, this chair had to cost ten grand, right? And it's so comfortable."

Raymond was grinning ear to ear, ruffling Connor's hair with pride written all over his face.

"You bet. Connor bought it for me with the spending money he'd saved."

"This boy's been thoughtful since he was little. Nothing like his useless sister."

Paula put on a modest act beside them, but the smugness in her eyes gave her away.

"You're too kind, Doug. Connor just saw how hard his dad works and insisted on showing his appreciation."

I floated overhead, watching it all coldly.

That massage chair? I'd bought it to help with Raymond's herniated disc. I'd gritted my teeth through two part-time jobs and lived on cheap bread and canned food for six straight months to save up for it.

I'd ordered it more than half a year in advance, timed precisely so it would arrive at the new house today.

And now all the credit had gone to Connor.

I turned and drifted toward the hallway, wanting to see the south-facing bedroom I'd been looking forward to for so long.

For that room, I had agreed to every unreasonable demand Paula made and shouldered all the housework for three years.

But when I passed through the wall, what I found was a futuristic gaming room.

A massive curved monitor, an expensive mechanical keyboard, walls plastered with game posters.

My bed was gone. So was my wardrobe. There wasn't a single trace of me anywhere.

My worn-out bunny slippers had been tossed like garbage into a corner of the hallway outside.

Connor sat in the gaming chair playing games, cursing and slamming the desk.

Dinner began, and the dining table was covered with food.

Uncle Doug took a sip of red wine and glanced around.

"Where's Hailey? We're celebrating a family move, and she's the only one missing. That's so inconsiderate."

Raymond's face hardened, and he slammed his knife and fork down in front of everyone.

"She's too old to listen to anyone!"

"She's throwing a tantrum at the old apartment over a simple move. Just ignore her!"

"Two days without food and she'll come crawling back to apologize. She really thinks the world revolves around her."

Paula's eyes reddened right on cue. She dabbed at them with a tissue, her voice catching.

"It's all my fault. If I'd just held my tongue, Hailey wouldn't be upset."

"Raymond, if Hailey hates us that much, Connor and I will move out tomorrow and rent somewhere. We'd never want her to feel wronged."

Raymond's heart just about broke. He pulled Paula in by the shoulders.

"Nonsense! This is your home. Connor is my only son and the heir I've chosen. No one is driving either of you out!"

He shot to his feet, raised his glass, and declared to the room.

"Everyone here is my witness!"

"That ungrateful Hailey gets nothing! Every property I own, every dollar I've saved, all of it goes to Connor. I won't leave her a single cent!"

"And if she won't come apologize, she's not welcome through my door again!"

The relatives chimed in one after another, praising Raymond's decisiveness and cursing me for not knowing how good I had it.

I looked coldly at the father I had once tried so desperately to please.

How pathetic.

All these years, whenever Paula played the victim, Raymond's hatred for me deepened with every word she said.

In Paula's honeyed version of events, I was the vicious older sister who envied her brother. No matter how hard I tried, I could never matter to Raymond as much as Connor, who never lifted a finger.

The dinner ended, and the relatives went their separate ways.

Connor went back to the gaming room and started up his livestream.

He grabbed a stack of gold award certificates from competitions I'd worked so hard to win throughout school, the ones Mom had saved for me.

He piled them under his feet and laughed into the camera.

"Guys, we moved into the new house today. Feels awesome to finally kick that eyesore of a sister to the curb."

"Look, her trashy certificates make a perfect footrest."