Chapter 3

In the end, Mom still made Anabelle's favorite dishes.

Mom, Dad, and Anabelle sat together at the table, chatting and laughing among themselves, looking like a big, happy family.

I felt a little lonely and went over to Mom.

Suddenly, I realized that there was a cake box on the chair right next to her. I then turned to the stray cat at the window and began boasting to it, saying, "See that? That's the cake Mom and Dad bought for me. They didn't forget my birthday today."

The stray cat just glanced at me briefly, almost as if it were making fun of me.

Mom then took the cake and gave it to Anabelle, saying she had bought it especially for her because Anabelle had wanted it just now. She also spoke in a low voice, as if she was worried that I'd overhear her.

"Bring it to your bedroom secretly and eat it there. If not, Isabelle is going to come crying to me again."

I had actually only cried one time, but Mom wouldn't stop bringing it up for ten years.

Actually, I wasn't very upset about it because I knew that even if I got the chance to draw lots, I would most probably get the short stick again. There was no helping it. I just had terrible luck each time.

Anabelle was still the one who'd get the cake after all.

"I've never had cake before. Have you?" I asked the stray cat.

It suddenly jumped into the house through the window, knocked over the cake in Anabelle's hands, and scampered out of the window immediately.

The cat had also scratched Anabelle on the hand, and she burst into loud tears.

However, Mom just grabbed the nearby vase and smashed it angrily at my bedroom door instead.

"Isabelle Madden! You did this to your sister on purpose, didn't you? Why didn't you close the window while you were home?"

Seeing that I still wasn't coming out of my room, Mom flew into a rage. However, Dad came over to her and held her back.

"That's enough. Don't bother about her. We just need to get Anabelle to the hospital as quickly as possible. We'll get even with Isabelle after we've come back!"

By the time Mom and Dad finally came back, it was already at the crack of dawn.

Mom and Dad knocked on my door at the same time. They couldn't hear anything behind the door either, and they finally lost all patience, grabbing a hammer and getting ready to smash my door down.

In the end, the neighbors complained to them about the noise, so Mom and Dad gave up on the idea and instead launched a barrage of angry insults at my door.

Mom then bought a beautiful princess gown for Anabelle. She twirled around happily in it to show it off.

"I cried when the doctor gave me the vaccine jab, and Mom felt so sorry for me that she bought me a new dress and took me out for steak!

"You've never had steak before, have you? It's your fault for having bad luck! If you got the long end of the stick, Mom would also bring you shopping for new clothes and getting steak for dinner!"

My blood then seeped out through the crack at the bottom of the door.

Anabelle slipped on it and fell. She screamed at the top of her lungs, immediately drawing Mom's and Dad's attention to her.

"What happened? Why is there so much blood on the floor?"

Dad stared at the slit in the door in panic and horror. "It looks like it's coming from inside Belle's room. Belle—"

However, his suspicions were interrupted by Anabelle's loud screaming.

"I just wanted to show Isabelle my new dress, but she told me to get lost! That's all my blood! My heart hurts!"

Mom blew her fuse immediately. She began kicking heavily at the door in a rage.

"Isabelle Madden! Get out right now, right this instant! How dare you make Anabelle bleed everywhere like this and still stay in there without coming out?"

This time, Mom really wanted to ram the door down, kicking at the door harder and harder with all of her might.

My body was mangled beyond recognition from the repeated slamming of the door against myself. I didn't know if they would be scared to see me like this now.

They didn't manage to get the door open. Mom had no choice but to bring Anabelle away to bandage her up, but not before calling me every derogatory insult under the sky.

Actually, this wasn't the first time Anaballe framed me like this.

Growing up, every time she did something wrong, she would immediately burst out crying first before blaming everything on me while screaming at the top of her lungs.

Mom was always very fair. She would never care who the real culprit was and would make us draw lots first. Whoever got the short end of the stick would be the one receiving the punishment.

Of course, I was the one who always ended up getting punished.

If I were still alive, I wondered if they would lock me up in the attic without food or drink, or make me stand outside in the rain for the entire night this time.

I floated all the way downstairs and suddenly realized something.

Tears instantly streamed down my face.

I had finally found out the reason why I never seemed to draw the long end of the stick for ten whole years.