เข้าสู่ระบบThere are only ten minutes left before the college application portal closes. I'm about to go to bed when my phone suddenly rings. The number is strange and untraceable. I answer. "Hello?" A hoarse male voice comes through the phone. "Adrian, your parents changed your college application!" I freeze, my heart skipping a beat. "Who are you?" I ask, my voice trembling. "I'm you, ten years from now." There is a crushing sense of despair in his voice. I don't believe him. "That's impossible!" He lets out a sigh. "Your brother bombed his exams, didn't he? Your parents changed your application to the same community college he applied to, all because they wanted to make him feel better. If you don't believe me, log in and check for yourself." I immediately sign into the application portal. And there it is. The prestigious university I applied to has been replaced with a community college. I stare at the screen in disbelief. I have always known my parents favored Julian. I just never imagined they could take it this far, to the point that they would gamble with my entire future just to keep him happy.
ดูเพิ่มเติมThe moment I stepped out of the cafe, I was greeted by brilliant sunshine.I took a deep breath.For the first time in more than 20 years, the crushing weight I'd carried with me for as long as I could remember was finally gone.But I didn't head for the airport. Instead, I called a car and made my way out to the countryside, to the house where Grandma still lived.After more than an hour on winding country roads, the car finally pulled up outside the weathered wooden gate I remembered so well.I pushed it open.Grandma was in the yard, her back stooped with age as she scattered feed for the chickens. Her hair had turned completely white, and she looked even smaller and frailer than she had four years ago."Grandma." The word came out softly. The moment she turned around, my eyes began to sting.The basket slipped from Grandma's hands, scattering corn kernels across the ground.She rubbed her cloudy eyes and stared at me as if she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. "A
That weekend, I flew back to my hometown.Not for my parents, but for Grandma.Mom was already waiting outside the cafe where we'd agreed to meet, with Dad beside her in a wheelchair.Julian hovered behind them. He wouldn't quite meet my eyes, but that didn't stop him from staring greedily at my tailored designer suit.The moment she saw me approaching, Mom rose awkwardly and reached for my hand. "Adrian, you're finally back. Let me look at you..."I stepped aside before she could touch me, pulled out a chair, and sat down.No hugs. No small talk. No pretending we were a family reunited after years apart.Instead, I took a document envelope from my bag and slid it across the table. "Read it. If everything looks right, sign it."Mom stared at me in confusion before opening the envelope.Inside was a legal agreement formally severing our relationship, along with a cashier's check. "It's for 50 thousand dollars."I looked at the three of them, my voice utterly flat. "Consider it
Adrian's POVFour years of college passed in the blink of an eye.I graduated at the top of my class from one of the country's most prestigious universities.Throughout those four years, I never asked my parents for a single cent.Between merit scholarships, prize money from academic and tech competitions, and freelance software development work for major companies, I had managed to build up substantial savings before I even graduated.More importantly, I had put together a resume that made me stand out from nearly every other student in my field.By graduation, offers were pouring in from some of the biggest names in the tech industry. In the end, I accepted a position at a leading tech company that offered me a six-figure salary, along with a generous stock-option package.Julian's life back home couldn't have been more different. After failing too many classes and barely bothering to show up, he didn't even manage to earn his associate's degree. He left college with no qualif
Third-Person POVLater, Adrian heard from some former classmates that Julian had enrolled at the local community college.Without Adrian around to compare himself to or take his frustrations out on, Julian's obsession with appearances spiraled out of control.He saw the other guys in his dorm showing off brand-new laptops and limited-edition sneakers, and jealousy ate him alive.Before long, he was constantly demanding more spending money from his parents. What started at 1,000 dollars a month became 2,000 dollars, until eventually Julian had the nerve to demand 5,000 dollars.Caspian and Karen were ordinary working people. There was no way they could afford to keep funding Julian's extravagant lifestyle.But whenever they hesitated to give him money, Julian resorted to the same old routine. He would call them in tears, claiming he was having chest pains, that his roommates were bullying him, and that he couldn't take it anymore.In the past, Karen would have immediately turned












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