Chapter 1

For the holiday sales push, I had to close 50 auto loans before New Year's Eve, or I was fired.

It was already December 30th, and no matter how hard I pushed myself, I was still ten loans short.

Just then, a news notification popped up on my phone.

"Barton Group is going all out for the holidays! The top 100 employees are each getting a car!"

Out of sheer desperation, I called Mom. We hadn't spoken in five years.

"I saw the news about the company giving cars to its employees. Can you get the loan through me? I'm just a bit short on my quota this month."

After a long silence, I finally heard Mom say, "Fine."

But immediately after, I heard my twin brother Alan Barton's voice. "Don't bother with him! Didn't he say he wasn't going to rely on the family when he left?"

The line went dead, and all that remained was silence.

A nurse walked into my hospital room to drop a bill demanding payment for my chemotherapy on the bedside table.

"You're not the only one with cancer, you know. We're short on beds here. If you can't pay, then you need to discharge yourself as soon as possible."

The cancer had drained all my savings, so I had no choice but to work while undergoing chemotherapy.

But now, I had not only spent all my money, but my cancer was still not cured. And on top of that, I was about to lose my job.

I maxed out the last bit of available credit on my card, paid off my medical bills, and signed my discharge papers.

Out in the bitter cold, I stood there helplessly, not knowing where to go. I couldn't help but think back on the first half of my life, a life where I'd apparently never been good enough.

Mom was the kind of person who valued achievement above all else, so Alan and I were pitted against each other from day one.

Alan opened his eyes before I did, and somehow that was enough to earn him the right to drink formula. And I was stuck with watered-down baby cereal.

He learned to crawl at six months old, so Mom hired ten nannies just for him.

As for me, I was dumped in a small dark room, fed on a strict schedule like I was some kind of pet.

When we started school, he had the best private tutors and got perfect scores every time.

Meanwhile, even if I came home with a 99%, I'd go without dinner that night.

"If you work hard enough, you can have anything you want. But if you didn't get it, it's simply because you were slacking off. Remember, winners take all. That's how this family works, and that's how the real world works."

Six-year-old me took Mom's words to heart. I told myself I couldn't afford to slack off. I had to earn that missing point, and also Mom's love.

After pulling all-nighters, I went straight to school the next morning and scored a perfect 100% on every exam that semester. But somehow, it still wasn't enough to beat Alan.

Not only did he get perfect scores in every subject, but he also won the city-wide swimming championship.

For winter break, Mom and Dad took him on an overseas trip, leaving me home alone.

I survived on cold water and stale bread every day while waiting for them to come home. But I knew I deserved it. I simply hadn't tried hard enough.

That was when I set a goal for myself. I wanted to get into a better college than Alan's ten years later, no matter what.

Even if it was just once, I wanted Mom to reward me. From that day on, I studied as if my life depended on it, never daring to let myself rest.

Then, on the day the results were released, I collapsed from exhaustion and slept the whole day.

When I woke up at dusk, the house was empty.

A thought suddenly struck me right then. I dug out my exam slips and Alan's.

My hands trembled as I entered our candidate numbers into the computer.

After hesitating for what felt like forever, I finally hit the "Enter" key and nervously opened my eyes.

I beat him by one point! I'd finally beaten him for once!

I crouched in front of the computer, sobbing uncontrollably. Ten years of hard work had finally paid off!

I had to tell Mom the good news! I ran out of the house, only to bump into the neighbor's housekeeper.

She looked confused when she saw me. "Your parents are hosting a college acceptance party at the Grandrow Hotel. They invited everyone in the Crestview Estates. Aren't you going?"

When I got to the hotel, Alan was surrounded by people, practically basking in the attention like royalty.

"Thank you all for coming to my college acceptance party. And thank you, Mom and Dad, for throwing it for me!"

Why was this his party?

I was the one who won this time!