Steffano Brothers' Obsession

PROLOGUE

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Getting into the car, I asked Nanny for my report card. At first, she didn’t want to give it to me, but I insisted, eventually she gave it to me too.

When I handed the report card, I gasped when I saw the result of my report card.

I gripped my report card.

When we got home, I saw Daddy and my older brother talking, while Daddy was holding my older brother’s report card. They were both laughing. Daddy looks happy with the result of my older brother’s report card.

I was about to go straight to my room when we heard Mommy’s voice, and she called me. I could have done nothing but approach them.

“Is that your report card?” Mommy asked me, pointing at the report card I’m holding. 

I just nodded.

I didn’t want to show my report card to them because I don’t want to replace their cheerful faces with disappointment just because of me.

When I handed my report card to Mommy and daddy, they were both shaken with disappointment on their faces. I knew it because even I’m disappointed in myself. 

“Why are your grades like this? Other subjects go down more?” Mommy asked me.

“How do you become a doctor, engineer, or lawyer if your grades are so low? Compared to your grades and the grades of your older brother, your grades are trash. Why don’t you imitate your older brother? In all subjects, he is the highest, including that he is the student council president at the school he attends, he also has extracurricular at the school. You, you’re just going to raise your grades, but you haven’t done it yet? How disappointment.”

I did not speak.

I want to apologize to my parents because that’s the only grade I could handle. But is it my fault? That’s all I could handle? I struggled with my grades, but I knew that wasn’t enough to equal or surpass my older brother.

After they preached to me and compared me to my older brother, I decided to leave the house for a while. I want to breathe properly somehow. Because every time I’m at home, I feel like I hear Daddy’s voice over and over again, how he so much disappoints me.

I go to the nearby park. Exactly nobody is here, other than that one guy who is sketching.

I sat on a bench here, then bowed. I couldn’t stop my tears from flowing down.

Always use. My parents always compare me to anyone better than me, smarter than me. They see nothing else in me but the failed ones I have made, which for me is enough.

Doctor? Engineer? A lawyer? one of which I never dreamed of, because I knew I couldn’t afford to reach such a profession. A walking failure cannot afford such a profession like that.

I want to prove myself in a different way to my parents. I want, at least once, to feel that they praise me for what I have done and make me proud of myself. But, how?

When it suddenly rained, I just let myself get wet. I didn’t have the strength to move anymore, I was already exhausted when I caught all the insults from my parents.

To my surprise, the rain suddenly stopped pouring down on me even though it was still raining. Later, I was surprised when someone took one of my hands and handed me an umbrella.

“Don’t lose hope. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, show up, and never give up. Because every day is a second chance. ”

Every day is a second chance? That’s right. There is still hope to prove myself to my parents, I still have something to do to make them proud of me.

I looked up. “Thank you—” I stopped when I didn’t see the man who gave me an umbrella and cheered me up.

I smiled. I hope to see him again because he has given me hope.

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Why isn’t he sleeping yet?

I approached the door, hoping to remind him what time it was. But, I couldn’t continue that when. I heard what he was saying.

“Yes, I have seen the picture of your son and, I want to say, the arranged marriage with your son and my daughter is continuing. We will introduce them on my daughter’s birthday.”

I immediately slowly climbed into my bedroom and locked the bedroom door.

Me? Me? I will marry a man I don’t know,  even his name? Will they arrange a marriage for me to a man I have never seen in my whole life?!

Wait.

Every day is a second chance. 

Is this my second chance? Is this another way for Daddy to be proud and happy to me, to be able to marry the man he wants for me? 

That’s right. This is my second chance to prove to Daddy, myself.

I slowly exited my room again. I went down. I looked to see if Daddy was still in the office. I smiled when I saw that his office here at home was no longer lit, it looked like he had already gone to their room. 

I approached the door and smiled without it being locked. I turned on the light, then started looking for a clue as to who Daddy was referring to as my future fiancé.

I stopped searching the cabinets when I saw a sliding folder on Daddy’s desk. I took it. Looked at it. I smiled when I saw the contents of the sliding folder.

“So, you are my future fiancée?” I whispered.