The daughter they never wanted

My hands are still shaking when my phone starts ringing.

I’m standing under a dim streetlight, tears still sliding down my face, my chest aching from crying too hard. For a moment, I just stare at the screen, unable to focus.

Mother.

I almost let it ring out. I don’t have the strength to deal with her right now. But if I don’t answer, she’ll call again and again.

I swipe the screen and press the phone to my ear.

“Hello…”

“Where are you?” her voice snaps through the speaker.

I flinch. “I… I’m outside.”

“Outside where?” she demands. “You’ve been gone for hours. Get home immediately.”

My throat tightens. “Mom… something happened. I—”

“I don’t care what happened,” she cuts in sharply. “Come home right now. We need to talk.”

The line goes dead before I can say another word.

I lower the phone slowly, staring at my reflection in the black screen. My eyes are swollen. My nose is red. I look like a stranger.

I don’t want to go home. Not like this. Not after what I just saw.

But I have nowhere else to go.

~

The house is brightly lit when I arrive. Laughter drifts faintly from inside, and my chest tightens.

I push the door open and step in.

The first thing I notice is the smell of fresh flowers. The second is the pile of gift boxes stacked on the living room table—luxury brand names printed in gold across the bags.

My mother stands beside them, smiling proudly. On the couch, Virelle sits with her legs crossed, scrolling through her phone like she doesn’t have a care in the world.

They both look up when I enter.

My mother’s smile disappears instantly. “Finally. You decided to show up.”

I swallow hard. “What… what’s all this?”

Her expression brightens again as she gestures toward the gifts. “These are from Adrian Hale. He sent them this evening.”

My stomach drops.

“He what?”

“He came by earlier,” she continues, her voice full of excitement. “He said he intends to marry your sister. Look at these bags, Aurelia. Do you even know how expensive they are?”

I feel like the floor has disappeared beneath my feet.

Virelle lifts a necklace from one of the boxes and holds it against her neck. “It suits me, don’t you think?”

My vision blurs. “Mom… Adrian and Virelle…” My voice trembles. “I saw them together. In his bedroom.”

Silence falls over the room.

Then my mother frowns. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

“I’m not lying,” I say quickly, tears gathering again. “I went to surprise him. I heard her voice. I opened the door and—”

“That’s enough,” she snaps. “Don’t you dare spread such shameless lies about your own sister.”

“I’m not lying!” My voice rises, desperate. “He told me himself. He said he only dated me to get close to her.”

Virelle sighs softly, placing the necklace back into the box. “Why would you say something like that about me, Aurelia?” she asks, her tone gentle and wounded. “I know you’ve always been jealous, but this is too much.”

Jealous.

The word burns.

“I’m not jealous of you!” I cry. “I’m telling the truth. You were in his bed. Both of you were—”

Before I can finish, my mother’s hand strikes my face.

The slap echoes loudly in the room. My head snaps to the side, and I taste blood on my tongue.

“Watch your mouth,” she hisses. “How dare you speak about your sister like that?”

I clutch my cheek, tears spilling over. “Mom… why won’t you believe me?”

“Because your sister would never do something so disgraceful,” she says coldly. “You, on the other hand, have always been problematic.”

My chest tightens painfully. “You think I’m lying about this? About something like this?”

She folds her arms. “You’ve always been resentful of Virelle’s success. Now that a man like Adrian has chosen her, you’re trying to ruin it.”

Virelle lowers her gaze, playing with the edge of her sleeve. “I didn’t want to say anything,” she murmurs, “but she’s been acting strange for weeks. Maybe she needs to see a doctor.”

My hands curl into fists. “Stop pretending,” I choke out. “You know exactly what you did.”

My mother steps closer, her eyes blazing with anger. “Enough! Adrian is from a respectable family. He wouldn’t risk his reputation on you if he wasn’t serious about marrying Virelle.”

“He was with me first,” I whisper weakly.

“And what does that matter?” she snaps. “Look at you, Aurelia. What kind of man would seriously marry someone like you?”

The words hit me like another slap.

“I thought… I thought you would at least ask if I was okay,” I say, my voice shaking. “I just found out the man I loved was cheating on me with my own sister.”

My mother’s expression hardens. “Loved? Don’t make me laugh. He was just entertaining himself until he found someone suitable.”

Virelle smiles faintly.

Something inside me breaks.

“So you knew?” I ask, my voice barely audible.

She doesn’t answer directly. Instead, she picks up another gift bag and pulls out a designer handbag. “Adrian has good taste,” she says, turning it from side to side. “He knows what suits me.”

I stare at her, unable to recognize the sister I grew up with.

“You’re heartless,” I whisper.

That is when my mother loses her patience completely.

She grabs my arm and shakes me. “How dare you call your sister heartless after everything she’s done for this family?”

“What has she done?” I cry. “All she does is take and take while you keep giving her everything!”

Her hand comes down again, slapping me across the other cheek. The force sends me stumbling backward.

“I should have never given birth to you,” she spits. “From the moment you were born, you’ve only brought shame to this house.”

My breath catches. “Mom…”

“If I had known you would grow up to be this useless, this ugly, this troublesome, I would have abandoned you at the hospital.”

Her words stab deeper than any physical blow.

Tears stream down my face. “I worked hard… I went to medical school… I thought you’d be proud of me.”

“Proud?” she laughs bitterly. “While your sister attracts wealthy men and brings honor to this family, you hide in hospitals where no one has to look at your face.”

My father stands near the doorway, silent, his gaze fixed on the floor. He says nothing. He does nothing.

“Please,” I whisper, my voice cracking. “I’m still your daughter.”

She shoves me. I stumble and hit the edge of the table, pain shooting through my side.

“You are nothing to me,” she says. “Nothing but a burden we’ve carried for too long.”

She grabs my arm again and drags me toward the door. I struggle weakly, my legs barely supporting me.

“Mom, stop!” I cry. “You’re hurting me!”

“Good,” she snaps. “Maybe pain will finally teach you your place.”

Virelle watches from the couch, her expression calm, almost bored.

My mother yanks the door open and pushes me outside. I stumble onto the porch, nearly falling.

“Get out!” she screams. “Get the hell out of my house!”

“Mom, please—”

“I don’t want to see your face ever again!”

The door slams shut in front of me.

I stand there, staring at the wooden surface, my reflection faintly visible in the glass panel. My cheeks are swollen. My lip is bleeding. My body aches where she shoved me.

Inside, I can still hear their voices—my mother fussing over Virelle, asking if she’s hungry, if she wants tea.

Like nothing just happened.

Like I was never there.

A sob escapes my throat, raw and broken. My legs give out, and I sink onto the cold steps.

In one night, I’ve lost Adrian.

I’ve lost my sister.

And now, I’ve lost my home.

I wrap my arms around myself, rocking slightly as tears stream down my face.

There is nowhere left for me to go.