They Abandoned Me for My Pretty Sister. Then They Saw My Face.

I was born into a family where beauty was everything. My father was an Oscar-winning actor, and my mother was a Grammy-winning singer. They had built their lives around beauty, fame, and the image of a perfect family. Then I was born premature, frail, and with a large birthmark covering part of my face. I wasn't the daughter they wanted the public to see, so they left me with my grandmother in the countryside and raised my younger sister, Vivian, instead. Grandma sent them letters and photographs every year. They never answered. Now Grandma was moving into assisted living, and my college dorm wouldn't open for another few days. With nowhere else to stay, I went to my parents' house for the first time. Dad looked at my hat, sunglasses, and mask with open disapproval. "Why are you covering yourself from head to toe? Are you ashamed to be seen?" Mom gave a mocking laugh. "She's probably seen all the photographs of us taking Vivian to premieres and award shows. She doesn't want her first meeting with us to become a comparison with her prettier sister." Vivian took my hand and smiled. "Don't worry, Skye. Looks aren't everything. You don't have to feel insecure around me." My hand froze on the edge of my mask. Grandma had been writing to them every month for the past two years, practically begging them to come get me. "Come pick up Skye already. She's grown into such a beauty that people keep climbing the fence just to take pictures of her!" So not one of them had ever seen what I looked like now?