Chapter 2

When I got home, the front door was half open. I could faintly hear Stella complaining, "She wasn't even raised by us, so no wonder she has no manners. She wasn't lovable as a child, and now she's grown up to be useless. If I'd known this would happen, I never should have had her."

Julian tried to calm her down. "I'll tell her later that she's not allowed to come home unless she finds a job. She's not capable of much, but she still listens to us. Don't worry."

I froze where I stood. For a moment, I felt like a stranger who had walked into the wrong house. I didn't know what to do.

Just then, my phone suddenly rang.

They heard it and turned around.

Stella let out a scream and put a hand over her chest. "Why are you standing by the door like that? You scared me to death!"

Before I could say anything, she continued, "You've always been so sneaky. Ever since you were little."

I stood there in a daze.

I'd once heard my grandmother, Penelope Stevenson, say that my birth had been an accident.

Julian and Stella had been busy with work back then, so they didn't want a child. But Stella's health made an abortion too risky, so they had no choice but to have me.

I grew up with Penelope and only saw Julian and Stella once a year.

It wasn't until Penelope died when I was 15 that they brought me from the countryside to live with them in the city.

One winter, I went outside to take out the trash. When I came back, I couldn't get into the house.

It was 23 degrees below freezing outside, and I didn't have a key. I huddled in the hallway, trying to stop my teeth from chattering.

Julian and Stella didn't show up with Iris until after dark.

When I heard them talking to Iris in warm, gentle voices, I finally realized they'd gone out to the movies with her.

They had simply forgotten about me.

Stella didn't recognize me at first. She even screamed in fright.

Only after I showed my face did she scold me, "What are you doing hiding there? Don't sneak around like a thief!"

I explained in a trembling voice that I didn't have a key. Iris laughed at me. "Lydia, didn't you know our front door has fingerprint access?"

I really didn't know. Julian and Stella had forgotten to tell me.

Stella grabbed my stiff fingers and registered my fingerprints while scolding me. "Why didn't you just go wait at a neighbor's house? You're already this old. How can you be so stupid?"

I sniffed and carefully said, "My accent is different from everyone else's here. I was afraid I'd embarrass you."

Julian had already warned me not to talk much in public because I still had my country accent.

But when he heard what I said, his face immediately darkened. "Why can't you learn to adapt? You're so stupid."

Later, they sent me to a boarding school. I only came home for one afternoon each month.

I'd always gotten good grades. After graduation, I found a high-paying job, and Julian and Stella became more accepting of me.

"You should set a good example for Iris as her older sister."

"Don't waste the money you make. Save it. Buy a bigger house someday, and we'll all move in with you."

They said things like that all the time. After hearing it so many times, I started to believe I was just as important to this family as Iris was.

But now Stella was treating me like the stranger she'd forgotten outside the door, the same girl she'd once accused of sneaking around.

All because I'd told them I was unemployed.

I let out a strange little laugh.

Julian suddenly shot to his feet and pointed at me angrily. "Your mom and I are worried about you, and this is funny to you? You're almost 30 years old! Do you really expect us to keep supporting you?"

I said nothing. Instead, I looked at the shopping bags on the table.

The 500-dollar skincare set, the new gaming console, and the brand-new foldable phone that had already been opened were obviously for Iris.

This house was her safe place. It had never been mine.

When Stella saw my face darken, she waved her hand at me in disgust. "Transfer this month's household money to me, then go back to your apartment. I'm sick of looking at you."

I could have easily told them that I'd only been joking when I said I was unemployed. I could have made them stop treating me so coldly, just like before.

But I didn't move.