Chapter 4

"Mom, I don't have any money for breakfast. Just give me this dollar so I can eat."

After I closed the door, Julian threw his travel mug at it.

I tilted my head back and laughed at myself.

So, Iris was allowed to do whatever she wanted, but I wasn't.

I should have realized a long time ago that this was never my home.

The main team at the new branch wasn't fully in place yet, so my boss generously let me take my vacation days.

For the next two weeks, I started copying Iris and asking my family for money every day.

"Mom, I found a dress I really like. Give me 2,000 dollars."

"Dad, my friend is getting married, and I need to buy a gift. Just give me 1,000 dollars."

But every time, they yelled at me.

"Lydia, you're so useless!"

"If you can't find a job, then just marry some man and let him support you. Just don't keep living with us."

"How could we have raised such a useless daughter?"

But I didn't care at all. I simply smiled and kept scrolling through my phone.

Iris posted another picture on social media. She had her arms around Julian and Stella as they stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of her new apartment, all three of them smiling happily.

Her caption read. "Dad and Mom came with me to decorate my new place. Thank you for making me so happy."

Julian and Stella both liked the post and commented. "So proud of our baby girl! She put so much time and effort into making her new house a home!"

I was unemployed just like Iris.

But she was their precious daughter. I was the daughter they were ashamed of.

Finally, they exploded after I ate the entire container of yogurt Julian and Stella had bought for Iris.

Several of my relatives were invited over. They surrounded me and started lecturing me.

Julian's sister, Aitana Stevenson, spoke first, "Lydia, I heard you've been sitting around at home without working lately. How can you do this? What if people find out? You'll embarrass the whole family."

Stella's sister, Deborah Vance, quickly agreed, "Exactly. Iris is still young. She can enjoy herself for a few more years. But you're different. You're already this old. If you still can't find a job, you should hurry up and get married. Let your husband support you instead of constantly coming back and spending your parents' money."

Stella curled her lips. "I really don't understand how she turned out like this."

I took a sip of water and smiled.

Julian suddenly slammed his hand on the table. "What are you smiling about? We're talking to you about something serious. Are you even listening?"

Iris pretended to comfort me, "Lydia, we're all talking about something serious here. You..."

I laughed until tears filled my eyes. "Family? I've been living with you for 15 years since I came home at 15. Have you ever celebrated my birthday even once? Do you even know what I'm allergic to? When Iris has nothing more than a cough, you rush her to the hospital in the middle of the night. But when I had a fever of 104 degrees, I had to go to the doctor by myself. Am I not your daughter too?"

I wiped away my tears and continued coldly. "Stop pretending."

Julian was so angry that he clutched his chest. Iris quickly rushed over to support him.

Stella pointed at me and screamed. "You've gone too far! Then get out! From now on, we'll pretend we never had you as a daughter! All the money and property in this family will belong to Iris. We're going to make a new will right now. Don't even dream about getting anything!"

Julian shouted angrily. "Get me some paper and a pen! I'm going to declare that she's no longer part of this family!"

I nodded. Then I turned around and went back to my room.

A few minutes later, I came out dragging a suitcase I'd already packed.

I picked up the crumpled document Julian had written and pulled open the front door without even looking back at them.

My assistant, Caroline Kavanagh, happened to be standing outside to pick me up. "Ms. Stevenson, I'm sorry. I was worried you wouldn't be able to carry all your luggage, so I took the liberty of coming upstairs to help you."

At that moment, someone dropped a glass. It shattered on the floor.

Stella screamed. "Ms. Stevenson? Isn't she unemployed?"