Chapter 3

I looked up at him and suddenly felt like I didn't know him anymore.

Back when we first started dating, whenever I talked about how blatantly my family favored Mia, Zach would always comfort me. He told me I could rely on him, that he'd always be on my side and support me.

But now, he'd chosen their side too.

"I'm disappointed in you too. Let's break up."

I turned and went back to my room.

Zach hurried after me. "Why are we breaking up when everything was fine between us?"

I tried to shut the door, but he wedged his foot against it.

"Everything was fine? Have you really not noticed how much you favor Mia?"

Zach visibly relaxed, then laughed.

"So that's what this is. You're jealous.

"Fine, fine. I'll tell you the truth. I do treat your sister a little differently because when I was twelve, I went to a tourist attraction and accidentally fell into the water. She was the one who saved me..."

As he started recounting the details, I frowned.

When I was twelve, I had saved a boy around my age from drowning. I'd been afraid Mom and Dad would yell at me for getting involved in someone else's business, so I never said much about it. Once I saw that he was all right, I ran off.

No wonder someone as outstanding as Zach had gone out of his way to pursue a nobody like me in college.

So he'd been trying to repay a debt.

Was the way he treated Mia really just because he'd mistaken her for the person who saved him?

If I hadn't seen what happened at the jewelry store, I probably would have believed him.

Still, I explained.

"I was the one who saved you."

Zach froze.

"What did you say?"

Just then, Mia pushed open the door, her eyes red.

"Nora, you're still the same as ever. You always have to steal credit for what I did."

She gave a wounded little sigh.

"Forget it. I'm the younger sister, after all. If you want the credit, you can have it."

Linda came rushing in behind her.

"Ever since you were little, you've always had to take anything good Mia had. Now you're even trying to steal credit for saving someone's life?"

Steal?

They were the ones who never gave me anything in the first place. They'd even tried to give Mia things Grandpa had left specifically to me. All I'd ever done was take back what belonged to me.

But somehow, in their mouths, I was always the one at fault.

Zach believed them.

"Enough. Stop making things up. I remember clearly that the girl who saved me had the name Mia Shaw written on her clothes. At first I thought you'd changed your name. It wasn't until later that I realized I'd gotten the wrong person..."

That was because Mom and Dad only bought clothes for Mia.

I wore the school uniforms she'd outgrown, and the name tag had only been covered with a new cloth patch. It must have fallen off when I went into the water to save him.

Mia dabbed theatrically at tears that weren't there.

"Good thing you have such a good memory, Zach. Otherwise, somehow this would've become my fault too."

Zach looked at her with obvious concern.

"Nora, you're the one who did something wrong. You should apologize to Mia."

I looked at Mia's smug face, then at the other three people, all turned against me.

"And if I don't?"

Robert roared, "Then get out of this house!"

I laughed.

"I'm the one who's been paying the rent. Are you sure you want to kick me out?"

Linda let out a wail and beat her chest.

"How did I ever give birth to someone so coldhearted? We're family, and yet you insist on keeping track of every single thing you pay for!"

A moment ago, they wanted me out of the house.

Now that they needed something from me, suddenly we were family again.

How convenient.

And somehow, Zach still didn't see the hypocrisy.

His disappointment only deepened.

"Fine. Leave. I'll pay the rent."

"Fine. You pay it."

If he wanted to support this whole family of leeches, he was welcome to do so.

I grabbed the suitcase I'd already packed and headed for the door.

When Zach realized I was actually going through with it, his eyes reddened.

"You're really leaving?"

Robert scoffed.

"She's just putting on a show. She'd never actually leave. She's been like this since she was little, always scheming."

Zach frowned and reached for my suitcase.

"Enough, Nora. You're an adult now. Stop throwing a tantrum like you did when you were a kid."

I yanked the suitcase back from him.

What he didn't understand was that I wasn't throwing a tantrum.

This time, I meant it.