Semua Bab Whose Party Is This?: Bab 1 - Bab 10

I stared at the screenshots my sister, Suzy Blake, had sent me, and my heart sank.A surprise? The last time they would ever lie to me?That explained so much. Every year on my birthday, my parents would brush me off with all sorts of excuses."Chris, something urgent came up at work," Mom once said."Chris, I've got a meeting with a friend about business. Order some takeout for yourself," Dad once said.This year, they didn't even bother with excuses. They had simply replaced me with someone else.I tossed my phone aside. My chest felt as if something heavy had lodged itself there.Another WhatsApp message from Suzy popped up. "Christopher, don't overthink it. Mom and Dad just—"I replied with just two words. "Got it."Overthink it? How could I not overthink it?The facts were right in front of me. That birthday party for their "sweetheart" was the so-called surprise they had lied to me about. As their biological son, I was nothing more than a backdrop for another boy's happ

I repeated Mom's words in an icy tone.The smiles on my parents' faces vanished instantly.Mom reacted faster. She stepped forward and reached for my hand, but I turned aside and avoided her. "Chris, why are you here?" she asked.Her voice trembled. "Come here, let me introduce you. This is—"I cut her off, fixing my gaze squarely on Benjamin. "This is Benjamin Smith, your sweetheart, right?"The smile faded from Benjamin's face as well. He looked at me, visibly at a loss. A flicker of sympathy passed through his eyes before he turned to my parents for help."Who is this?" a guest asked.Dad's face darkened completely. He lowered his voice and snapped, "Christopher Blake! Stop causing trouble here and go home!""Causing trouble?"I laughed coldly. "Dad, did you forget what day it is? Today is also your own son's birthday—mine."I spoke every word clearly.Gasps and murmurs spread through the crowd. Everyone's eyes shifted back and forth between my parents and me, filled with

In the photo showing my 12th birthday, I held a cake by myself with a single candle stuck in it.At 15 years old, I fell asleep at my desk in my school uniform, and there seemed to be tear stains at the corner of my eye.At 18 years old, I stood alone at the gates of my university. Behind me, parents and families came and went, seeing their children off, which made my solitary figure seem even lonelier.Many of these photos were ones I had never seen, as if they had been taken without my knowledge. Each photo precisely captured how I grew up alone during those years when I was overlooked.As the photos played, Mom's low voice sounded off-screen. "Chris, my precious son, I'm sorry. I always said that I was busy—busy with meetings, busy with socializing, busy making money—yet I forgot that my most important responsibility was simply being there as you grew up."I thought that providing you with a comfortable material life meant I had fulfilled my duty as a mother. It wasn't until on

As long as I held no expectations, there was no room for disappointment.However, today, my parents shattered the wall that I had believed was unbreakable, in a way that felt almost brutal. When it collapsed, it exposed the version of me that was already scarred beyond measure, yet still aching to be loved.I looked at them and saw the pain on their faces, raw and undisguised.What was I supposed to do? Should I stand there like a victor, mocking their foolishness and self-inflicted pain? Or should I play the role of the understanding son, falling into their arms for a picture-perfect family reunion?My thoughts were in complete turmoil.At some point, the surrounding guests quietly slipped away. Only our family, the event planner, and Benjamin remained in the banquet hall. Benjamin and his mother were both wearing awkward expressions.I took a deep breath. My gaze moved slowly across my parents' faces and then to Suzy's.In the end, I said, "The party was impressive, and the su

"No matter what you think, you will always be my only brother," Suzy said.The door closed.I stared at the USB drive on the table, hesitating for a long moment before finally picking up my laptop.There was only one folder on the USB, titled "Gifts for Chris". When I opened it, there were ten subfolders labeled from "10 years old" to "19 years old".With trembling hands, I clicked on the folder marked "10 years old". Inside was a screenshot of a flight booking, showing a major theme park as the destination and my birthday as the travel date.There was also a video of Mom facing the camera, rehearsing what she planned to say to me. "Chris, happy birthday. I'm taking you to the place you want to visit most—"In the video, her voice sounded awkward and nervous. They ultimately canceled the booking, citing an urgent last-minute business trip as the reason.I then opened the folder labeled "12 years old". Inside was a design draft of a sports outfit, the same one I had once sketched