Cerita Pendek & Novel Independence Biological Family

When I was seven, my father brought home a beautiful lady who gave me a mango. That day, my mother watched me happily eating the mango while she signed her name on the divorce papers. After that, she jumped off the roof of our building. From then on, mangoes became the nightmare of my life. So on my wedding day, I told my husband, Alan Holt, "If you ever want a divorce, just give me a mango." Alan pulled me into his arms, quiet. From then on, mangoes became off-limits for him, too. On Christmas Eve of our fifth year of marriage, Alan's childhood sweetheart, Larissa Fennimore, left a mango on his desk at the office. The very same day, Alan announced he was cutting ties with Larissa and fired her from the company. That day, I truly believed he was the man I was meant to be with. Half a year later, I flew back from overseas, having just closed a partnership deal worth about 200 million dollars. At the celebration dinner, Alan handed me a drink. After I had finished half the glass, his so-called childhood sweetheart, the woman who had been kicked out of the company, stood behind me with a big grin and asked, "Does the mango juice taste good?" I stared at Alan in disbelief, and he was trying hard not to laugh. "Don't be mad. Larissa insisted I played a little joke on you. I didn't actually give you a mango; I just gave you a bottle of mango juice. But I think she's right. The fact that you don't eat mangoes is a real problem. You were really enjoying that juice just now." My face went cold. I lifted my hand and threw the rest of the mango juice in his face, then turned around and walked away. Some things are never a joke. I wouldn't kid around with mangoes or divorce.

In the Moonstone Pack, every daughter received two moonstones after her first shift. When she found her mate, they were set into matching bonding bracelets. Two weeks before my twin sister Selena and I were supposed to hold our mate ceremonies, my brother came home carrying one black velvet box. Inside lay a pair of platinum bracelets set with four moonstones. All four belonged to Selena now. She burst into tears. Mom pulled her into a hug, while Dad warned Tyler that the entire Grey family would come for him if he ever hurt their precious girl. No one saw a problem. I looked at my brother’s empty hand. “Where are mine?” Noah blinked. “Selena’s design needed four stones, so I used yours. You don’t care about traditions anyway.” Mom cut me off before I could answer. “They’re only bracelets. You make good money, so buy another pair. Don’t ruin your sister’s moment.” As they closed around Selena, I finally understood. Whenever they said their daughter, they had never meant me. Fine. They could keep the family they had chosen. I was done begging to belong to it.

When I was ten, I accidentally overheard my mother on the phone. It seemed like she was talking about me being a switched-at-birth rich girl, and that my real last name was Gardner. The coldness and cruelty my mother had shown me all these years suddenly made sense. When I turned 11, I paid an adult to get a maternity test done for both my mother and me. The results confirmed that I was indeed her biological daughter. I kept the report to myself and pretended I was still in the dark.

I've just finished collecting rent from a building when Mom calls me on the phone. She tells me that the Jensens' estranged real heiress, Sienna Jensen, has finally reunited with them. I pack up my account ledgers immediately before heading over to attend Sienna's welcome home party. But as soon as I reach the gate, my car is stopped right outside. Apparently, I'm not allowed entry into the Jensen residence. Hatred crosses Sienna's eyes when she spots my car. "You're nothing but a thieving impostor! How dare you make a flashy appearance while driving a car that belongs to my family!" I take a deep breath and explain coolly, "This is my car. I don't know what you're talking about." The next thing I know, Sienna grabs a ledger and hurls it at my face. She screams at me, "You used my family's money to buy this car, and yet you have the gall to claim that it's yours? "I'm my mother's actual child, and yet you've leeched all the good things from my family, you filthy bitch! I'll have you know that the hardships that Mom went through for nine months of pregnancy will be converted into a maternity fee of a million dollars! Now hurry up and transfer the payment to Mom's bank account!" I merely sneer at Sienna before pulling out my phone and calling her mother, Molly Dawson, "Your daughter demands that I give you a million dollars' worth of maternity fees. Do you even have the guts to accept the payment?"

Despite dreaming of attending university all my life, I ended up stuck in my farming village. I married my brother-in-law and became my nephew’s stepmother. This all happened because my sister died trying to make money for my tuition fees on the day my results came out. I thought I had failed to secure a place at university and stopped thinking about higher education out of guilt. I married my brother-in-law according to my sister’s wishes. To pay for my sins, I raised my nephew and treated him like my own son. I made money and tutored him so that he could get into Northside University. In the end, I developed late-stage cancer. Before dying, I attended my nephew’s celebration, but he publicly accused me of being a homewrecker while my husband agreed that I had seduced him. They brought out my sister, dead for eighteen years, and made me apologize to her. It was then that I found out she had faked her death and used my university admission letter to finish her study. She had become a university lecturer after tricking me into taking care of her family. Outraged, I had a cerebral hemorrhage. When I woke up, I found I had gone back to the day my sister faked her death.

I have a congenital heart defect, and the doctors say I won't make it past 18. When I am ten, my parents bring home a blind child, saying she is my twin sister, Everly Wallace. My family spoils me rotten, but they treat Everly like a ghost. Everyone says Everly exists only to give me her heart. I try so hard to be good to this sister who shares my face, desperate to ease my guilt. When I reach 18, I lie on the operating table. Except they don't take my heart. They take my corneas. I die after that, while Everly finally sees the light.

On the day my twin sister and I came of age, everyone gathered around Seraphina to plan her future. My brother, Adrian, handed her the transfer papers for a casino. "Budapest is where you belong, Seraphina. I have a hotel there, so I can help you get started." Julian smiled as he offered a different proposal. "Don't listen to him. Come to Tokaj and run the winery with me. Within two years, I'll make sure every vampire noble knows Vardi blood wine." The argument got heated. Mom and Dad only laughed. "Seraphina, with both of them looking after you, we have nothing to worry about. The future of the Vardi family is in your hands." And me? I was the eldest daughter of the Vardi family, yet I stood at the very edge of the crowd, almost invisible. No one seemed to remember that I had come of age, too. I was supposed to receive a share of the family business as well. Julian finally remembered I existed. He reached over and ruffled my hair. "Don't be impatient, Vivian. Once Seraphina settles in, you can come work for us." Adrian spared me a glance, as though doing so was a favor. "She doesn't even need to do that. She can find something to keep herself busy. The family business isn't her concern." My eyes burned. My nails dug into my palms. Again. It was always the same. Ever since we were children, the sweetest, freshest deer blood had gone to Seraphina first. Adrian carried it to her. Julian practically held the glass to her lips. I stood at the corner of the table, staring at the empty glasses they left behind. I never got so much as a drop. I should have stopped caring years ago. But after tonight, I had no patience left. If none of them cared about me, why should I keep playing my part in their picture-perfect family? I closed my hand around the enchanted daylight ring in my pocket. Then I booked a flight to the sunniest town at the southern end of Crete. Starting today, I was done being a Vardi.

Three years after my mom, Scarlett Vaughn, gets divorced, she suddenly finds herself being pursued by a man named Keith Lawrence. He dotes on Mom so much that it's almost ridiculous, driving her to and from work and making sure she gets a different breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. At the wedding, his eyes are red as he swears he'll never let Mom suffer even the slightest bit of hardship. But on their very first night as newlyweds, Keith slaps Mom so hard he ruptures her eardrum. Then he whips her with a belt, hits her with liquor bottles, and beats her with a baseball bat. The last time, Mom doesn't get back up. Then he pushes open my bedroom door and reaches for me. In a panic, I fall from the 36th floor. When I open my eyes again, I'm back to the day when they got their marriage certificates. Mom stands at the entryway, urging me with a smile. "Melissa, are you ready? Keith is waiting for me at City Hall." I hear a horn downstairs. The cab has arrived. I immediately jump in front of the door. "Mom, don't go. You can't marry him."

My sister's graduation party was held on June 25th, the same day SAT scores were released. A banner hung across the hotel ballroom reading, ‘Congratulations to Bria Sumner, ranked 8th in the district, on her admission to Graymont Preparatory!’ The room was done up with balloons and fresh flowers, and Dad had ordered a custom cake with ‘The Sky's the Limit’ piped across the top in buttercream. I was sitting on a chair in the corner when my phone lit up. It was a notification from the College Board. I had scored a 1,580, placing me in the 99th percentile statewide. I silently turned the phone face down on the table. My uncle, seated next to me, slapped his forehead. "Paige, didn't you take your SATs this year too?" Mom lifted her glass and answered for me with a laugh, "Oh, her? She's still got a ways to go. Her test isn't until next year." My fork stopped midway to my mouth. I had spent months studying for the SATs on my own, diligently working through the vocabulary, reading, math, and essay sections. I set my own alarm on test day, called my own cab to the testing center, and came home to an empty house afterward. Mom had only sent me one message that day. Mom: [Get up early tomorrow. We need to book the venue for Bria's party.] I lowered my head and pushed the food on my plate around. I had lost my appetite. That night, I sat alone in my room, opened the college applications portal, and entered the farthest university I could find as my first choice. The university was 808 miles away from home.

The day my admissions results came in, I ran into the living room with my laptop still open in my arms. "Mom, Dad, I got into Bedford University. Now I'll finally be in the same city as Derek and Grayson." No one answered. The living room was empty. A city-shaped magnet from Bedford was stuck to the fridge door. Grayson Whitfield had given it to me the year before. "Once you get in," he'd told me, "I'll take you all over the city." I'd held on to that promise like a lifeline, using it to push through one sleepless night after another. But now, three plane ticket order receipts sat tucked beneath that same magnet. Mom. Dad. My sister. Destination: Bedford. I stood there for a long moment before I noticed the new video posted in the family group chat. My brother, Derek Radley, was pulling my sister's suitcase along, smiling in a way I hadn't seen in a while. "Welcome to Bedford, Amber. Time to get you started on the Foundation Program." Grayson stood beside her, holding out a bouquet of sunflowers. "Is Claire going to be mad at me?" Amber asked, sounding small. Grayson only laughed. "She won't. She's sensible. She always is." My fingertips went cold, one degree at a time.

My father, Don Vincenzo Cassano, added me to a private group chat. "La Famiglia." It was an accident. There were only three other people in it. My father. My mother. And a strange woman he had saved as "Our Treasure." They were planning a party for her. A lavish birthday party. And tomorrow? Tomorrow was my birthday. The tenth one in a row they’d forgotten. My mother’s text: "The ballroom must be draped in crystal. Make her a real princess." My father sent a wire. "Money is no object. Just don't let Aurelia find out. We don't need the drama." I screenshotted everything. A bitter sting in my chest. Fine. If they don’t love me, I'll burn their little stage to the ground. Just then, my brother Nico messaged me. The golden boy. The heir to the throne. He sent a screenshot of his own chat. Nico to Dad: "Is the 'surprise' for Aurelia ready? You promised me. This is the last time you lie to her like this."

On the day I filled out my college applications, I finally realized the truth. My family was not poor. Only I was. I had ranked in the top ten in the entire state, and the admissions office told me I could choose any Ivy League school I wanted with full tuition waived. I was overjoyed, already about to call my parents with the good news when a new message suddenly popped up on my phone. 'Look at you celebrating, you poor child. Your family isn't poor at all! Even if your parents know your score, they'll only make you apply to some mediocre local university. They'll even use your scholarship money to buy your brother a new watch. 'Your brother, who supposedly went out to work, is living it up in Mariner's Bay—huge apartment, sports car, 300 thousand a month for living expenses. He's living the high life. You're the only one who thinks your family is poor. They're just afraid you'll find out they have money and try to take your brother's share. Poor thing. 'Hurry up and use your college applications as a chance to escape your family, or you'll spend your whole life as your brother's cash cow!'

My family was going on a beach trip for summer. My mother came up with the whole itinerary two weeks earlier. My father booked a room with a view of the sea. My brother picked the surfboards, while my sister went with the dresses for socials. I was helping them pack up the night before the trip when I saw the tickets on the coffee table. There were only four of them, and they were for my father, mother, brother, and sister. They didn't get one for me. My mother saw me, and she froze. "Oh, I forgot all about you." My brother didn't even look up. "She can just stay at home." My sister said quietly, "Maybe I shouldn't go, then?" My mother quickly took her side. "No. You've been looking forward to this." My father clapped my shoulder. "You can't go this time, but we'll bring you along for the next trip." I smiled bitterly at the tickets. They went to the beach the next day. I grabbed the 10 million from my lottery winnings and went to Aocity, a place more than a thousand miles away. Our choices marked the day we went our separate ways, forever.

I told Charlie my biggest secret—I was the long-lost daughter of the powerful Moore family in Dreslane. He swore he'd help me reunite with them. But the night before I met them, the Moore family made a grand declaration—they'd already found their missing daughter. A ceremony was set. I rushed there, heart pounding, only to see Charlie standing beside his childhood friend, Raine. She was being introduced as the Moore heiress. And somehow, she had the exact same birthmark as me. Before I could do anything, Charlie locked me in a restroom. "It's just a name," he said. "You still have me. So why does this matter? Raine's parents died saving me—she never had a real family. For my sake, can't you just let her have this?" Then, to erase any doubt, to make sure Raine could live as me without fear—Charlie took a knife and carved the birthmark off my body. The shock. The pain. I lost my three-month-old unborn baby that night. And as I lay there, blood soaking through my clothes, I finally gave up.

In the Ferro family, every daughter received a black onyx ring before getting married. The stone was jet-black, with the Ferro family's signature F engraved in the center. My father said it wasn't jewelry. It was a Ferro family vow. As long as you wore it, the whole Ferro family would have your back, wherever marriage took you. My twin sister, Lucia Ferro, and I were getting married on the same day. But in the days leading up to the wedding, my father brought out only one velvet ring box. Lucia held out her hand in delight as our relatives raised their glasses. I stared at my bare ring finger, then turned to my mother. "Where's mine?" My mother, Margaret Ferro, avoided my eyes and pretended to study the oil painting on the wall. My brother, Victor Ferro, kept cutting his steak and didn't even look up. "Lucia's marrying into the Cassano family. She needs to walk in with some real weight behind her. We melted your ring down and added the gold to her band." My father, Robert Ferro, sipped his red wine, his tone perfectly flat. "The Cassano family has strict rules. She needs them to know the Ferro family is behind her all the way. Your fiancé, Aiden Brooks, is just an ordinary doctor who has nothing to do with the family business. You'll never need a ring like that." I stared at the harsh gleam of gold around Lucia's finger. I remembered the year I turned 18, when my father let me touch his ring for the first time. He'd looked at me and sworn that as long as my last name was Ferro, I'd always have someone in my corner. Only now did I understand that he hadn't been lying. I simply wasn't the Ferro he meant to protect.

After four years of marriage, I was finally pregnant. I was so excited that I called my mom right away to tell her. Her voice came through the phone ice-cold. "You can't keep this baby! Go get rid of it tomorrow!" I thought I had heard her wrong. "What?" She stayed perfectly calm. "Your brother is still in college. This isn't the time for you to get pregnant. If you have a baby, how are you supposed to support your brother? "Your career is going great right now. Work and save up for a few more years. Once your brother graduates, gets a job, and buys a house, it won't be too late to have a kid then." I was stunned, and the words flew out before I could stop them. "I'm not getting rid of it!" Mom exploded. "That baby is a Garrison! Your brother is the one who carries on the Abbott name! Had you sacrificed his future for some Garrison kid? Don't you forget whose name you were born with!" When my brother was in elementary school, I helped him with his homework. When he was in middle school, I worked a part-time job to buy him designer sneakers. When he went to college, I gave him 1,000 dollars a month for living expenses. Now, I was pregnant with a child of my own, and I was still expected to step aside for my brother's future? I was so furious that I actually laughed. Fine. If that was how it was going to be, I would cut them off for good. I hung up and took them off every shared account and authorized user card in my name.

My mom bought me a house with zero down payment. For five years, I scrimped and saved until I finally paid off the mortgage. But then, she told me she wanted to transfer the house to her first love's son to use as his wedding home. When I said no, she pulled out the property deed and slapped it down in front of me. "The house is in my name. I'll give it to whoever I want. You'd better hand it over willingly, or don't blame me for forgetting we're family." So I pulled out another deed—this one with my name on it—and called 911. "Hello? I'd like to report a trespasser."

After the Intermediate Mage Examination, I stood outside the door and overheard my mother tell a relative, "The Royal Academy's tuition is too expensive. We can't afford to send both daughters." The relative tried to reason with her. "They're both your daughters. You can't send one and leave the other behind." My brother cut in. "Liana can't even cast a basic light spell. She's the one who needs the extra help. Ella's talented enough to manage on her own. Send her with Liana as a maid. She can sit in on classes whenever she's free." Then came the voice of Caden Vale, the boy I had grown up with. "That's fair." Standing outside the door, I finally understood what fair meant to them. Liana got the place at the academy. I got to save them the extra tuition and wait on her as a maid. When we were kids learning the levitation spell, the only cushion in the house always went under Liana. Once, I fell and cracked my head open. Even then, I made excuses for them. I told myself Liana needed more protection than I did. But as I listened to them laugh, something inside me finally snapped. This time, I would not let Liana use me as her stepping-stone.

I chase my six-year-old daughter out of the house on a cold winter day. I cut her new clothes to pieces and dirty her dainty little face with mud. Then, I give her all my savings. She looks at me tearfully and reaches out for me, wanting me to hold her. However, I harden my heart and push her away, saying, "Leave! Go to Bowen Group and look for their CEO, Logan Bowen. Show him my death certificate and your DNA test—he'll take you in." She sobs while looking at me. "Don't you want me anymore, Mommy? Let's go look for Daddy together." After a brief silence, I say, "I can't go with you. I lied to him back then to have you." Yes, I'm a liar. I orchestrated everything from meeting Logan, dating him, to ultimately leaving him with his child in my womb. Even the death certificate I've given my daughter is fake. From beginning to end, I've lied to him about everything except our daughter.

My parents have never known how to take care of anyone. Growing up, every time I get sick, they just send me money and tell me to go buy medicine myself. One time, my appendicitis flares up, and the doctor says it's best to have a family member present for the surgery. I grip my phone, going back and forth in my head, before I finally call my mom. "Mom, can you come to the hospital and stay with me?" She agrees right away on the phone, but by the time my surgery is over, she still hasn't shown up. The only thing keeping me company is a 200-dollar transfer sitting on my screen. I lie in the hospital bed and tell myself that maybe this is just how my family is. We don't know how to show we care. Someone gets sick, money gets sent, medicine gets bought, and everyone moves on. Then, my sister's exams end, and I happen to be home for a few days that summer when she comes down with a fever. Out of habit, I look over at my mom, expecting her to send my sister 200 dollars. But instead, my mom panics, immediately calls out of work, and insists on taking my sister to the hospital herself. My voice comes out hoarse. "Isn't the deal just to send money and let her buy medicine herself?" My brother glares at me. "How can you be so cold-hearted? People are at their most vulnerable when they're sick. They need family by their side." My dad nods along, and the words "I've always gone to the hospital alone" die in my throat before I can say them. I don't argue. I don't make a scene. I just feel an overwhelming sense of relief that my college is a thousand miles away from all of them.