Chapter 1

On my eighteenth birthday, I spent the couple hundred dollars I'd painstakingly earned from my part-time job.

I invited my parents and brother to a French restaurant.

But, in the end, they stood me up.

They went to Disneyland with my adopted sister, Luna.

The fireworks on their Ins stories stung my eyes.

I couldn't help but call, wanting to demand: Compared to Luna, aren't I your real family?

But before I could even speak, Luna's voice chirped through the phone: "How could Mom and Dad celebrate your birthday? Don't you know you were actually picked up from a hospital dumpster?"

In that moment, everything that had clouded my mind suddenly became clear.

So, I wasn't their child.

Then I didn't need to beg for their pathetic affection anymore.

I filled out the application for Oxford University.

Then I bought myself a one-way plane ticket to the UK. I wasn't coming back, ever.

I closed the application page, took a deep breath, and my gaze finally fell upon the special dinner I'd arranged. For this one meal, I'd washed dishes in the school cafeteria kitchen for almost a year. But now, the long table was filled with everything they loved – filet mignon for Mom, her usual; ribeye for Dad, his favorite; garlic lobster tail for Ryan, who could never get enough; and I hadn't forgotten Luna's go-to Caesar salad. It wasn't until I picked up my knife and fork that I realized not a single dish on the entire order was something I liked.

But that didn't matter anymore. When I stopped begging for their fleeting affection, I started learning how to treat myself well. Just like this moment – I found that dining alone could be so peaceful and free; a birthday cake celebrated by no one still tasted soft and sweet. What's more, the restaurant's waitstaff came over with twinkling candles, and a warm birthday song gently enveloped me. On this night that was entirely my own, every bite of food softly whispered: You deserve all of this. Today, I wasn't lonely.

Back home, they had returned from Disneyland. Seeing me, Mom's expression faltered for a moment. Then she handed me a Disney plushie. "Aubrey, your birthday gift."

"I'm sorry, we were going to come celebrate with you, but your sister Luna got into the top ten in her class this time, and we promised her we'd take her to Disneyland if she did well."

"So we changed our plans midway."

"You've always been such an understanding kid, you'll get it, right?"

I looked up at this woman who, when I was very little, used to hold me, call me her "sweet pea," and say she couldn't bear to be apart from me. I used to adore her so much. Loved her. Desperately wanted to be by her side.

But when I came back home after living with relatives in the countryside, I found a new girl already there. Mom started calling only her "sweet pea." Her hugs were only for Luna. Before, I would have felt jealous and sad. But now, I only felt a sense of calm. It turned out, just like Luna, I was also a child they'd picked up. So, it was normal that they didn't love me.

I nodded slightly, saying flatly: "Yes, I don't blame you."

After speaking, I didn't take the plushie that Luna had thrown on the ground and stomped on, as seen in her Ins story. I walked straight towards my room. Behind me, I heard Mom's disgruntled voice. "We got her a gift, and she's still like this." "She doesn't know how to be affectionate, no wonder I don't like her."

Luna's whiny voice followed: "It's all my fault, making a fuss about going to Disneyland." "Aubrey must be mad at me. I shouldn't have said anything about a reward, boohoohoo…"

My departing steps were suddenly blocked by a force from the side. Ryan violently shoved me to the ground. My forehead hit the corner of the wall, sending a sharp pain through me.

"Aubrey Evans, apologize to Luna right now!"

"So what if we didn't celebrate your birthday today? You just had to make the whole family miserable."

Ryan sneered at me, spitting out cruel words, one by one: "But you, a foundling picked up from a dumpster, what makes you think you're worth our time and effort to celebrate your birthday?"