Chapter 2

I looked up, stunned, at Ryan. The sneer on his face only widened.

"Don't play dumb here. I know you heard everything Luna said on the phone."

"Yes, you were found."

"That's why we favor Luna, and why we hate you. That's why we kept you away in the countryside until you were twelve."

"Because you have nothing to do with our family."

I looked at Mom and Dad again; they watched me in silence. Finally, they quietly nodded. My palm trembled, and something inside me completely shattered.

Ryan gritted his teeth and said:

"Now you know how out of line you've been, right? You and Luna, you were both adopted by our family."

"But you've been acting like you're our biological daughter, constantly competing with Luna."

"What right do you, an outsider, a loser who always scores at the bottom of the class, have to compete? It's laughable."

"You want us to celebrate your birthday? Get into the top ten in your class then!"

Luna, hiding behind Ryan, smirked mockingly at me. I suddenly found it utterly pointless. Laughable, indeed. What right did I, an adopted daughter just like Luna, have to compete? Even though I knew, deep down, that I wasn't actually "found."

Since I returned to this house at age 12, my life had been a living hell. If I got a little closer to Mom and Dad, Luna would get upset. If my test scores were better than hers, she'd be unhappy. If a teacher praised me, Luna would throw a huge tantrum at home.

To keep Luna happy, they forbade me from getting close to them. They wouldn't let me score better than Luna on exams. They even forbade me from excelling academically or being praised by teachers at school, because Luna would be unhappy. If I didn't comply, they'd lock me in the dark basement until I gave in.

So, at 15, fed up, I took strands of their hair. I secretly went to a DNA test center. I thought, I must not be their child. If I were biological, they would never treat me this way. I wanted to get the test results and apply to live in an orphanage. But to my surprise, the results confirmed a parent-child relationship. I was, in fact, their biological daughter.

The moment I saw the results, I almost broke down. I didn't understand why, if I was their biological child, they preferred an adopted daughter and refused to love me. Was it just because I had lived for twelve years with the grandmother my mother hated the most? And so, by extension, they hated me too? I had pondered this question for eighteen years, never finding an answer.

But in this moment, I finally understood. Not all family members naturally love their own children. Since that was the case, there was no point in forcing it. I would just pretend I was found. After all, I had never truly had a family anyway.

I wiped the blood from my forehead, stood up, and gave Luna a deep, sarcastic bow, saying: "I'm sorry, Luna." "Before, I didn't know the truth, and I constantly defied you. From now on, I, who am merely a guest here, will never again be so presumptuous."

Yes. Never again. If I wasn't even their biological child, why should I keep fighting for their love?

Luna covered her mouth, as if startled, and said: "Aubrey, what are you saying?" "No matter if you're adopted or anything else, in my heart, you're my older sister." "Your forehead is bleeding again, let me see…"

Her outstretched hand was yanked away by Ryan. "Don't bother with her. She loves to play the victim." "Be careful she doesn't use your kindness against you and twist things around."

Each word cut me like a knife. I awkwardly wiped away the tears that stung my eyes – physical tears rather than emotional. I covered my wound and walked towards my room. Mom and Dad looked at me, a flicker of emotion seemed to cross their faces. But they looked at Ryan and Luna, and in the end, said nothing. The moment I closed the door, I heard Mom say: "Ryan, did we overdo it?" "What if Aubrey actually believes we picked her up?"

Ryan laughed: "Wouldn't that be better? She's always so competitive, always fighting with Luna over everything. This is a good way to punish her."

"We planned it all out. We'll tell her the truth after the SATs. It's not too late."

I smiled self-deprecatingly. I quietly closed the door. Ryan. I don't need to know the truth anymore. The identity of being found is just fine. Let it be.