Born Their Daughter, Treated Like a Stranger

Phoebe's POV

"Hon, are you seriously planning to let our daughter take out a high-interest loan for Fiona?"

My mom's face was cold as stone. She kept lighting candles while replying, “Of course. How else is Fiona supposed to start her business?”

Hiding behind the tombstone, I shivered.

My dad glanced at my mom, clearly troubled by how firm she was. “But... honey, maybe we should think this through. A year ago, we secretly transferred our daughter’s house to Fiona. Now you want her to carry a huge debt too? Isn’t that too cruel? She’s still our daughter.”

——

It was All Souls' Day, and the whole family had come to visit our ancestors' graves.

I had just finished clearing the weeds around Grandma’s grave and dropped them off at the trash area when I overheard my parents talking.

“Have you lost your mind?” my mom snapped. “Fiona’s company is in financial trouble. If she doesn’t get another round of funding, she’s going bankrupt. Can you really stand by and watch my sister and her whole family end up with nothing?”

“She’s six months pregnant, too. What about the baby? Formula, diapers, childcare—it’s going to cost a fortune. If we don’t help her, who will?” she added, making it sound like it was the most natural thing in the world.

My dad nodded slowly. “Yeah, I know it’s tough for them... but it’s not easy for Phoebe either. She’s already 28, about to get married. What if she asks us about her house?”

He then added in a lower voice, “Back then, you tricked her into signing the insurance paperwork when she was drunk, remember? If she finds out the truth, she’ll hate us for sure.”

My mom waved the smoke away, clearly annoyed. “So what? I’m her mother. Why can’t I take a house from her? If she wants to get married, she can buy another one. Isn’t that Raven guy rich? Let his family pay for the new place.”

My dad looked uncomfortable, but he was used to following her lead and didn’t know how to argue.

Shooting him a look, she convinced, “Stop overthinking. The house is gone. And look, Fiona married Ted, right? He’s a college professor, well-educated, decent. They’re a happy couple, living a great life. That just proves we made the right choice.”

My dad seemed swayed. “Yeah, I saw them earlier. They really do look good together.”

As such, my mom smiled smugly. “Exactly. That’s why you shouldn’t worry about this. Phoebe was born to work hard. Fiona, on the other hand, was born lucky. The two of them are nothing alike. That’s just life. Some people are meant to carry burdens. Others are meant to live easy. You just have to accept it.”

Finally, my dad nodded in agreement and knelt down to bow before Grandma’s grave.

“Well then,” he said. “Let’s ask your grandma to bless Phoebe with more money and help Fiona’s business succeed. Hopefully, they can support each other.”

But my mom clicked her tongue, clearly displeased. “Support each other? Please. Fiona doesn’t need Phoebe’s support. Phoebe was born to serve Fiona.”

My dad nodded again, too timid to speak up.

Unbeknownst to them, I stood there behind the grave, tears streaming down my face.

These were my parents, and this was how they treated me.

They schemed against me again and again, like I meant nothing to them.

Thank God my fiancé was still at the trash area sorting out other things, so he hadn’t heard a word. If he had, his heart would’ve broken, too.

A year ago, I bought that house for our marriage, and the renovations were already done.

But since my fiancé, Raven Robson, had been sent overseas for work for a year, our plan was to get married when he came back.

Finally, he returned this February, so I brought him here on All Souls' Day to pay respects to my ancestors and also to meet the elders of the family.

What I didn’t expect… was that my parents had already sold our marital home to my cousin.