My Biased Parents Don't Love Me

I dreamed about the moment I’d finally meet my parents, imagining how happy they would be, how we’d hug each other tightly and how touching it would be.

Sadly, it was all just my wishful thinking.

The moment I stepped inside my parents' house, I saw a girl my age in the room. She was dressed in a lavish princess dress, while my clothes were shabby in comparison.

The girl forced a smile and said, "Sister, welcome home."

I smiled timidly and walked inside, awkwardly standing off to the side.

Mom glanced at me and said, "No need to stand, have a seat."

The girl looked at my clothes with a hint of disgust, as if she was worried something dirty might rub off on her. She intentionally keeping her distance from me.

She was the child my parents adopted a few years ago because her own parents were gone.

Suddenly, I felt like I was the one who didn’t belong in that house. Like I was just a guest in their home. Watching the girl and my parents together, they looked like a perfect family. Meanwhile, I seemed completely out of place.

Mom fussed over Evangeline, piling food onto her plate. “Eva, eat more. You’ve gotten so thin. I made all your favorite dishes today.”

Evangeline pouted playfully. “Mom, I’m going to turn into a little pig if I eat any more…”

Meanwhile, I just quietly ate the rice from my bowl, mechanically picking at the simple potato stir-fry in front of me. I was too afraid to reach for anything else, worried that I might disrupt their happiness.

With a loud clang, the special pasta my mom had given me was flipped over. My mom was the one who did it. Her eyes were full of disdain as she stared at me and sneered, "You still have the audacity to eat the food I give youthen? I'd rather give them to the dog than to a rebel child like you."

Her words snapped me back to reality. I lowered my head in response, saying nothing.

This was my eighteenth birthday—no cake, no wishes, not even a bite of that pasta.

All I got was the news, or rather the decision, that I would donate my corneas.

Deep down, I still held onto a small hope that my parents wouldn’t be so cruel.

After that, they never brought it up again. It made me think that the matter was over. After all, Evangeline's eyes seemed perfectly fine. No sign of them was anything wrong.

***

Evangeline’s wealthy boyfriend invited her to go swimming and, surprisingly, she insisted on bringing the family along, including me.

I wanted to refuse, but they completely ignored my wishes—something that happened every day.

"Mom, I'm taking Clary to learn swimming."

Evangeline grabbed my hand and started running, pulling me along. The farther we ran, the further we got from the shore and the water grew deeper and deeper.

I desperately tried to break free from her grip, but the crashing waves knocked me down into the water.

I couldn’t swim at all and I ended up swallowing a lot of water as I struggled.

However, Evangeline just stood there, watching me with a relaxed demeanor. Wasn’t she here to learn swimming?

So, she already could swim from the start?

Evangeline stared at me coldly and said, "Clara, you better behave and not resist. Otherwise, I could take your life so easy if I really wanted to."

Instinctively, I reached out to her, gasping. “Help, glug, help…”

In a daze, I saw my mom’s anxious face as she handed over a float.

But it wasn’t for me—it was for Evangeline.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Evangeline pretending to struggle in the water while I slowly began to sink.

I always knew my parents didn’t love me, but now I realized it was true.

If I died now, would they regret it? Would they finally remember anything good about me?