Stay Away From Biased Parents

I was stunned, almost unable to believe my eyes.

Tears fell onto my phone, blurring the word "favorite" on the screen.

I thought, "Is Lonnie really the favored child?"

I tried hard to recall.

When I was a child, both of us always had toys.

As for daily snacks and supplies, my parents never showed any favoritism toward Lonnie.

In fact, because I was a girl, I had more clothing options. My mom always bought me plenty of pretty dresses.

Lonnie used to be envious because I had more beautiful dresses. When we were children, he even threw tantrums, wanting to wear my dresses.

I never felt that our parents favored him.

Even this time, when my dad told me in person that he was putting one of the apartments in Lonnie's name to save on taxes, I didn't suspect any bias.

I was even foolish enough to comfort Lonnie, saying, "Although this might make you pay more in taxes, and buying a house later could cost you more, please don't blame Mom and Dad.

"They trust you, and that's why they want you to help.

"As children, we should be willing to make sacrifices for our parents."

Now, thinking about those words made my heart ache.

I thought, "So, in the end, I was the true idiot."

I remembered the sympathy and pity in Lonnie's eyes when I carefully spoke those words.

I wondered, "What was he thinking at that moment?

Did he think I was a fool?

My parents treated me like an outsider, and I was completely unaware, even worrying that Lonnie might hold a grudge against them because of this."

I clutched the lottery ticket, crying and trembling all over.

When I found out I had won, I was overjoyed.

I imagined countless times how my parents would react when I told them I had won the lottery.

Each time, I couldn't help but smile.

I even thought about giving the entire ten million dollars to my parents, letting them do whatever they wanted with it.

I never worried that they would treat me unfairly, so I didn't feel the need to guard against them.

But now, I felt like a joke.

No, maybe it wasn't just now.

I thought, "Perhaps it has always been this way. Maybe I have always been a joke. I am a foolish, clueless joke."

I took a screenshot of Lonnie's Twitter post and sent it to our family group chat using my regular account.

My mother, who always had her phone in hand, stayed silent.

Two hours later, my dad forwarded a news article to the group. My mother and Lonnie started a lively discussion about the news.

My message was instantly buried.

This was their response. They tacitly ignored my questioning.

I felt heartache and anger.

My pride screamed at me in my mind. I thought, "Don't ask again. Isn't the truth clear enough? Isn't their attitude cruel enough?

If you keep pushing, you'll only be humiliated."

But I couldn't control my hands. I furiously typed a question into my phone: [Are you really going to ignore my message without even a single explanation?]

The lively group chat fell silent again.

The chat window was stuck on my question. They didn't reply.

I wanted to storm up to my parents and ask them why they were treating me like this.

However, the silence in the chat made me feel deeply embarrassed.

I thought, "No matter how I question them, it will only end in humiliation for me.

The truth is clear.

They don't care about me.

And yet, I still care about them."

That intense embarrassment stopped me from taking any drastic actions.

I packed my bags and returned to work early.

I cashed in the lottery ticket and looked at my bank account balance. It was a lot of money, but I couldn't feel any joy.

Every day, I couldn't stop myself from checking my phone and constantly checking our group chat window.