The Sister Who Stole Everything

Richard was not anything like how Mom and Jessica described him in my past life. He was not moody, controlling, or violent at all. Instead, I found him incredibly smart, though proud and with a high ego.

The tension between him and Mom surfaced shortly after we moved in.

Mom was a complete trophy wife: all looks and no brains. Honestly, she and Dad were actually a perfect match. Dad had always been a textbook rich kid with more muscles than brains. He only managed to marry Mom thanks to his family's money and his reckless confidence.

When my grandparents were still alive, they kept things stable. After they passed away, Dad's sketchy friends dragged him into investment after investment. He burned through his entire fortune and everything my grandparents left him. Mom immediately found her next target and divorced him.

My study abroad plans got shut down because Mom fought against them. Still, with my current grades, getting into a top university in the country would be a piece of cake.

...

"It's nice to see you again, Jessica!"

"Grace, is Mom home?" asked Jessica.

The housekeeper, Grace Cooke, replied, "She went shopping, but Natalie's upstairs studying."

Soon, I heard Jessica's footsteps heading toward my room. Then, she barged through my door without asking permission.

"Natalie, quit the act! No one is home, so who are you trying to impress by studying so hard?"

She marched over and snatched my books.

Even though Dad was the one raising Jessica, she still showed up almost every month to get money from Mom, along with clothes and jewelry. She always left with the entire trunk stuffed full. By the next month, she would show up wearing tattered, worn-out clothes again.

All the nice things got pawned off by our gambling-addicted Dad, turned into cash for him to blow.

In this life, Dad was not just an alcoholic but was a gambling addict, too. Truth was, Mom hated seeing Jessica struggle at Dad's place. She even discussed with Richard about bringing Jessica here to raise together.

Richard agreed, but surprisingly, Dad refused to let her go. After all, he depended on Jessica to keep squeezing money out of Mom.

Jessica said, "All that studying made you stupid. What's the point? You're not as pretty as I am, and Dad and Mom never liked you anyway. This easy life you're living is only happening because I gave it up, so enjoy it while you can. It won't last long."

Later, she rummaged through my things like she owned the place. I thought it made sense since in my previous life, this had been her bedroom.

She looked through everything and clicked her tongue, grumbling, "Seriously? You don't even know how to enjoy life. What kind of useless stuff are these? All you do is cling to these dumb books."

I ignored her and let her make a mess.

Then, a familiar voice called out from the hallway, "Jessica? Is that my sweet girl Jessica I hear?"

I watched coldly as they put on their touching mother-daughter performance.

Mom glanced at my ransacked room and said, "You won't find anything good in her room. Come to mine; I have new clothes and jewelry I just bought. Take whatever you want."

She was already dragging Jessica out, not sparing me a single glance or even a word of concern.

Grace came upstairs carrying a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. She stepped into my room and started cleaning without needing to ask.

"I've never seen a mom this biased," she muttered.

I did not mind, since Mom's good days were numbered anyway.