- 3.
The next morning, Lily’s laughter mingled with
my parents‘ voices from the dining room. I
walked downstairs and saw Lily sitting in my
usual spot, using my favorite plate and
cutlery.
The cheerful atmosphere instantly evaporated
upon my arrival, as if I were the outsider
intruding on their family. My mother looked
flustered. “Ashley, you’re up early. Lily
doesn’t have her own dishes yet, so she’s
using yours. Could you use David’s?”
“No,” I said flatly. “I don’t like taking other
people’s things.
99
Everyone knew I was being sarcastic. My
father, still angry about me “bullying” Lily the
previous night, scowled.
–
I glanced at the table — milk, a sandwich, and
–
bacon and eggs all Lily’s favorites. I was
–
lactose intolerant and usually had oatmeal for
breakfast.
“Oh, I forgot you can’t have milk,” my mother
said quickly, eager to smooth things over, to
hide the fact that she catered to her adopted
daughter more than her own. “I’ll make you
some soy milk.”
“Enough with the fuss!” my father snapped,
slamming his mug on the table. “You spoil her
<
rotten! We have to take Lily to enroll in
school. We don’t have time for this!”
My past self would have been devastated by
his words, throwing a tantrum. Now, I felt only
numb.
I sat quietly in a corner and saw a smug smile
flicker across Lily’s face before she quickly
replaced it with a look of sadness.
“Dad, don’t be mean to Ashley,” she said
softly. “She’s not like me. She’s always been
loved and cherished. It’s natural for her to be
a little spoiled. It just means you love her very
much.”
My saintly parents were moved to tears once
again. How could there be such an angelic
little girl? In comparison, I, who had
く
everything and was still so difficult, seemed
incredibly ungrateful. They looked at me with
deep disappointment.
But I didn’t care. In my past life, I had
become practically estranged from my parents. I didn’t care what they thought of me. I could have easily played the role of the clueless, easily controlled younger sister, earning back some scraps of their affection. But I would make Lily understand that the
love and family she schemed so hard to
acquire meant nothing to me.
