My dad asked me to call him "brother."

I was very angry and refused to call him that.

Zac looked at me and started crying.

Zac sobbed and said, "I better go. I can live in the countryside alone. Sister doesn't like me, I don't want you to argue because of me."

"Nonsense, you are my son, where else are you going? Grace, call him brother!"

My dad was so angry that he slapped me for the first time.

I screamed and cried from the slap, and I saw Zac not far away, quietly smiling at me. He mouthed, "You wait and see."

From then on, my nightmare officially began.

In the banquet hall, they began to toast and congratulate each other.

Zac studied finance at a prestigious university and was naturally the center of attention as he was to take over the company after graduation.

My mom politely told everyone to take care of Zac in the future, and everyone nodded.

In the midst of harmony, someone suddenly asked, "Why hasn't Grace come?"

My mom's face changed instantly.

My dad calmly said that I was "working overtime", and there was a low laugh from the crowd.

Someone whispered, "Why ask that? You're really tactless. All know that Grace is the disgrace of the Berry family. I heard she got involved with a professor in university, was publicly shamed with a poster, and even got beaten up by the professor's wife, she had no choice but to drop out."

"Really? I heard she was a troublemaker in high school, guess it's true."

Zac heard these discussions, he didn't say anything, just took out his phone.

He sent me a message: [Grace, you're not still angry, are you? I was just joking with you, why are you so sensitive?]

He was referring to when I was fired from the company, and he called me "retarded" at the dinner table.

After I dropped out, I went to a Taiwanese company.

The deputy general manager appreciated me and wanted me to be his assistant, but the next day when I went to work, I was fired.

I found out later that the deputy general manager and the general manager were having an affair, and I was made the scapegoat.

They accused me of leaking company secrets and told me to leave immediately.

I cried in grievance for a long time.

When my dad found out, he disgustedly asked me why I couldn't do anything right. Zac said, "Grace, show them your retard certificate, you can definitely sue them for defamation - how can a retard leak company secrets?"

He was smug, thinking his joke was hilarious.

My mom also laughed, while I silently slammed my bowl on the table.

They will never know how much I hate being called that.

In elementary school, I used to get very good grades.

But ever since Zac came to our house, my parents only had him in their hearts. They felt sorry for him for losing his parents at a young age, and gave all their love to him.

The food on the table was always what Zac liked; the clothes were always bought for Zac first.

Even if my grades were better than Zac's, they would say that Zac just didn't study hard, and if he tried, he would definitely be better than me.

At that time, I couldn't help but think, maybe Zac was their biological child.

Under such depression, I messed up one exam. The teacher was so angry that he called me "retarded" and said that I had been copying from my deskmate during previous exams.

All of a sudden, all the students called me "retarded", some even asked Zac if his sister had a brain problem.

Zac pretended to be distressed and said, "My mom won't let me say."

But the next day, Zac brought my "retard certificate" to school.

From then on, no one wanted to talk to me, no one wanted to sit with me, even my homework books were thrown around the classroom by them.

They said if they had contact with a "retard", they would become stupid too.

So, they wouldn't let me stand within 5 meters of them, they even forbade me from using the bathroom.

I often silently picked up my homework from the trash can, and to avoid using the bathroom, I tried to drink less water.

But one day, an accident happened.

When I wanted to go to the bathroom, a group of girls blocked the door, laughing and forcing me to go to the boys' bathroom.

I was really uncomfortable, so I ran towards the boys' bathroom, where I ran into Zac.

Zac grabbed me. "Grace, why are you going to the boys' bathroom? You really are retarded."

Laughter erupted from all around, I couldn't hold it anymore, I felt a wetness in my lower body.

I had wet my pants.

Compared to the nightmare that happened years later... this was nothing.

In the banquet hall, I saw the one who started calling me a retard, enjoying everyone's admiration.

Even though I hated him to death, I had to admit, Zac was very good-looking.

Now he was wearing a custom suit, speaking fluent English, and chatting happily with everyone.

He was the future financial genius, every mother-in-law's dream son-in-law, he was nothing like before.

I still remember when Zac first came to my house, he was even shorter than me.

He was so skinny, spoke with a rural accent, I couldn't help but laugh.

Zac fell silent, and didn't speak again for two weeks.

My dad was worried sick, scolded me again, and forced me to apologize to Zac.

When Zac finally spoke again, he spoke standard Mandarin.

It was only later that I found out, during those days he had been listening to the radio, practicing pronunciation, and refused to speak until he had mastered it.

He was that ruthless, he would accomplish whatever he set out to do.

He wanted to steal all of my parents' love, and he did.

I was floating in mid-air, when I saw a beast walking over.

He pretended to be well-behaved, "Mom, today is Zac's birthday, don't talk about these unhappy things."

Seeing that beast, my soul started to shake. He was a terrible memory I would never forget until the day I die.

That year, he violated me.

Yet, Zac provided false testimony for him.

No one believed what I said. Instead, they insulted me.

My father was so angry he whipped me with a belt, my mother chased me into the snow, and even my grandfather was enraged to death.

If only... that year... I hadn't gone back to the countryside.

Unlike my parents, my grandfather always doted on me. When he saw me, he hugged me with a heartache, asking why I had lost weight.

When he saw Zac, he was indifferent.

He even, during family meals, would give me the biggest piece of meat and wouldn't talk to Zac.

My father didn't say anything, but my mother couldn't stand it. "Dad, Zac is also your grandson, you can't be biased."

Grandfather icily said, "I only have one granddaughter, and that is Grace. I really don't know what you guys are thinking, treating an outsider like he's your own."

My father hurriedly stopped them from saying any more because he saw Zac lowering his head, afraid that Zac would be upset.

And I quickly received Zac's retaliation.

That beast was Zac's little follower.

They tricked me into saying they would take me on an adventure in the mountains, and then they tied me up.

Zac watched from a distance and said uncertainly, "This is a bit too much, isn't it?"

"Zac, she bullies you so much, she doesn't even give you meat to eat, and you still speak for her?"

"I know you have a kind heart, but she's just an idiot!"

The boys in the countryside also knew I was an "idiot."

They asked me math questions, and if I couldn't answer, they would hit me.

If I could answer, they would hit me even harder.

I went from yelling and cursing in the beginning to pleading for mercy later.

That beast smiled and said, "Beg me, and I'll let you go."

I didn't want to.

So, I was locked up and couldn't go home until nightfall.

I kept hoping my parents would come to find me, but for some reason, they never did.

When I was sleeping, I smelled alcohol, and a hand reached into my clothes.

I screamed.

By the time it was all over, it was pitch black outside.

I don't know how I made it home.

I wanted to knock on the door and heard my mother say, "That damn girl, why isn't she back yet?"

"Mom, it's my fault. Grace said she wanted to go sing, and I couldn't stop her," Zac's guilty voice came.

I could imagine him hanging his head, looking heartbroken, like the best brother in the world.

"Zac, don't take everything on yourself. Grace has always been willful and doesn't listen to you. What can you do?" my father said.

"Should we go look for her?" my mother couldn't help but ask.

"Look for what!? She shouldn't think she can threaten us. I'm not buying it!"

"She is a girl after all. What if something happens?" my mother whispered.

"The people here are simple and honest, what could happen? And, isn't Zac sick? Can't you see he's coughing so badly?"

Yes, Zac was coughing.

And I was just humiliated.

If they had come to find me... all of this could have been avoided.

I never knew that even as a ghost, I could shed tears.

I sadly watched them, and then my father called my boyfriend.

My boyfriend, who had just killed me, said guiltily, "I'm sorry, I don't know where Grace is. She said she wanted to cut ties with you and asked you not to look for her. She also said..."

"What else did she say?" my father trembled with anger.

"She said she was going to a place where you could never find her. I couldn't stop her..."

"Tell her, I won't look for her. Whether she lives or dies has nothing to do with me!"

My father roared in anger and hung up the phone.

He didn't know that at this moment, I was lying there, cold.

Sigh, death really hurt.

However, this could not compare to the pain and nausea I experienced that year.

I remember, I was so scared that I didn't tell my parents, pretending as if nothing had happened.

But, Zac saw me washing my underwear in the middle of the night and figured out what had happened.