From the time I was ten until I turned eighteen, my parents made me write 299 IOUs.

Every time I needed money, I had to borrow it and pay it back as an adult.

Then I got into a car accident. I needed money for surgery but was still short by 3,000.

With no other options, I went to my parents for help.

But they just gave me cold smiles.

“Clara, you’re eighteen now. We have no obligation to give you money anymore. If you need it, write another IOU.”

While holding back tears, I wrote my 300th IOU.

After my surgery, I saw my adopted sister’s social media post.

In the pictures, she was celebrating her 18th birthday on a cruise. She was the center of attention, like a princess.

My parents had given her a luxury apartment in the city and a Maserati as birthday gifts.

Even my childhood friend was looking at her with love in his eyes.

She said they were the ones she loved and thanked them for giving her the best of everything.

I looked down at the crumpled IOU in my hand and suddenly laughed.

Once I paid off my debt, I would no longer need such a family.

The house was empty when I got home from the hospital. Even the cleaning lady had the day off.

The lights were off in the empty house. Everything around me was pitch black. It was so quiet that I could hear my footsteps.

Even though I had expected this, I still felt a little sad. It felt like I was being treated unfairly.

It was not the first time I had been forgotten.

I took a deep breath and walked up to the second floor.

My legs, which had just recovered, were still weak, so I had to hold onto the railing and slowly make it to my room.

It was the smallest and darkest storage room in this luxurious villa.

I did not have much stuff.

There was just a bed and an old wooden table, and that was it.

I opened the drawer of the old wooden table. It was full of IOUs I had written to my parents over the years.

One, two… and with the one I was holding, it added up to exactly three hundred.

The amounts on the IOUs ranged from dozens to hundreds. They included my tuition and living expenses.

Altogether, it did not even reach 50,000.

I forced a smile, but it was bitter.

50,000!

Even the simplest piece of jewelry belonging to Rachel Quinn cost more than that.

It was no wonder my parents always called me cheap and said Rachel was more like their daughter.

I supposed I really could not live up to her.

I carefully folded the IOUs and put them in my pocket. As I was about to go downstairs, I heard voices outside.

“Dad, I want to eat the pan-fried trout Clara makes. Can you ask her for me?”

“Clara isn’t as obedient as you are. She’s gotten rebellious and didn’t even come to your coming-of-age ceremony. I don’t know where she’s off partying. When she gets back, I’ll make her cook it for you.”

I sneered at the irony.

I had told them I was in a car accident, but my own parents did not believe me.

They thought I was out partying to avoid Rachel’s coming-of-age ceremony.

They probably forgot that my birthday was the same day as Rachel’s.

Her coming-of-age ceremony should have been mine too.

The door opened. When they saw me standing on the stairs, the happy atmosphere between the three of them quickly dispersed.

I felt like an uninvited outsider who had barged in. My presence annoyed them.

My parents’ faces darkened. They were not as kind as they were with Rachel.

“Why didn’t you turn on the lights when you came back? What’s going on in your head?”

My mom scolded me with annoyance.

My dad also treated me like I was a servant.

“Didn’t you hear Rachel wants pan-fried trout? What are you standing there for? Go make it for her now.”

Pan-fried trout, huh?

That dish was like a nightmare for me.

I remembered that it was my mom’s 40th birthday.

I had secretly learned how to cook that dish because I wanted to make it for her.

I was only twelve at the time.

While making it, I almost cut my hand and got burned by the hot oil.

But after all that effort, when I served the dish, Rachel said she liked it. So, my mom did not even taste it and gave the whole plate to Rachel instead.

I could not forget Rachel’s smug look.

She finished everything before me, but she accidentally got a fishbone stuck in her throat.

My parents panicked and rushed her to the hospital.

She clung to my mom and said weakly, “Mom, don’t blame Clara. I was greedy and ate too much.”

Because of that one sentence, my furious mom slapped me.

She called me vicious and accused me of trying to hurt Rachel on purpose.

Ever since then, whenever Rachel wanted pan-fried trout, my parents made sure someone watched over me and forced me to carefully remove every single fishbone before serving it.

Deboning fish was slow and tiring.

Hoping for just one word of praise from my parents, I had to do it hundreds of times over the years.

I felt sorry for myself.

“You can ask the servant to make it. I don’t want to.”

After saying that, I turned to leave.

But Rachel suddenly grabbed my arm and said pitifully, “Clara, are you still mad at me? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to tell Mom and Dad about you spending too much money.”

My parents were already angry due to my attitude, and after hearing her words, they became even angrier.

My dad stormed over, raised his hand, and slapped me so hard that I fell to the floor.

“You still dare to be mad at Rachel?!

“Do you even realize that if you hadn’t wasted her living expenses, she wouldn’t have gone hungry and ended up with stomach problems?!”

My mom looked at me with disappointment, but since I was still her daughter, she helped me up.

“Clara, you pretended to have a car accident just to get money. Rachel has already covered for you so many times.

“We made you sign those IOUs for your own good. You need to stop wasting money.”

I held my face. It burned with pain.

But the pain in my heart hurt even more.

I pushed my mom’s hand away and said, “I didn’t lie. I really was in a car accident.”

My mom frowned.

She looked at me as if I was beyond saving.

“Clara, stop lying. Dr. Wilson from the private hospital already told your dad and me. There’s no record of you ever being treated there!”

Rachel took the chance to stir things up.

“Clara, even if you really needed money, you shouldn’t lie to Mom and Dad.

“I still have some allowance left. You can take it. We’re sisters, after all.”

My mom sighed and gently patted Rachel’s head. “Rachel, if only Clara were as sensible as you, we wouldn’t have to worry so much.

“But don’t make yourself suffer because of someone like her.

“She needs to learn her lesson.”

I laughed.

While standing in the middle of the living room, I watched their sweet little family moment and laughed so hard I nearly doubled over.

“Clara, what’s wrong with you?!”

My laughter startled my parents. They quickly stepped in front of Rachel.

They were afraid I might do something to her.

I stopped laughing and coldly looked at my parents. Then I reached into my pocket, pulled out my surgery report, and threw it on the floor.

“I never had the money to go to a private hospital. Isn’t it obvious why you couldn’t find my records?”

My parents froze. They picked up the surgery report from the floor and glanced at it. Their expressions changed.

“Clara, your leg…”

My mom took a step toward me. For a moment, she almost looked worried.

But Rachel quickly cut in.

“Clara, did you really get into a car accident?

“Are you okay? It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for my coming-of-age ceremony, Mom and Dad would have been with you.

“It must have hurt so much!”

She sounded concerned, but her nails dug painfully into my arm.

I knew exactly what she was trying to do. I did not want to stay here and play the fool in their family drama anymore.

I pulled my arm back, and Rachel fell lightly to the floor.

Any guilt my parents had for me vanished instantly.

“Clara! Why are you taking your anger out on your sister?!

“It was just a car accident. You’re fine now, aren’t you?

“Apologize to Rachel right now!”

I did not bother arguing and simply turned to leave.

My dad was so furious that he grabbed a vase and smashed it on the floor near my feet.

“Ungrateful brat! Are you trying to run away from home?!

“Fine! You’ve borrowed enough money over the years! Pay it all back by next week! If you don’t, I’ll have the lawyers throw you in jail! This way, you’ll learn your lesson!”

Glass shards cut into my leg. Blood dripped down, but I did not seem to notice it.

I was not even surprised by his words.

I turned back to look at them.

They thought I was scared and ready to surrender.

But as I stared at their proud, self-righteous faces, I felt nothing.

Without another word, I turned away. Just before closing the door behind me, I said, “Okay.”

If that was what they wanted, I would pay them back.

Once I did, I would have nothing to do with this terrible family ever again.

As I walked out of the house, I could still hear my dad yelling.

I ignored him.

Limping past the neighborhood gates, I realized the world was so vast.

Without a home, I had no idea where to go.

I looked up at the twinkling star in the sky and felt just as lonely as it did.

I crouched down, hugged my knees, and tried to warm my cold body.

My parents were not always like this.

They were known as a loving couple in the circle.

As their only daughter, they had once treated me like a princess.

But everything changed when Rachel came.

She was the daughter of my parents’ close friends.

After her parents died in a car accident, none of her relatives wanted to take her in.

So my parents did.

At first, I was excited to have a sister.

Being an only child was lonely sometimes.

We even had the same birthday.

I gave her my favorite toys and prettiest dresses.

But I never thought that sweet Rachel would act like a snake and hurt me.

Back then, we were still in elementary school.

My parents were busy with work, so they gave me money and asked me to buy Rachel food.

Rachel said she would eat with her friends, so I gave her two-thirds of the money without thinking twice.

But when my parents came home, she had fainted from hunger.

They rushed her to the hospital, where the doctors said she had low blood sugar and stomach issues. At the same time, my parents found an expensive designer bag in my room.

“We told you to take care of Rachel, and this is how you do it?”

“Clara, you’re just a kid, and you’re already buying luxury bags?”

I panicked and tried to explain that I had no idea where the bag came from.

Back then, my parents still trusted me.

They held back their anger and said they would ask Rachel when she woke up.

But as soon as she opened her eyes, she said, “Mr. Quinn, Mrs. Quinn, please don’t blame Clara. I didn’t eat because I don’t like to.”

What she said with teary eyes made my parents put all the blame on me.

My parents hugged her lovingly and said they would treat her like their own daughter.

From that day on, they saw me as selfish and materialistic. I was no longer their beloved daughter.

In eight years, all they gave me were 300 IOUs.

I pulled out the stack of IOUs from my pocket and flipped through them again.

50,000 dollars.

I had just graduated from high school. How was I supposed to get that much money in a week?