I don’t rely on my looks to make a living, but when you’re negotiating deals for a company, appearance is basic professionalism. Who would want to do business with someone whose face is covered in scars?

A surge of fury rose in my chest. I glared at Suri, who had just been flung to the floor.

She had been about to keep screaming, but when she saw my blood-smeared face and the look in my eyes, she recoiled two steps and burst into tears.

"Waaah—Mom! This weirdo is bullying me! Come save me!"

I didn’t care whether she was crying or not. I strode forward in two steps, grabbed her arm, and raised my hand, aiming to smack her across the backside.

"If Mom won’t discipline you, I will!

"You’ve been spoiled rotten—fed well, pampered, and given everything you want. Who taught you it’s okay to hit people? Who taught you that you can disrespect your sister like this?"

I didn’t think my words were that harsh. Yes, I was furious, but she was still my full-blooded younger sister.

If our parents couldn’t bring themselves to teach her right from wrong, then someone had to. Otherwise, once she entered society, she wouldn’t just fail to support herself, but she’d bring the family trouble.

What I failed to realize was just how important Suri was in our parents’ hearts… and how little authority I had in this house.

My hand hadn’t even landed yet when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a figure flash at the doorway. It charged straight into my side.

The impact was enormous. I lost my balance, and my head, which was already injured, slammed again into the sharp corner of the table.

"Ah!"

A short scream tore out of me. The second blow made my skull feel like it was splitting open. Nausea surged. I knew these were signs of a mild concussion.

Shaking my head hard, I looked up.

Mom was standing across from me, clutching the sobbing Suri in her arms, comforting her tenderly.

"Oh, don’t cry, don’t cry. I only have one precious baby, and that’s you. I don’t love your sister at all. Stop crying. I will kick her out right away, okay?"

I could still excuse Suri’s childish cruelty as adolescent rebellion, but hearing my own mother say she didn’t love me…

My heart clenched violently. Tears slipped from my eyes before I could stop them.

"Mom, weren’t you going out to buy groceries? Why haven’t you left yet?" I asked, my voice trembling.

She shot me an irritated glance. "You and Suri were fighting. How could I just leave? She’s so small. What if you hurt her?"

An incredulous smile tugged at my lips.

So Mom had been standing by the door the entire time.

She had watched Suri throw water on me and smash a glass into my head. She watched her force my face into broken shards until my entire face was drenched in blood.

And through all of that, she hadn’t stepped in or even told us to stop.

Not until I finally snapped and tried to discipline Suri—before my hand even touched her.

Then she had rushed in like a spinning top and slammed into me, sending my head crashing into the table corner.

Suri was completely unhurt. My face, on the other hand, was covered in bleeding wounds.

Could Mom really not see that?

Maybe she couldn’t because her eyes had never once turned toward me. They were always filled entirely with Suri.

A memory surfaced: ever since Suri was born, Mom had seemed to lose all interest in me.

When I came home during middle school breaks, other kids were picked up by their parents. Mom had to cook for Suri, so I dragged my luggage and backpack alone, walking more than ten kilometers back home.

During the college entrance exams, other parents waited nervously outside the school gates. Mom took six-year-old Suri on vacation instead. For those three days, she left me $20 for food. I survived on dry bread while taking the most important exam of my life.

In college, she said I was an adult now and should be self-reliant. She never paid a single cent for my tuition or living expenses. Every summer, I worked myself to exhaustion just to afford staying in school.

Meanwhile, when Suri was still in elementary school, she received $100 a day in pocket money.

Everything from before now felt like knives stabbing into my heart one after another.

Compared to the pain on my face, my heart was bleeding far more.

I searched desperately for proof that Mom loved me. At least she used to call me to bed at night. She would put food on my plate at the dinner table. And…

My throat closed. In 26 years of my life, after combing through my memories again and again, those were the only two pieces of evidence I could find that Mom loved me.

Across from me, Mom was gently patting Suri’s back, her expression soft and affectionate, her voice warm—an expression I had never once seen directed at me.

My tears finally broke free. For the first time in 26 years, I admitted in my heart that my mother might not love me at all.

She continued lecturing, her voice sharp with irritation, "Elowen Voss, you’re getting more childish as you age. How old is your sister? As the older one, shouldn’t you give in to her? Look how badly you scared Suri!"

I couldn’t take it anymore. For the first time in all these years, I shouted back at her.

"Mom! Look at my face! Suri nearly disfigured me. Why won’t you say a word to her?!"

Tears and snot streamed down together. I knew I looked miserable, but I couldn’t stop. I just wanted an explanation from her.

Mom looked me up and down in surprise, as if shocked that I could raise my voice at all.

In the past, I had always been timid at home, terrified of upsetting her, in fear that she would stop loving me, but now I finally understood.

Maybe the love I had begged for had never existed in the first place. How could I lose something I never had?

Her expression returned to that same matter-of-fact indifference. "You were ugly even as a child, so plain no one could pick you out in a crowd. You’re not even a fraction as pretty as Suri. Now that your face is ruined, people might look at you out of pity. You should be thanking Suri."

Hearing those absurd words come from her mouth, I felt like I had fallen into an ice pit. Even the blood still running down my forehead seemed to turn cold.

So in her eyes, her eldest daughter was just an unsightly embarrassment, something that couldn’t compare to Suri in the slightest.

I struggled to my feet and started toward the door. I didn’t want to stay here for even one more second.

I didn’t want to watch Mom and her precious Suri clinging to each other while I stood there like a stranger.

However, before I could reach the door, Mom blocked my path.

Frowning, she rummaged through a box, pulled out gauze and antiseptic, and shoved them into my hands.

"You’re running away from home just because I said a few things? You’re an adult, but you can’t even handle criticism. With all those bloody holes in your face, treat them first. I’m going to buy groceries. When I get back, we’ll eat together. You and Suri stay home and get along."

Without waiting for my response, she turned and walked out.

I clutched the gauze and antiseptic tightly. Suddenly, a fragile hope sparked inside me.

I almost argued with myself. Did this count? Did this count as proof that Mom still loved me? It had to count… Otherwise, why would she stop me from leaving?

I was still trying to convince myself when a cold, sinister voice came from behind me.

"Hey. What do you think Mom will buy: shrimp or ribs?"

I spun around. Suri was standing behind me.

"Don’t bother guessing. Mom will definitely buy shrimp, because shrimp are my favorite," she said with absolute certainty, not a trace of guilt, only a provoking look in her eyes.

I straightened my back, suppressing the panic surging inside me, and shot back stubbornly, "That’s impossible. I just asked Mom to buy ribs for me."

Suri rolled her eyes dramatically. "Why don’t you get it? In Mom’s heart, you don’t mean shit, so anything you say doesn’t mean shit either!"

I lifted my chin and stood there, choking back tears in silence for a long time before forcing out what I imagined was a superior smile. Then I picked up my phone and called Mom.

"Mom, I’m transferring you $2,000. Buy some ribs and some shrimp for Suri, too."

This was the out I created for myself. Grocery shopping wasn’t a binary choice. As long as there was enough money, Mom would buy anything—ribs, shrimp, steak, even foie gras.

I kept reassuring myself. It was fine. $2,000 could buy a lot of food. Even if she spent $1,900 on seafood and only $100 on ribs, I wouldn’t lose.

However, when I saw Suri’s disdainful expression, I had to admit that I panicked and was terrified.

Those twenty minutes felt like hours. I prayed over and over in my head.

The moment I heard the door unlock, I jumped up and rushed over to help carry the groceries.

Unfortunately, the instant I saw what was inside the bags, my heart went cold.

Shrimp. Crab. Oysters. Cod.

Everything except the ribs I had specifically asked for.

Suri ran out of the room at that moment and threw her arms around Mom, beaming. "Wow, Mom, you love me so much! It’s all my favorite seafood!"

It felt like someone had grabbed my heart and squeezed until I couldn’t breathe.

My voice trembled. "Mom, where are the ribs I asked for?"

She looked up at me, annoyed. "You're so picky. With this much good food, you still want ribs? Does the whole world have to revolve around you?"

Sadly, what was delicious to her was deadly poison to me. I was allergic to seafood.

At last, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. The final shred of hope inside me shattered into dust. I closed my eyes, and two streams of tears slipped down my face.

"I won’t be eating at home," I said slowly.

After a long pause, Mom replied casually, "Fine. You’ve already taken care of Suri’s school transfer anyway. If you’ve got nothing else to do, hurry back to your Halcyon City. If you don’t work, you don’t earn money. Don’t expect me to support you."

I snapped. Spinning around, I shouted, "Have you ever supported me?! From childhood until now, has the money you spent on me even reached a tenth of what you spent on Suri? It’s me. I'm the one who sends you $20,000 every month! The comfortable life you're enjoying now is all paid for by me!"

Smack!

Before I could react, a burning slap exploded across my face.

Mom frowned, her voice turning sharp and vicious.

"How did I not raise you? Without me, you wouldn’t even be alive to stand here talking back! Now I spend a little of your money, and you dare complain, you ungrateful brat. If I’d known, I should have strangled you at birth!

"If you’ve got the guts, then leave. I’ll pretend I never had a daughter like you!"

My face was already wounded, and the slap made the pain lance even deeper. Nevertheless, no physical pain could compare to the agony in my chest.

I nodded as if resigning myself to fate.

"Fine. I’ll leave. I’ll pretend I never had a mother like you. I’ll pretend this family never existed."

The resolve in my eyes made panic flicker across Mom’s face, but for the sake of pride, she didn’t try to stop me.

I walked out, face streaked with blood, and slammed the door behind me. As I went down the stairs, I canceled the automatic transfer from my salary account. Since she no longer had a daughter like me, my money shouldn’t go to strangers.

At the bottom of the building, I pulled out my phone and called my best friend at the Department of Education, Mira Solis.

"Bestie, don’t worry about Suri’s school anymore. From now on, anything related to the Voss family or Suri has nothing to do with me. I’m not getting involved."