A Family That Was Never Mine

My parents sat off to the side, watching the two of them with warm, indulgent smiles. Standing in the doorway, I felt like an intruder—someone peeking in on a happiness that had never belonged to me.

"Ian, at the end of the day, this was our fault. Back then, we thought letting you use Lexi's admission letter to enroll wouldn't cause any problems. Who could've known…" My parents exchanged a glance, their faces full of regret. "We really didn't think it through."

My admission letter?

But back then, they had sworn over and over that, after all my hard work, not even a vocational school in our town would accept me. They had called me useless. Said I had wasted their money for nothing.

My hands trembled as a memory slammed into me. The day the admission letter came, the Swains had brought gifts and sat chatting with my parents. When I asked about Ian, he had even smiled and told me his parents had always liked me—said they wanted me as their daughter-in-law.

So that was the truth. It had never been real.

Ian waved it off casually, telling my parents not to worry. "Forget it, Mr. and Mrs. Collins. No one expected things to turn out like that. Back then, we all thought you could just enroll with the admission letter. Who knew they'd actually investigate? But it worked out anyway. Honestly, I thought the letter alone would be enough. And now, with the royalties from the songs Lexi writes, I'm making a pretty good profit."

During that time, it wasn't unheard of for someone to use another person's admission letter to enroll. But I had never imagined my own parents would hand mine over to Ian.

I fumbled for my phone, disbelief clawing at my chest, only to realize I couldn't even log into my account anymore.

Between shifts, I would sometimes write songs. And every time I finished one, the first person I sent it to was the one I trusted most—Ian.

He would praise me, tell me it was good, and encourage me to keep writing. I had always thought he was running some kind of e-commerce business back home, which was why he didn't need to work.

I shoved the door open and stormed inside, staring straight at the people in the room with burning eyes.

They all turned toward me, wary. Ian shot to his feet immediately, his tone sharp. "Lexi, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? Go back and sleep. You've got work early tomorrow."

Evie looked flustered and quickly hid behind our parents.

After all these years, she was still the same. The moment something went wrong, she would pin it on me. All she had to do was act a little pitiful, and our parents would believe her without question—then turn around and scold me for upsetting her.

All of them were watching me carefully, trying to judge from my expression whether I had heard what they had just said.

"Lexi, why are you just standing there?" my mother snapped. "You stink of alcohol. Don't you know Evie can't stand that smell?"

Evie immediately gagged on cue. My parents immediately fussed over her, patting her back and soothing her.

"Lexi, why are you still here? It reeks."

Ian moved quickly, trying to push me out the door, but I grabbed the frame, letting out a hollow laugh. "She can't stand the smell of alcohol… What about me? Don't you know I'm allergic to it?"

The redness already spreading up my neck was proof enough. Anyone with eyes could see it. But earlier, they had just left me lying on the ground, not even bothering to help me up.

Evie stepped out from behind our parents, her brows slightly knitted, her voice soft and gentle as she tried to 'comfort' me.

"Lexi, don't be upset. Mom and Dad have always known I can't handle the smell of alcohol, but you've never said anything about being allergic. How were we supposed to know?"

It was like they had all found an excuse. One after another, they joined in.

"Exactly. We're not mind readers. How would we know when you got something like that? If you're sick, go buy some medicine."

I couldn't believe those words had come out of Ian's mouth.

This was Arcalis. It was the middle of the night. I didn't dare go out alone.

There had been a night before when I was almost assaulted on my way home. If not for a stranger stepping in to help, I wouldn't have made it back safely. When Ian found out, he swore he would never let me go out at night again.

"Lexi, I really didn't know. I'll go buy medicine for you now." Evie said it sweetly, but she hadn't even taken a single step before Ian frowned and stopped her. Then he turned to her with a gentle expression.

"You're a young girl. What are you doing going out this late? This isn't home. There are fugitives out there. Lexi, what are you trying to pull? Are you seriously asking your sister to go out and buy medicine for you? You just can't stand seeing Evie doing well, can you?"

Seven Years of Lies

"Me? When did I ever ask her to go out and buy medicine for me? Which part of what I said made it about her? Why don't you just say she offered on her own?"

After living under the same roof for seven years, I finally saw clearly where Ian's heart had always belonged.

"Enough!"

Ian's shout cracked through the room, sharp and furious. I had never seen him lose control like that before, and for a second, I froze.

"I know you're petty, but Evie is your sister. You shouldn't treat her like this. Go back to your room."

He shoved me out the door. My head was already spinning, and I lost my balance, crashing hard to the floor. The pain that shot through me cleared my mind a little—but the four of them just stood there and watched coldly. Not one of them moved to help me up.

"Lexi, you can barely stand. Ian's just being kind. He wants you to get more rest."

Watching the four of them stand together against me like I was some outsider, my face burned with humiliation. My life felt like a complete failure.

And so, I turned and went back to my room.

When I woke up the next day, my head felt even hotter. I struggled to sit up and grabbed a thermometer.

102.2°F.

I didn't even know when the fever had started. If it kept going, I really might burn my brain out.

I let out a bitter laugh just as Ian suddenly pushed the door open and walked in. When he saw the thermometer, his brows knit slightly, as if he were concerned.

"You've got a fever this high, and you didn't take any medicine? What was all that fuss last night about, then? I've already sent your parents and Evie off. There's cold medicine at home. Just take some yourself."

Then he turned and left without another word.

I went to the cabinet and searched for the medicine. After digging around for a while, I finally found a tiny packet of cold medicine. Just as I was about to take it, I noticed it had already expired.

Maybe it was the fever, but my vision blurred as tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn't hold back anymore. I crouched down and started crying.

I didn't know how long had passed before I finally stopped. When I stood up, my head swam, and I braced myself as I prepared to go out and buy medicine.

That was when I heard Ian, who had just come back, talking to Evie on the phone.

"You've got a fever too? You need to take care of yourself. You still have to sing when you get back, right? You can't ruin your voice."

"Ian, you're the only one who really cares about me. Mom and Dad just tell me to take more medicine."

Ian chuckled softly, clearly pleased by her words.

"Ian… about my situation… When are you going to tell Lexi?"

"Don't worry. All her money is with me. When I get back, I'll transfer it to you. There's no need to tell Lexi. Honestly, you're too naive. Why would you trust a classmate enough to take out an online loan for him? Now you're 380 thousand in debt, and you still don't want to report it?"

'Three hundred eighty thousand?'

I had worked nonstop every week, never even daring to go to the hospital when I was sick. After seven years, I had only managed to save 400 thousand. And now she said it so casually—as if just like that, most of it was gone.

And back then, Ian had clearly told me this money was for our future together.

"When we save up a million, we'll go back home, buy a house, and find stable jobs. We'll live a quiet, peaceful life."

He had held my calloused hands back then, looking at me with such tenderness.

Heat surged in my chest, as if mirroring the anger boiling inside me.

"Oh, Ian… they promised they'd pay me back. I just didn't want them to end up with a criminal record. I had no choice but to come to you. You mustn't tell Mom and Dad—they'd definitely call the police and get my classmate arrested. He's still just a kid."

Ian sighed helplessly and started reminding Evie not to be so soft-hearted again, warning her that she'd only get cheated again next time.

At that, I wondered, 'So they're using my money to pay off her debts?'

Taking Back My Life

I kicked the door open in a burst of anger.

When Ian saw the fury on my face, he froze for a moment. "What's wrong with you now? Weren't you running a fever? You've still got the strength to stand. Don't tell me you were faking it."

"Ian, you took my admission letter back then, didn't you? And my songs… You gave every single one of them to Evie, didn't you? And now you're even planning to use my money to pay off her debt? Have you no shame at all?"

Ian's gaze flickered, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say. Then Evie's voice came through from the other end of the call.

"Oh, come on, why are you making it sound like yours and mine? Lexi, we're family. Ian's going to marry you sooner or later anyway. Letting him use your admission letter to study wouldn't have hurt you, and besides, he didn't even end up going. And I'm your sister—I'm just borrowing your money to get through this. I'll pay you back, I promise."

I let out a cold laugh. "When you need me, I'm your sister. When you don't, I'm just some stranger named Lexi Collins. In all these seven years, have you ever once reached out to me?"

"Lexi, we're blood. Why does any of that matter? Family is family."

"Family?" My voice trembled with anger. "Do you know what I've been through out there? Do you know what it's like to be looked down on? To be so broke you can't even afford a meal? You don't know anything. All you know is how to play princess at home, using my money to go to college. And me? I should've been there too. I should've been studying composition properly. But look at me now."

Ian hung up before Evie could say another word. "What's gotten into you? Stop making a scene and go back to your room."

His expression was already full of impatience as he looked down at his phone.

Then, all of a sudden, mine vibrated. It was a bank notification. Three hundred eighty thousand had been transferred out of my account.

I rushed forward, grabbing his collar, my eyes burning red with rage. "You already set up the transfer on your way back, didn't you? Do you have any idea how long it took me to save that money? Seven years and eight months! I never took a single day off—what right do you have to touch my money?"

I was weak from the fever to begin with, and Ian shoved me down effortlessly.

"I never realized you were this unreasonable. Wasn't that money supposed to be our shared savings anyway? What's wrong with using part of it for your sister? It's disgusting that you're this cold to your own family."

As if that wasn't enough, he kicked me hard in the stomach. Tears sprang to my eyes instantly, my body reacting before my mind even could.

Ian turned and walked away without so much as a backward glance. Before leaving, he threw one last warning over his shoulder. "Stay away from your sister. I already married you here. What more do you want?"

I lay on the cold, filthy floor for half an hour before I finally managed to crawl back to my feet. The moment I stood up, nausea surged through me. I stumbled into the bathroom and retched until my vision blurred.

Only then did I finally understand what kind of people I had spent all these years loving. Letting out a bitter, self-mocking laugh, I went back to my room, grabbed the little cash I still had left and my phone, and rushed out the door.

I booked the earliest flight back home. On the way, I passed a pharmacy and gritted my teeth as I bought over a hundred dollars' worth of strong medicine. Only after swallowing it did my body finally begin to feel a little better.

I turned and looked once in the direction of the apartment. It was only five hundred yards away. And yet, last night, not one of them had been willing to walk that distance to buy medicine for me.

I called the landlord and told her I was terminating the lease. I wouldn't be renewing it. There was still a man in the apartment, and she could throw him out directly.

"Oh, sweetheart, are you sick? Your voice sounds terrible. You need to get proper rest. And don't worry about the man in your apartment. I'll throw him out for you. Is he your ex-boyfriend? I always thought there was something off about him."

I gave a faint, bitter chuckle, acknowledged softly, and after saying goodbye to the landlady, boarded the plane.

When I landed, I saw that Ian had called me seven times and sent 18 messages—every single one demanding to know when I was going back.

"What's going on? Why did the landlord kick me out?"

I ignored him. Just as I was about to leave the airport, my eyes caught the massive screen overhead.

'Rising musical genius Evie Collins releases new single Goddess, earning widespread acclaim.'

I froze in place.

If the ad hadn't lingered for five full seconds, I wouldn't have believed it. Ian had already handed the song I had finished just three days earlier… to Evie.

For the past 22 years of my life, it seemed like everything I did had been paving the way for Evie.

Now, it was time to make them pay for everything they had done to me.