Hey, Ugly Duckling

I returned to my room, soaking wet. I had just changed into dry clothes when Mom and Dad stormed in furiously.

Mom grabbed a fistful of my hair. "Claire went out of her way to cook for you, but you had the nerve to throw a tantrum and even push her into the lake? Will you only be satisfied when she's dead?"

My scalp burned with pain. My eyes reddened as I grabbed her hand and defended myself for the first time. "I've never hurt anyone. Just now, Claire was the one who pushed me into the lake."

After I spoke, I looked at Mom expectantly. I thought they would be shocked, that they would suddenly realize the truth and regret everything.

Instead, Mom shook her head forcefully, her eyes filled with disappointment. "Claire is so kind and thoughtful. Why would she do something like that? You're lying."

Tears finally fell. How foolish I was to have any expectations of my parents. After all these years, their favoritism had already said everything.

Mom grabbed me and dragged me to the hospital to apologize to Claire. I struggled free with all my strength.

At that, Dad slapped me hard across the face. "You murderer! You pest! You've been nothing but trouble since the day you were born! You killed Oliver, and now you're trying to kill your sister! You never learn!"

Years of pain turned to rage in that moment. I screamed and smashed everything breakable in the room, shouting at the top of my lungs, "Do you only believe what you want to believe? I'm your daughter, too! All these years, have you ever believed me even once?"

Mom fell silent, lost in thought. However, Dad flew into a fury and shoved me hard. I slammed into the corner of the wall, and blood seeped from my forehead as I curled up in pain.

Mom quickly held Dad back. There was a flicker of sympathy in her eyes. "Sharon is still pregnant..."

"If it weren't for Byron's child in her belly, I would've beaten this pest to death long ago!"

So, that was it. They never cared about me, only the child I was bearing. Too bad they never imagined I had already gotten rid of it.

My phone suddenly buzzed with a message. I glanced down and smiled bitterly. Mom and Dad thought it was a concerned message from Byron, and they exchanged guilty glances.

Unfortunately, they were only half right. It was indeed from Byron, but the message read, "Something came up at work. I won't be home tonight."

Right after that, Claire sent me a video. Byron was in the hospital, head bowed as he peeled an orange for her, his gaze tender.

The caption read, "I'm the one Byron loves. An ugly duckling is forever an ugly duckling. You'll never become a swan."

I wiped away my tears, pushed my parents out of the room, and locked the door. After I cried until I had no tears left, I piled up all the gifts Byron had given me and set them on fire.

In the firelight, memories flashed like a slideshow. The starlight in his eyes when he first proposed. The gentle way he dried my hair. The smile on his face when he pressed his ear against my belly to listen for the baby's movements.

It turned out that all these memories I treasured were just illusions of love. Finally, I took off my wedding ring and threw it into the fire without hesitation. If his love was just a projection of someone else, I didn't want it.

I packed the simplest luggage. The next morning, I left the house as soon as dawn broke. Before leaving, I anonymously sent two videos to Byron and my parents.

One video was of Andrea, admitting the car accident was a setup. The other was of Claire pushing me into the lake and confessing to killing Oliver and causing my scar.

Then, I turned off my phone and threw it into the lake. Two hours later, a plane bound for Franco soared into the sky.

From 30 thousand feet up, I watched the city grow smaller and smaller in the distance. I gently touched my now flat belly and felt nothing but calm.

From now on, I would only live for myself.