I Am the True Daughter

2

I had met Susie Lowell's fiancé, Dylan Jacobs, once before.

It was the second day after I returned to the Lowell family. As soon as he walked in, Susie Lowell threw herself into his arms, crying.

"Baby, what's wrong? Did someone hurt you?"

Susie Lowell just cried without saying a word, shaking her head nonstop.

It made Dylan Jacobs anxious to see her like that.

"Did that woman bully you? Heh. Some wretched girl from who-knows-where dares to compare herself to my Susie. She really has a death wish."

He shot me a furious glare, scowling as if I owed him millions.

Leaning against Dylan Jacobs's chest, Susie Lowell's lips curved into a smug smirk before she tugged on the corner of his sleeve.

"Don't say that. Claire is the real lady of this house. WAAAH..."

With that, she started feigning tears again.

The moment the family saw her crying, they all rushed over and started comforting her, all talking at once.

They repeatedly assured her that there was only one princess in this family: Susie Lowell.

I sat on the sofa, my face cold and my arms crossed, watching this whole family put on a play like I was a complete stranger.

Say what you will, but Susie Lowell was the best actress of the bunch. If she ever decided to enter show business, winning an Oscar for Best Actress would be no problem for her.

Susie Lowell basked in their coddling for a long time before she finally stopped crying.

Then she had the nerve to run up to me and grab my hand. "Claire, please don't steal Dylan from me," she said with false sincerity. "I love him so much. I can't live without him."

As she spoke, she gazed lovingly in Dylan Jacobs's direction.

Dylan Jacobs immediately looked back at her. "Baby, don't you worry. No one can replace you. No one."

He spat out the last two words through gritted teeth, glaring at me furiously.

Heh. Looking at his utterly average face made me feel as disgusted as if I'd swallowed a fly.

'Who gave him the audacity to think I'd be interested in him? He and Susie Lowell can be shackled to each other for life for all I care.'

On stage, Susie Lowell and Dylan Jacobs were now exchanging engagement rings.

Susie Lowell looked at the diamond ring on her finger, let out a gasp, and covered her mouth in feigned surprise.

"Thank you, darling. I love it."

The two of them embraced and kissed on stage, met by a wave of applause from the audience.

Chloe Lowell was clapping the loudest, as if she were trying to clap her hands raw.

"See that? Susie and Dylan are the real perfect couple. A true match of talent and beauty. Hmph. Not like some women, who are only fit to watch from the sidelines."

That passive-aggressive tone of hers made it sound like I'd come back to the Lowell family for one of two things: their money or Susie Lowell's man.

"Exactly. Some mutts just don't belong in the Lowell family."

Charles Lowell chimed in, standing off to the side.

"Heh. As if I'd want to be one of you Lowells."

I knew my sudden return to the Lowell family was hard for them to accept, so I had tolerated their initial rejection.

But I never expected them to dislike me this much.

To be honest, it's not like I insisted on showing up just to piss them off.

If my adoptive parents hadn't insisted I come, I wouldn't have even bothered to spare them a glance.

After saying that, I couldn't be bothered to waste another breath on them, nor did I want to witness another second of that shameless couple's fake affection on stage.

I turned and left.