- 8.
I went to my books and studied hard.
Study or die.
On my real birthday, I posted on social media.
A small cake, a cheap candis, two tres crore
of
legs, and a stack of test pepeS
The caption: “My first real birthday Happy
birthday to ms. May Grandpa rest in peace.”
My parents threw a hugs birthday party for
Harlow and Jaks.
Harlow stood in front of a six tier cake, closing her eyes and wishing: “I want to be with Mom and Dad and my brother forever. I want our
family to never be apart!”
The next day, my pictures and Harlow’s video
went viral.
“Which one is real? Which one is adopted?”
“Aren’t rich people supposed to care about blood? Why does it look like the real daughter
was exiled?”
<
“Those parents are weird. The real daughter is
alone, but the adopted daughter gets a big birthday party.”
“I heard the Sterling son paid people to bully hist
real sister to please the fake sister.”
“It’s their business. Maybe the real daughter did something to be kicked out.”
“Get a life.”
It was a hot topic online, so my parents
remembered I existed.
My dad posted a statement online, using the
company account to look legit.
It backfired. People hated it.
The company was boycotted.
My parents showed up at my apartment.
<
“Olivia, why did you post that? Now Harlow
can’t go out. People judge her.”
“You forgot my birthday and threw a party for
Harlow. And it’s my fault?”
My dad looked away. “You should have thought
about this more. Delete the post.”
“We’ll have dinner at the hotel, and you can
post a new photo, saying you and us had a fight. You can apologize to everyone online.”
“Why should I apologize? Aren’t you the ones who fucked up?”
I lost it. “Do you even see me as your daughter? Don’t Jake and I share the same birthday?”
“You don’t care about me, why should I clean
up your mess? Just because I wasn’t raised by you, does that mean I deserve to be thrown
I couldn’t hold back the tears. “Do you know
what I wished for on my birthday?”
They looked hopeful.
“I wish for peace in my future. I want a better
life.”
I stared at them. “But you’re not part of it.”
