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going to marry Lizzie.” Josh scoffed. “I was a
kid. I didn’t know any better.” Well, so was I.
Mrs. Carter, too late to stop him, avoided my
gaze and dragged Josh away. I was left alone
with my parents, Olivia, and Nathan. Even
after two lifetimes, I still asked the question.
“You knew about Olivia and Josh, didn’t you?”
A flicker of guilt crossed Mom’s face. “Lizzie,
don’t be so dramatic. Josh doesn’t have
feelings for you, and he loves Olivia. Why don’t you just let her have the engagement? It’s what everyone wants.” Nathan chimed in, “Lizzie, Josh said what he said when he was a kid. It doesn’t count. He said he’ll never
love you, only Olivia. Just do the right thing and give up the engagement. Everyone will be happy.” “Otherwise, you’ll be the one embarrassed in the end.” I looked at my
brother, who’d always defended Olivia, in
both lifetimes. I remembered when he’d killed
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Dad’s goldfish and I took the blame, losing
my allowance for two weeks. I remembered
picking him up from kindergarten in the
pouring rain when my parents were too busy. I remembered when he was almost kidnapped at age eight and I’d clung to him, taking kicks from the kidnapper to protect him. I remembered him crying at my hospital
bedside after my allergic reaction, promising to protect me. And now, this. I tilted my head back, fighting back tears.
“I’ll give up the engagement, on two conditions.” Olivia’s eyes widened slightly. “Really, Lizzie?” I ignored her, looking at my parents. Dad nodded, a hint of relief in his voice. “Lizzie, you’re finally growing up. Olivia is family. We’re glad you’re not making a fuss.” I gave a small, bitter smile. “First, you take me off your family health insurance plan
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and emancipate me. Second, you cut all ties
with me. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other.” Mom froze, her face
incredulous. “Lizzie, do you even hear yourself?!” “Is it really that big of a deal? Why are you being so dramatic?” “Olivia isn’t well, and as her older sister, you should be more understanding! Are you threatening us?” “Lizzie, I’m so disappointed in you!” I felt sick to my stomach. There was no point in holding back anymore. “Dramatic? When have I ever
been dramatic? You wanted to change her
name and treat her like your own daughter?
Did I make a scene? No. I just didn’t fawn
over her, which is perfectly normal. Apparently that’s being dramatic.” “It’s
certainly a new one for me, taking your
brother’s daughter and treating her like a
princess while treating your own daughter like
an orphan. Unbelievable.” “Her father owed us
ten thousand dollars, her mother almost killed
me with my allergy, and you treat their
daughter like royalty? Was all our money
meant for them all along?” “I begged you for
a violin for a year, and you refused. You
finally got me one for my birthday, and then
your niece cries a few crocodile tears and you
hand it right over. It was my present! I give
my niece a present on my birthday. On her
birthday, you rent out a hotel and buy a five-
tier cake, while your own daughter sits at
home with leftovers.” “For parent–teacher
conferences, both of you show up for your
niece, making me the only kid whose parents
didn’t bother to come. You didn’t even know
which high school I went to! You wouldn’t
give me money for food or rent, sent me fifty
bucks for my birthday, and then took your
niece to Disneyland. Oh, and you turned my
room into her piano room. That piano wasn’t
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cheap, was it?” “You’ve probably spent less
on me than that piano cost.” “She knew
about my allergy and made shrimp dumplings
anyway. How could you let that happen?” “Do
you want me to go on? Do you think if I don’t
say anything, you can just pretend
everything’s fine? Dream on.” “I’m starting to
wonder if you switched me and Olivia at birth.
She’s the one you treat like your real
daughter.
Mom’s face paled. She stammered, “No,
Lizzie, you’re our daughter… We love you.” “I
carried you for nine months; of course I love
you.” I cut her off coldly. “If I’d known I was
going to be born into such a messed–up
family, I would have stayed right where I was.”
Mom’s sobs stopped. She stared at me in
disbelief. Dad looked defeated, and even
Nathan was unusually quiet. I didn’t have the
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energy to lecture them. “I’ll give Olivia the
engagement. I expect the paperwork finalizing
my emancipation in three days. When I get my
first internship paycheck, I’ll transfer you the
money you spent raising me.” Dad opened his
mouth to speak, but I cut him off with a smile.
“Unless you’d rather we be enemies.” He
closed his mouth, his face grim. I didn’t give
them another look as I left the hospital. Two
days later, the paperwork arrived. My name
was the only one listed. I was finally free.
Looking out at the bustling street, I smiled for
the first time in two lifetimes. A genuine
smile. I heard my former family didn’t attend
Olivia and Josh’s wedding. I didn’t care. I
arranged for someone to discreetly reveal at
the reception that Josh was an illegitimate
child. The revelation humiliated him and
Olivia, turning their wedding into a
laughingstock. The Carters became a joke in
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their social circle, and Josh’s position in the
family company was reportedly in jeopardy.
Less than a year later, Olivia became ill. Josh,
instead of supporting her, started looking for
a new wife. Apparently, his precarious
position required a strategic marriage, and
Olivia, occupying the role of Mrs. Carter, had
to be…removed. I went to see Olivia one last
time. She lay in the hospital bed, pale and
near death. “Lizzie,” she rasped, “are you
happy now? Mom and Dad and Nathan don’t
want me anymore. Even Josh wants me
dead.” She struggled to speak, her eyes still
burning with resentment. “Lizzie…how can
you…be happy? Do you know how envious I
was when your mother told mine to make you
something different to eat because you were
allergic?” I didn’t say much. “You got what
you deserved.” At the door, I paused and
smiled. “Don’t worry, Josh will be joining your
soon enough.” Two days later, I heard Olivia had died, and Josh had married the daughter of a real estate tycoon. I saw Josh again at his office building. After graduating from Harvard, I’d joined the IRS, and I was there with my team, auditing his family’s company.
My meticulous work uncovered massive tax
fraud and illegal dealings, all of which the
Carters pinned on Josh.
