Chapter 2

I opened my eyes.

Everything looked just the same as always. Familiar room, familiar decor.

The moment I woke, the nanny beside me went to fetch Earl and Camilla.

"Evelyn, are you feeling unwell? Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?" Camilla's eyes were filled with concern.

Earl also looked worried, though he stayed silent, his gaze fixed on me.

He had never been good with words around me. People said that was just how he was. But with her, with Ginger, he always found something to talk about.

I pushed the blanket aside, getting ready to leave.

"Thanks for all your help. Just let me know how much the medical bills cost, and I'll pay you back," I said, keeping my distance.

Earl and Camilla were left speechless. That was probably the last thing they expected to hear from me.

Camilla turned to Earl, her voice trembling with frustration. "I said we should've brought our daughter home sooner, but you insisted on waiting half a year. And now look, she doesn't even see us as her family anymore..."

Her voice grew hoarse, and tears streamed down her face.

Earl wore a pained expression. "I was only thinking of Evelyn. She's a senior in high school, and it's a critical time. I didn't want to disrupt her focus."

If this were my past self hearing that, I might have believed it. I might have felt incredibly loved, thinking they truly had my best interests at heart.

But in reality? When Ginger found out she wasn't their biological daughter, she threw a fit and threatened suicide. Earl and Camilla just couldn't bear to see Ginger hurt herself or feel miserable, so they put everything on hold for half a year, just waiting for Ginger to calm down.

Even though their own investigations during that time showed I was living through hell, studying all day, hauling bricks at a factory by night, six cents a brick, just to scrape together enough to survive, all while enduring that woman's beatings and curses.

When I was suffering the most, they were nowhere to be found. And now they gave me this weak excuse: they didn't want to distract me.

What a bunch of hypocrites.

If I hadn't gone back in time, who could've ever guessed what they were really up to?

Seeing I was serious about leaving, Camilla grew frantic. She grabbed my arm, holding me back.

"Evelyn, we really are your biological parents. Your current adoptive mom was once my nanny. We were both pregnant at the same time, and during her pregnancy, she stole a set of my gold jewelry, so I fired her. Later, we both gave birth at the same hospital, and she secretly swapped her daughter for you. We only found out the truth half a year ago," Camilla stammered, tears streaming down her face as she explained.

Camilla was crying her eyes out now, sobbing so hard she could barely get the words out.

But no matter how hard she cried, I felt nothing inside.

All I could think about was that moment, them walking away with her, with Ginger, while I screamed for help, desperate.

That kind of agony, worse than suffocating, I never wanted to go through that hell ever again.

"That's enough. Quit acting already! Mom and Dad went through so much to track you down, and now you're just making Ginger feel worse. What else do you want?" came a guy's voice from the doorway.

That was Henry Larson.

My biological brother. The one I'd once tried so hard to win over.

He had never shown me anything but scorn and disgust. At first, I thought it was because we hadn't grown up together that he felt no sibling bond toward me.

But later on, I realized he genuinely despised me.

In his eyes, I had stolen everything that should have been Ginger's. He'd rather keep a fake sister, someone with no blood relation, than accept me as family.

I would never forget my freshman year of college. I was completely ostracized, and people started spreading nasty rumors about me.

I went to the dean, and after an investigation, it turned out Ginger was the one behind it all. I wanted to call the cops, and for the first time ever, Henry actually tried to talk me down, telling me not to report it, saying it would mess up Ginger's future.

A real brother like that? I was better off without him.

I walked right past Henry without even glancing his way.

Earl and Camilla chased after me all the way to the front gate.

Ginger showed up just then, fresh off a shopping spree, arms full of luxury bags. She was rocking designer brands from head to toe, and the purse she was showing off? One of her shoes alone probably cost ten times more than everything I owned put together.

Spotting me, she gave me a sideways glance and a dismissive snort, making it crystal clear she thought I wasn't worth her time.

Camilla's brows knitted. "Ginger, this is Evelyn... your little sister."