Chapter 2

"Hey, Mara, want some of this? Mom gave it to me as a reward for boosting her followers," Daisy said. "No wonder Mom and Dad spoil me. I turned them into influencers.

"You, the real daughter, are just useless."

I clenched my teeth, forcing my voice louder. "If I'm so useless, next time you all livestream, don't use me as your comparison prop."

Mara froze, her expression shifting instantly.

Whenever Mom and Dad showed favoritism or punished me to please Mara, the livestream tips would pour in.

Only when my life was way worse off than Mara's did it really prove how selfless and genuine their love for their adopted daughter was.

Mara paused for a moment, then suddenly flashed a cold, mocking smile and pulled out the cold, stale bun that had been dropped on the floor.

"You probably can't get used to eating cake. This stale bun suits you better," she sneered.

With Mom and Dad gone and no camera rolling, Mara didn't bother pretending to be sweet anymore.

"Just give up. For me, Mom and Dad won't even let you take the SATs. I'm the only one they ever care about," she said smugly.

The SATs was supposed to be my last hope for escape.

The school counselor told me that if I felt like I couldn't breathe, I should try to put some distance between myself and them.

Get into college, leave home, and break free from the livestream hell.

But right before the SATs, Mara started showing off her brand-new phone again, taunting me. I lost it and pushed her.

That night, as I was about to drift off to sleep, Mom and Dad stormed into my storage room, holding their phones up to record everything.

They dragged me out from under the covers, not caring that I was only in a tank top, fully exposed to their livestream. Then they rummaged under my pillow and pulled out my exam admission pass.

I stared in terror as they ripped it apart and tossed the pieces out the window. There was no way to ever fix it.

"Mara is our child, so of course she inherits our kindness and virtue. She'll definitely be happy to repeat another year of high school for her sister," Mom said.

The nightmare from that night was still vivid in my mind. I pulled myself in tighter without realizing it.

Seeing me cowering there, Mara grabbed me and forced the bun into my mouth.

The greasy smell from the floor mixed with Mara's strong perfume, hitting my nose all at once.

I started dry heaving, completely out of control.

Mara flung me away in disgust, but the storage room was so cramped that her hand slammed into the desk. It immediately turned red and swollen.

"Mara, if you didn't want to eat, that's fine. But why did you have to push me?" she wailed, clutching her hand and immediately started bawling at the top of her lungs.

Mom came running, Dad following close behind with his phone out, already streaming.

As soon as Mom saw Mara's swollen hand, she gave me a hard slap across the face.

The blow sent my head crashing into the nightstand with a heavy thud.

But I couldn't even feel the pain on my face.

"Daisy was being nice, bringing you cake, and this is how you treat her?" Mom snapped. "Just because you're our biological daughter, you think you can do whatever you want to Daisy?

"Mara, blood doesn't matter in this family."

Mom and Dad wrapped their arms around Mara, the three of them huddled together, playing the perfect family.

"As long as there's real love, blood doesn't matter. We're still family," Mom said.

With the sound of rockets whizzing by in the livestream, I clutched my stomach and met Mara's gaze.

She turned away from the camera, her lips mouthing, "I win."

I sat there, mouth open, unable to make a sound. My tears quietly seeped into the covers.

I spent the whole night in a fog, barely sleeping. The next morning, the sound of the toilet flushing next door jolted me awake, same as always.

My stomach hurt so bad I could hardly move.

Maybe after a night, Mom and Dad had finally cooled off.

When breakfast rolled around, they'd probably come call me.

Then they'd realize I was actually sick.

When Mara was little and got sick, Mom and Dad would bend over backwards for her.

Back then, I wanted to move out of the storage room and into the proper bedroom, so I pretended to be sick like Mara.

Mara even taught me to stick the thermometer in a cup of hot water to fake a fever. But the ridiculously high temperature gave me away instantly.

Mom and Dad livestreamed my punishment, publicly shamed me, all to warn Mara and everyone watching not to ever do what I did.

That was my black mark.

But, Mom, Dad, this time I was really telling the truth.

I felt like I was dying from the pain.

I heard some noise coming from the dining room.

"Is Mara still not up?" Mom asked.

"Is Mara still mad at me? But even if she is, she can't skip breakfast. Mom worked so hard to make it," Mara said.