Chapter 2

Hearing Sarah's words, all sleepiness vanished.

A gust of wind swept through the apartment. My bedroom door slammed shut.

Sarah and Chloe quickly quieted down, turning to stare at me.

Sarah fake-glanced out the window, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well, look at that. The sun must be coming up in the west."

"Some people get up on their own after just one call."

Chloe giggled, patting the chair next to her.

"Audrey, what are you standing there for? Come eat!"

I slowly walked over, studying the dishes.

Every single one was Chloe's favorite.

And whichever dish Chloe ate more of, Sarah would immediately push it closer to her.

My heart pounded, just like it did every time Sarah forced me awake.

Eventually, it twisted into a sharp ache.

I wasn't a picky eater. Most of the time, I was so tired my eyes could barely stay open.

I'd truly never noticed.

Sarah's favoritism was so incredibly obvious.

I deliberately reached for the fried chicken in front of Chloe.

Sarah couldn't help but snap.

"Can't you see Chloe finally found something she likes?

"Can't you just let her have it? You always have to snatch things!"

I couldn't eat another bite.

"Right, I should just wait until Chloe's done, then come out."

"Eat her leftovers, be her leftover trash can!"

Tears of frustration streamed down my face, unstoppable.

Sarah's face showed no trace of panic or guilt.

"You clearly heard us, and now you're just putting on a show to annoy me."

"Besides, what's wrong with what I said?"

"Chloe is delicate; it's hard for her to find things she likes. What's wrong with letting her have it?"

"And you, you eat like you're always starving, what difference does it make what you eat anyway!"

My eyes widened in shock. For a moment, I couldn't speak.

Chloe pushed the plate of fried chicken toward me.

"It's okay, I don't have to eat it."

She said it, but her eyes were glued to the fried chicken.

Since childhood, Chloe and I had almost identical clothes, food, and everything else.

Sarah bought us the same things.

But every single item was something Chloe liked.

For instance, during blueberry season.

Sarah would buy a box for each of us.

But only Chloe liked them.

I hated them!

Or when our relatives bought us two backpacks, Sarah always let Chloe pick first, whichever one she liked.

I'd always get the one Chloe didn't want.

I used to deceive myself, telling myself it was only right for me to make allowances for her.

But now, I had to admit.

My mom was undeniably biased.

A surge of anger rushed through me. I grabbed the fried chicken and dumped it into the trash can.

"This is where trash belongs!"

Chloe's mouth turned down, and her eyes immediately welled up.

Sarah exploded in a fit of rage, roaring.

"Chloe even gave you her favorite food, why are you being so aggressive?"

"I think I've been too nice to you!"

"From today onwards, if you want to stay in this house, you must pay me $2,500 for rent and $2,000 for household expenses!"

I let out a cold laugh.

My monthly salary was only $8,000, and the house mortgage was $3,500.

To avoid going broke every month, I'd given up renting near my office, commuting three hours each way every day.

Now Sarah wanted to completely drain me dry.

She was playing a truly brilliant game.

I had nothing more to say. I turned and went back to my room.

"I won't pay rent, and I definitely won't pay household expenses!"

"And from now on, don't wake me up for meals after my night shifts. And keep your noise down!"

Otherwise, I'd move out immediately and let the house go into foreclosure!

But I couldn't bring myself to say that last part.

This house was in a good school district, bought by my parents so Chloe and I could attend high school in the city.

When my dad was alive, we managed to get by.

My dad passed away unexpectedly a few years ago.

Sarah only had a modest retirement pension, about a thousand dollars a month.

The two of them had been living off my dad's compensation money for the past few years.

As far as I knew, my dad's compensation was almost gone.

If I really washed my hands of it, their lives would become incredibly difficult.

So, I went to sleep, fuming.

I slept until 8 PM, then groggily got up to use the restroom.

But I couldn't open the bathroom door.

Sarah sashayed over, handing me a QR code.

"Five dollars for a pee, ten dollars for a poop, one dollar per sheet of toilet paper."

"Scan to open the door!"