Chapter 2

What Mom said was like a blow, knocking the wind out of me and leaving me rooted to the spot.

Thinking back to the start of the month, when they first brought up the anniversary, I was the one paying for everything and running myself ragged, handling every little thing. What more could I have done?

But in front of them, I couldn't even get a single praise.

I kept wondering what my mom had against me, badmouthing me in front of the relatives, saying I had no luck.

Did I ever treat my family badly? What did I do to deserve them not even saving me a piece of cake?

Like I said, it was not really about the cake, was it?

They just didn't respect me at all.

My sudden outburst made the atmosphere in the house instantly freeze.

My dad and grandma stepped out into the room.

"What's going on? Everything was fine just now," my dad asked.

My mom was totally pissed off. She gripped the chair as she sat down, then pointed right at me and started yelling, "Go ask your daughter!

"We forgot to save her a piece of cake, and now she's biting my head off? Does that seem right to you?"

Grandma jumped in with her usual cheerful smile, trying to keep the peace.

"Shirley just wants something sweet, that's all. Tomorrow, I'll go and get you a cake, just for you," she promised.

This was always how it went. Mom was the strict one, and Grandma played the softie. Whenever I spoke up about being treated unfairly, Grandma would try to smooth things over, but in the end, her promises never actually happened.

I remembered one Christmas when we went back to my hometown. Grandma took me to stay with some relatives, supposedly so I could get to know them better since I'd spent most of my life living away with my parents.

I was a little nervous, but honestly pretty happy. Grandma was practically a stranger to me then, but she gave me candy, and the other relatives made me homemade cookies.

The next morning, when I got home, no one was there.

My parents had already flown off to Daisyland with Sandra.

Turned out, they'd only sent me away just to get me out of their hair.

I was bawling my eyes out, totally lost on why my parents would ditch me and take Sandra off to Daisyland.

But Grandma just brushed it off, saying, "You get to live with your parents, but your sister's stuck back in the hometown. Shouldn't they make it up to her? Not taking you is all about keeping things fair and peaceful at home."

Keeping things fair? So only treating Sandra well was fair?

Did Grandma even get it? Yeah, I lived with my parents, but they just parked me at daycare every single day while they were out hustling. Was that fair to me?

I couldn't stop bawling. Grandma finally caved and went out to buy me a fluffy white puppy plushie.

Hugging that little puppy, I felt my mood lighten, at least a little.

On the third day, my parents came back.

As soon as Sandra walked in, she went straight to Grandma, showing off her new dress.

"Grandma, look. I'm a princess!" she squealed.

Dad had bought her a Daisyland princess dress, all ruffled and layered like a cake. When she spun around, even the air seemed sweet.

I was so jealous, but all I could do was stand there and watch, wishing I could have what she had.

Grandma pulled her into her arms, doting on her endlessly and showering her with compliments.

My parents had even bought Sandra a little pink suitcase, and when she popped it open, it was stuffed full of gifts—heart-shaped hair clips, rainbow markers, a spinning toy train, and all sorts of fun and new toys I'd never even seen before.

I was not even upset anymore about missing out on Daisyland.

I was just waiting, full of hope, for the part of the gifts that was supposed to be mine.

But as soon as I got close, Sandra yelled and shoved me away. "Go away! These are all mine. Don't even think about touching them. You've already got plenty!"

Even Dad shot me a cold look.

"Shirley, don't fight with your sister. These are for her, to make it up to her," he said.

So basically, I wasn't getting anything.

Back then, I didn't bother hiding my feelings. I stomped off to the yard, sulking and fuming all by myself.

On my way out, I caught my mom letting out a long sigh.

She said, "Why is she so greedy? We've really pampered her too much."

After messing around in the mud for a bit, I got hungry as hell and wandered back into the house.

But as soon as I walked in, I caught Sandra acting all cute and clingy with Grandma.

She was holding the puppy plushie Grandma had bought for me, pouting and whining, "Grandma, you actually bought her a toy behind my back? I'm so jealous."

Grandma just smiled and said, "Sweetie, that little thing isn't worth much. It came free when I bought groceries in town. Besides, haven't I gotten you more than enough toys?"

But Sandra still wasn't satisfied. She threw the puppy plushie straight onto the floor.

"Well, I'm still upset. Grandma, you should only be nice to me," she whined.

Then she stomped on it a few times, and the white puppy was instantly filthy.

"What are you doing?" I shouted at her.

I barged in and gave her a shove.

I grabbed the puppy plushie and hugged it close.

I loved that little puppy. I'd been sleeping with it every night lately.

Clutching the dirty puppy, I bolted out of the house.