Chapter 2

Over the next eight years, Nina personally experienced everything that confirmed her intuition.

Yvonne never confronted Nina directly. She was way too smart for that. She knew exactly how to cut deepest with the sweetest smile.

In the first month after Nina returned, Emily bought her a whole new set of furniture and bedding, all in pink. It was pink perfection, the very image of a teenage dream.

Yvonne paused on her way past and glanced in. She laughed and said, "Mom's playing favorites. I never got this kind of treatment when I first arrived."

The bedding was splashed with a glass of orange juice the next morning.

Yvonne came to apologize, her eyes red from crying. "I'm sorry, Nina. I had a nightmare last night that Mom didn't want me anymore, and I got so scared I knocked over the glass. I really didn't mean to."

Emily hugged Yvonne and comforted her for half an hour, then turned to Nina. "Nina, Yvonne was abandoned when she was little. She's got some trauma, so try to go easy on her."

"Go easy on her." Nina heard those words for the next eight years.

Whenever Yvonne started playing piano, Nina was expected to learn it too.

But every time Nina nailed a performance, Yvonne would casually say, "Nina, you grew up in a small town, but you're picking this up so fast. You're a real genius.

"I've had teachers since I was little, and I still can't play as well as you."

Her words reminded everyone where Nina came from while making herself look humble.

When Nina's grades beat Yvonne's, Yvonne would smile at the dinner table and say, "Nina, you're incredible. But I heard the exams in your town are way easier than in Crownhill. Can you handle the pace here?"

When Nina made friends, Yvonne would "accidentally" bring up in front of them that Nina had been kidnapped, then put on her innocent face and say, "I thought you all knew. Sorry, Nina, I didn't mean to spill that."

Every cut was bloodless, yet each one landed exactly where it hurt most.

What really crushed Nina was how everyone in the Sherman family acted around her.

Brian always kept a poker face. Whenever Yvonne pulled her tricks, he stayed silent, and sometimes he'd glance at Nina with that tired look, like he was complaining, "Can't you stop causing trouble?"

Eric was barely ever home. When he did drop by, he'd hand Yvonne a limited-edition purse and toss Nina a box of chocolates from the airport duty-free. Not that he meant to play favorites. He simply didn't care enough to make an effort for Nina.

Andrew treated Nina well, but it was the same kindness he showed to any sister. Whenever Nina and Yvonne got into it, he'd always try to smooth things over. "Yvonne's still a kid. Don't take it so seriously."

But Yvonne was only a year younger than Nina.

Emily did love Nina, but it was a love fueled by guilt and a need to make up for the past. It couldn't survive the daily grind. The moment Yvonne started whining or crying, Emily's heart would instantly side with her.

William was a powerhouse in business, but at home, he was completely wrapped around Yvonne's finger.

It took Nina a long time to realize that William didn't love his daughter; he loved the girl who'd grown up right under his nose. Ten years of living together meant more than any DNA test ever could.

In this house, Nina was always an intruder. She was a living reminder to everyone that the Sherman family had once lost a child.

She tried everything to please them. She worked her tail off to get into the top university in Crownhill, won scholarships every year, hoping her achievements would finally make her matter to them.

But William simply said, "Not bad," and then bought Yvonne a car for making it into the top fifteen in her class.

Nina tried to play nice. When Yvonne asked her to help with a PPT, Nina stayed up until three in the morning to get it done.

The next day, Yvonne used Nina's presentation at the meeting and got praised by everyone in the department.

When Yvonne came back, she linked arms with Nina. "Nina, you're amazing," then "accidentally" knocked over the coffee on the table, spilling it all over Nina.

Nina tried to keep her distance. She moved out of the villa and rented a place near campus, hoping distance might mend things.

But then Emily called, her voice full of reproach. "Nina, why aren't you coming home? Yvonne says you're having a spat with her. She's always been insecure. Can't you go easy on her?"

Nina listened while eating instant noodles in her rented room. She looked at the grease floating on top of the broth and suddenly laughed.

But as she laughed, tears slipped down and landed right in her soup.

She finally understood where the problem lay.

It wasn't that she wasn't good enough. She simply never should have come back.

In this family, Yvonne was the rose that had been carefully tended for a decade. Nina was the weed transplanted overnight. No matter how hardy the weed grew, it only ruined the garden's harmony.

Nobody wanted her there. Not even her birth mother, the woman who kept saying she was sorry.