This Time, I Handed Over Her "Dream" Life

Synopsis

Lily and I grew up as sisters, closer than anyone else in the orphanage. The day the two adults came to adopt us, I remembered it clearly. One was a man in a shabby coat, sitting in a wheelchair. The other was a kind-faced, capable-looking woman in neat clothes. Lily immediately chose the woman. She shot me a sly grin and whispered, "You're so good at taking care of people, Stella. You should go with the cripple. You can spend your life changing his diapers." So, I was adopted by the man in the wheelchair. It turned out his poverty was a front. So was his disability. He was Richard Carter, one of the richest men in Riverdale. Overnight, I became the pampered princess of the Carter family. Lily, living a modest life with her adoptive parents, David and Mary Lee, worked as a waitress to make ends meet. One slow shift, she saw the Carter family throwing a massive twentieth birthday party for me. My fiancé, Riverdale's most eligible bachelor, was standing by my side. Consumed by jealousy, Lily found me and stabbed me. As I fell, she screamed through her tears, "We started in the same place! Why is your life so perfect while mine is hell?" When I opened my eyes, I was back in the orphanage. It was that day again, the day we chose our parents. This time, Lily rushed forward first, but her target had changed. She threw her arms around Richard, who was in the wheelchair. "Dad," she said sweetly, "I want to be your daughter. I'll take such good care of you, I promise." I didn't hesitate. I walked straight to Mary and took her work-worn hand. "Mom," I said. "I'm ready to go home." As we packed our few belongings, Lily couldn't resist leaning in. "My turn to be the princess," she hissed, her voice full of triumph. "You get to be poor and miserable with that nobody. Have a nice life." I just smiled and wished her well. She had no idea the Carter family didn't adopt a daughter out of kindness. Their reasons were far more complicated.