A Family’s Unfair Preference Chapter 02
Probably because of the high fever, I closed my eyes and fell into a very deep sleep.
By the time I woke up, the sky had turned completely dark.
My throat felt like it was on fire. I staggered up to get some water, only to realize I was the only one left in the villa.
I checked my phone. There were no messages or missed calls, but it showed that Elin had posted a new update on her Instagram feed.
[A long-overdue dinner for our family of three!
Hehe, Mom and Dad still remember that king crab is my favorite!]
In the photo, their three faces were pressed close together.
Scrolling further down her Instagram feed, there were family photos posted almost every other week.
Yet in my past life, right up until the day I died, I never managed to get a single photo with Mom and Dad.
Perhaps because I had been disappointed for so long, seeing her happy Instagram feed didn’t even evoke a hint of jealousy in me.
I hit the like button, and my phone immediately started ringing.
It was Dad calling.
“Zora, I forgot to tell you, we came out to eat. Grab a cab and come over now!”
I looked at the table full of expensive seafood shown on Elin’s Instagram feed and let out a soft chuckle.
Eating seafood while I’m running a fever? I wasn’t exactly looking to make myself sicker.
“No need, Dad. I’ll just find something to eat on my own.”
Hanging up, I took some fever medication and sent a message to my advisor.
[Hello Professor, I will be ready to depart in three days.]
My advisor sent a voice message back.
“Good, remember to sign that agreement.”
“I’m glad you changed your mind. When you said you were going to give it up, I felt it was such a pity for you.”
“There are many of your senior classmates in this project. Let them guide you well. You guys are the ones who will carry on my legacy in the future.”
I smiled bitterly.
In my past life, I wasted my advisor’s painstaking efforts, foolishly giving up this project and my dream of scientific research.
All because Mom and Dad told me not to go too far from home, promising they would arrange a future job for me. And I believed them.
I thought, they were my biological parents after all.
Even though I was switched at birth and left in an orphanage for twenty years, the blood tie between us could never be severed. They surely wouldn’t harm me.
But after waiting and waiting, all I got was one sentence.
“Go work as Elin’s assistant. Your credentials aren’t impressive, and you still haven’t landed a job after graduation. You should feel lucky that Elin is even willing to heir you.”
Nobody cared that I scored in the top ten of the state on my SATs, graduated from West Point with a perfect GPA, and that my mentor’s name was renowned worldwide.
Just like that, I spent my entire past life crushed under Elin’s heel, looked down upon by everyone.
Now, I won’t be that stupid anymore.
Sitting properly at my desk, I carefully wrote down my name, writing down my brand-new beginning.
Just as I was about to head downstairs for a glass of water, Mom, Dad, and Elin came back from outside.
I instinctively hid on the staircase, not wanting to interact with them too much.
Elin’s voice was practically skipping with joy: “Dad, Mom, the family portrait we took today turned out great, didn’t it!”
“Once the photos are developed, let’s hang them up in the house, okay?”
Mom smiled dotingly.
“Of course, sweetheart. We’ll hang it right in the living room so guests can see it the moment they walk in!”
“Oh, by the way, you mentioned wanting to see a sunrise at sea for your birthday. Your father and I have already booked a cruise. We’ll host your birthday party on the ship, and then the whole family will head to Hawaii for a vacation. How does that sound?”
Elin sounded absolutely thrilled.
“Thank you, Mom and Dad! I love you guys the most!”
“Oh, you silly girl, no need to be so polite with us!”
I had never once experienced such a relaxed and joyful atmosphere.
More than once, I had overheard Mom and Dad complaining that I was always distant and aloof, never close to them.
But I had tried. Once, when they came back from shopping and showered Elin with bags of gifts, I mustered all my courage to hug Mom’s arm and act affectionately, just like Elin did.
“Mom, is there a gift for me too?”
I still remember the sheer awkwardness on her face as clear as day.
“Maybe next time, Zora. Mom forgot to get you anything.”
I was a little disappointed, but not heartbroken.
That was until I walked past the half-open study door and heard Mom complaining to Dad again: “Zora is just too calculating. I buy a little something for Elin, and she immediately wants to snatch it away.”
“Do you think she picked up some bad habits while living out there?”
From then on, I never acted affectionately again. Instead, as if possessed, I fought with Elin for every single thing she received from our parents.
Only to earn their even more disgusted remarks—
“Why are you so immature?
If we had known, we never would have brought you back home.”
Elin’s voice snapped me out of my memories.
“Sister, what are you doing standing up there?”
“Hurry down and look at our family portrait. It’s pretty, isn’t it!”