NovelUpdateChapter87
They were always tellingthat, if | played nice with Ashley, things would go easier for me.
But here was the thing. Ashley's parents were gone, and mine were still around, but they chose to ignore me
over her. So, what made my life any different from an orphan?
It was Christmas. | was in the kitchen filling up a pot with water when Ashley strutted in, all dressed up in her
newest dress. “Grace, do you think this dress looks good on me?”
| ignored her and tried to move past her.
But she wasn’t having it. She latched onto my arm from behind. “I'm waiting for an answer.” | frowned, trying to
pull
away.
She grabbed my other hand, splashed herself with the hot water, and then let out a scream. “Please no Grace!”
“What are you doing?!” | asked her.
“Who do you think Mom's going to believe, you or me?” Ashley smirked, and right on cue, my mom walked in
and saw the whole thing, just the way Ashley had set it up.
“my
“Grace, if you've got an issue, you cto me,” my mom said, her voice heavy with disappointment. “Why
would you do this to Ashley?”
Ashley was all teary-eyed, playing the victim. “Mom, please don’t be mad at Grace. It's my fault.”
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My brother yanked my arm. “Are you jealous of Ashley? You know we have family coming over, and you messed
up her dress on purpose?”
My dad's face was a storm cloud. “Grace, you're grounded. You stay here and think about what you've done.
Ashley, go change, and we'll all head out for dinner.”
Ashley looked like she was about to cry, and my mom was right there, soothing her with gentle words and a soft
touch. | used to feel that warmth, but it was a distant memory from
another life.
If they had just looked a little closer, only looked atfor a moment, they might have seen the burn in my
hand.
But no, they didn’t. They all left, a happy little family of four, without even looking back.
As she was leaving, Ashley shota triumphant glance, as if to say, ‘Grace, I've won again.
It didn’t take much longer than two weeks for my mom's Instagram to beca chronicle of Ashley's
adventures with our family, showcasing their delicious meals and memorable trips.
My brother even brought a cake once, but it was only for her, and they didn’t even share a slice of it with me.
It felt like | was the one who'd been forgotten. Before | died in my previous life, | posted something on Instagram
too. “If you don’t love me, why did you even have me?”
But all | got was being called a “ Queen”. Those two words were what pushedto jump off the rooftop
without
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a second thought.
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| spent my whole high school years back then living in that unfairness.
In this life, | avoided all of them, and the absence of constant conflict with Ashley allowed a significant shift in my
overall well-being.
The release of tension and frustration brought by the absence of conflict with Ashley had a profound impact on
me.
As a result, | woke up feeling more refreshed and energized each morning.| was able to focus more on my
studies and witness great improvements, while Ashley remained stuck in a cycle of average grades.
No matter how much effort she put into it, she couldn't reach
my pace.
When the second semester of our senior year started, the school announced a parent-teacher conference.
This was normal, every semester, and my parents would never cto mine, but | wanted to be optimistic, so |
told my mom
about it.
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| thought she would go, but she said, “Grace, you know Ashley has been struggling with her grades since her real
parents passed away. We've already promised to go to her conference. You understand, right?”
Did | understand? No, I didn’t. | never understood why they had a preference for her over me.
In my previous life, | had let all of it affect me, and my grades
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were bad, and because | wasn’t doing well, my dad said it would be embarrassing for him to be there.
Now that Ashley was the one with the poor grades, they couldn't miss it for the world.
| thought | was past feeling hurt, but | found myself saying, “Mom, could you cfor me? Ashley has Dad with
her.”
But my mom just frowned, “Grace, | thought you'd be more considerate. It's an important day for Ashley, and we
need to be there for her.”
Of course, it was an important day for her, not me.
They were sure to be there for their adopted daughter, and it was fine for their own daughter to go to the
parent-teacher conference alone.
I must have been crazy to think that maybe, just maybe, if | did well, my mom would care abouta little more.
It turned out that sthings would never change.
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