Chapter 1

Prologue 1

When the car crash happened, my mother didn't even look at my mangled body.

She scrambled toward the ambulance, cradling my sister who had nothing but a tiny scratch on her knee.

I was the one fighting for my life, but I was invisible to her.

The next day, after waking up from surgery, I saw my sister's post on social media.

"Who says the youngest always gets the most love? In Mom's heart, I'll always be her favorite baby, no matter how old I get!"

The comments were filled with relatives waiting to see me become a laughingstock.

I felt a cold smirk touch my lips as I typed my reply.

"What a touching mother-daughter bond. Starting next month, since you're such a favorite, you can start paying for her living expenses yourself!"

When I opened my eyes, the sharp, stinging scent of disinfectant filled my nose.

My throat was so dry it hurt, and it felt like I'd cough up blood if I even tried to clear it.

I subconsciously opened my mouth and whispered a single word.

"Mom..."

No one answered me.

That was when I realized I had been abandoned yet again.

A young nurse standing by my bed saw me wake up and quickly pressed a cup of water into my hand.

"You're finally awake? Can you remember your name?"

I nodded weakly, and she let out a sigh of relief, offering a small smile.

"That's good. We couldn't get a hold of any of your relatives after you were brought in. We almost thought you were an orphan."

"You're lucky you could provide your own info, but you've been hurt badly. You really shouldn't be here without family."

My hand tightened around the cup.

Couldn't get a hold of them? Or did they just not want to bother?

Memories of the accident flooded back, and the phantom pain of being thrown by the car screamed through my nerves.

The last thing I saw while lying on that freezing asphalt was my mother rushing toward the scene like a madwoman.

I had tried to comfort myself then, thinking that even if she was usually cold, she still cared about me.

I had reached out my arm, waiting for her to hold me, but that warmth never came.

She stepped right over my fingers as if I didn't exist, sprinting toward my sister, Yvonne, who was sitting on the ground further away.

In that moment, I felt like a pathetic clown.

I couldn't believe I had spent years hoping for even a shred of her love.

My mother, who usually claimed she was too frail to lift a grocery bag, picked Yvonne up and ran toward the paramedics with incredible speed.

I didn't want to give up, so I grabbed the hem of her jeans with my bloody hand.

"Mom... help me... it hurts so much..."

She didn't offer a hand. She didn't even offer a kind word.

Instead, she looked down at me with pure disgust and ground her heel into my fingers.

"What are you throwing a tantrum for right now? Can't you see your sister is injured?"

"What if she scars because of this delay? Would you take responsibility? You're so wicked, Macy! You wouldn't even spare your own sister!"

I pulled my hand back in agony, and my mother took that chance to carry Yvonne away without looking back.

Between the physical pain and the crushing betrayal, I couldn't hold on any longer.

Everything went black.

Back in the hospital room, I forced a bitter laugh.

"My family is just very busy. They don't have time to look after me, but they love me. They'd be so worried if they knew, so I'm just not going to tell them yet."

I looked away from the nurse's pitying gaze.

If you tell a lie often enough, you start to believe it yourself.

After the nurse changed my dressings, I pulled my phone out from under the pillow.

I wanted to scroll through the news to kill time, but the first thing I saw was a new post from Yvonne.

The photo showed her leaning into Mom's arms, smiling brightly as Mom hand-fed her.

Mom's face held a gentleness I had never seen directed at me.

The sunlight hit them perfectly, making them look like the picture-perfect family.

But it was Yvonne's caption that twisted the knife.

"Who says the youngest always gets the most love? In Mom's heart, I'll always be her favorite baby, no matter how old I get!"

Compared to them, I was like a stray dog kicked to the curb.

But I should have been used to this by now.