My mom was my dad’s second wife. She died giving birth to me.
Dad was always busy with work, so it was my brothers who held my hand to and from school, who shielded me from every storm.
Aside from my dad, they were the closest family I had in the world.
But not long after Kelsey’s mother married into the family, rumors started spreading inside the house.
They said my dad’s first wife hadn’t died by accident—that my mother had set her up to die.
They said my mom had been a mistress who clawed her way into the family by stepping on a dead woman’s life.
Those words were like poison, seeping little by little into my brothers’ ears.
I wanted to explain, but the truth was, I didn’t know much about my biological mother either. I couldn’t even tell whether those rumors were true.
All my brothers felt was anger and regret. For them, all these years of doting on me felt like a betrayal of their late mother.
Kelsey’s arrival gave them the perfect outlet. A new sister they could pour their feelings into—someone they could favor, compensate, and indulge without guilt.
Me? I became the target of their resentment. Someone to take revenge on.