After hearing that, Orion kissed Gwen on the forehead and said, "Gwen, I’ll be the one to give you happiness."

My heart ached.

He had said those exact words to me once, just as sincerely.

Back in college, I had been knocked down, and he was the one who helped me up. That day, his eyes were bright, and all I could see in them was my reflection. He gently stroked my hair with concern.

"Kate, from now on, I’ll protect you. I’ll be the one to give you happiness."

But after he met Gwen, his so-called happiness completely changed.

The day I saw the two of them kissing passionately downstairs, he shielded her behind him when he noticed me watching. The lipstick stain on his face and his swollen lips made me sick to my stomach.

I fought back the pain and walked toward him, asking why he had done this to me.

"There's nothing to say to someone like you, just pure disgust." Orion shoved me. He was too lazy to offer an explanation.

"Kate, we’re the real deal. You’ll give us your blessing, won’t you?" Gwen had smiled at me as they left.

The pain in my heart consumed me, spreading through my entire body.

Later, Gwen found me. Her smile was blinding.

"Kate, I really can’t stand you. You never should’ve come back. Wouldn’t you be happier staying in the countryside?

"All the love here belongs to me, including Orion.

"And especially that mole on your face. Don’t you think it makes you look filthy?"

Filthy?

Yeah, how could I forget? There was a time when I really was dirty.

Even in death, I was still so filthy.

……

When the party began, Gwen wiped away her tears, and the makeup artist touched up her flawless look.

My dad stood by her side. He was tightly holding her hand and his eyes were filled with guilt.

"Dad, I won’t hold it against Kate for not coming. I just want to wish her a happy birthday.

"As her elder sister, I haven’t been good enough. I hurt her feelings."

She forced herself not to cry, holding back her tears.

The same father who had always been cold to me patted her on the shoulder. "Don’t blame yourself. You’ve always been our pride.

"As for that ungrateful girl, when I see her, I’ll make sure she apologizes to you properly."

My mom stood beside them, her face full of relief, nodding in agreement.

"That ungrateful girl, it's better to just let her ruin her own life," Zac muttered under his breath.

My mom lightly hit him. "It’s a joyful day, don’t say anything unlucky."

Gwen laughed, linking arms with Orion as they walked toward the stage.

I was forced to watch them. I had never experienced scenes like these happy moments.

But it was okay. I had gotten used to it. My heart did not hurt anymore.

As the soft piano music played, they started to exchange rings.

My mom was in the audience, her eyes brimming with happy tears.

They all forgot today was also my birthday. But not everyone had forgotten.

"Where’s Kate? It’s her birthday today too, isn’t it?"

"I saw a cake with her name on it a little while ago."

"I heard Orion used to chase after her. Now he’s her brother-in-law."

Then came a wave of judgmental voices.

"She’s nothing but trouble. No integrity, always lying."

"No one would ever like her."

My parents really went out of their way to tarnish my reputation.

By the second year after I was brought home, my aunt came over with her son to visit.

He accidentally fell off the couch, and Gwen pointed at me, saying I had pushed him.

My aunt turned on me immediately. "So young, yet already so deceitful."

I tried to defend myself, but no one listened.

To force me to admit to something I did not do, my dad locked me in my room and starved me for two days. I ended up with acute gastroenteritis.

Later, my mom felt a little guilty and was actually kind to me for a few days. But her kindness only lasted for those few days.

……

That evening, the engagement party wrapped up perfectly. No one cared whose birthday it was.

After the guests left, my dad’s expression immediately darkened and he told Zac to keep calling me. The phone, which had been off, now just went to missed calls.

Gwen grabbed Zac’s agitated hand and said, "Let it go, she just doesn’t want to see me. It’s fine."

She always knew how to appear so understanding.

As expected, my dad’s eyes filled with sympathy.

"It’s better that she didn’t come. She was bad luck for her own grandma, so her showing up would’ve just brought more misfortune.

"She was nothing but trouble from the moment she was born. It would’ve been better to just strangle her."

Hearing that, my body trembled, even in my ghostly state.

They had no right to mention my grandma.

When my mom gave birth to me, she hemorrhaged and almost died on the operating table. Gwen had been oxygen-deprived and sent to an incubator. But I was born healthy, glowing red.

Soon after, my dad’s business took a hit. They blamed all their misfortunes on me, claiming I was a curse that only brought bad luck.

That was when my dad decided to send me away.

But my grandma refused. She said they were just being superstitious and insisted on keeping me.

Up until I was eight, it was my grandma who raised me with love and care.

She was the one who named me, saying I should live happily.

When I was seven, my mom came to visit my grandma. When she left, she did not even glance at me.

I just wanted to ask her, why wouldn’t she look at me?

I chased after her car, crying, running as fast as I could.

That was when the nightmare started. I nearly died in that old, rundown shack.

When my grandma found me, she held me and cried for a long time.

She called my mom frantically, saying I was sick and begging her to come back.

But no matter how much she pleaded, my mom refused.

After that, I stopped wanting anything from my mom.

And after that, my grandma changed. She became more cautious. She even went to church and got me a small cross necklace, saying it would protect me.

But when I was eight, my grandma chased after someone who had hurt me, collapsed, and never woke up again.

I had killed the person I loved most in this world, leaving only the small cross necklace she had gotten for me.

When my mom came to pick me up, I had cried until my voice was hoarse.

My dad, out of obligation, agreed to bring me back, but I was no longer allowed to use the last name "Lincoln." I was just called Kate, no longer considered a real member of the family.

Even my legal records stayed linked to my grandma’s.

That nightmare never really left me. To this day, being in dark places still filled me with fear.

Like the basement Gwen pushed me into.

……

Gwen spent the entire ride home comforting our parents, playing the role of the dutiful daughter perfectly.

To make it up to her, my mom even made Gwen a cake.

"My precious daughter, I’m sorry you had to go through all of this today.

"Here’s your favorite cake, and may you be happy always."

Gwen snuggled up to my mom, acting spoiled, and said how lucky she felt to be so happy in this life.

"It would’ve been better if Kate had been here."

When she mentioned me, she bit her lip, looking like she was about to cry.

Zac, frustrated, muttered, "Gwen, you’re too kindhearted. That’s why you always end up getting hurt."

I stood nearby, watching them, feeling nothing but sheer irony.

The favoritism toward her was so obvious, yet she still did not think it was enough.

I knew why. It was because she hated that I existed.

It was not always this bad with my mom.

On one of my birthdays, she even made me my favorite pasta too.

I was so happy I nearly jumped for joy.

But before I could even thank her, Gwen’s eyes welled up with tears. "Just thinking about how much pain Mom went through to give birth to us makes me so sad."

"I just want Mom to be safe and healthy."

Hearing this, my dad glared at me with pure anger. "What birthday? You're nothing but an eyesore. Get back to your room."

He dumped the pasta my mom had made into the trash. I never got to eat it.

Later, Gwen purposely came to my room, her words sharp as a poisoned knife.

"You still want to eat my mom’s pasta? You’re shameless.

"Why don’t you just die, you cursed wretch?"

Furious, I pushed her, and she hit her head against the door.

That night, my dad locked me in the basement for the first time, and it marked the beginning of my misfortune.

It was so dark. I was too scared to breathe and did not dare call out for my mom. All I could do was pound on the door with all my strength.

The nightmares would not leave me. It was as if I could hear the sound of clothes being torn apart.

I curled up in pain, calling out for my grandma over and over, begging her to come save me.

The fear overwhelmed me.

The next time I woke up, I was in the hospital, with my mom holding me.

But when I saw her, I instinctively shrank into the corner, terrified.

"I don’t want Mom, I don’t want Mom," I kept repeating.

I had forgotten that this was the first time she had ever held me on her own.

Her hand froze in mid-air, and her expression grew cold. "She’s just an ungrateful brat who can’t be raised right."

I was diagnosed with a fear of the dark, and she did not show any emotion. She just turned and left the hospital.

That night, I was almost consumed by regret.

Even digging my nails into my skin could not ease the despair and anxiety I felt.

From that point on, she became a mother who despised me even more.

When I went to college, Gwen decided she wanted her own study room. My mom did not hesitate. She threw away all my things and turned my bedroom into Gwen’s study.

They could not wait to get rid of me.

It did not matter anymore. Now that I was dead, I was never going back.

……

The next day, to cheer Gwen up, Orion gave her the keys to their new house. She happily brought the whole family to see it.

I followed behind my parents and Zac.

When we arrived at the new house, my parents sank into the couch, exhausted.

I listened to them talk about me again, criticizing everything I had ever done wrong.

"Kate is so out of line. She hasn’t even bothered to return a single call.

"I’ve failed as a parent, raising a daughter like that."

My mom glanced at her phone, seeing nothing but outgoing calls.

"It’s because she’s too heartless. She’s just an ungrateful brat. If she’s so tough, she should never come back," my dad said, holding my mom’s hand.

I watched their faces up close.

I wanted to see if, besides all the hatred, there was any trace of concern for me.

No matter how hard I looked, there wasn’t.

My dad rubbed his temples, clearly irritated just thinking about me.

My mom, with her eyes closed, let out a long sigh.

From the moment I went missing until now, not a single one of them had worried that something might have happened to me.

I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes. "Mom, just how awful am I, for you to hate me so much?"

Once, when she came to pick me up, I asked her in the car, "Mom, are you picking me up so late because you don’t love me?"

She did not answer. She just rested her head against the car window, not even glancing at me.

There was enough space between us for one person. She was on one side, and I was on the other.

I guess Grandma had been lying to me all along. My mom wasn’t good at all.

After I died, I finally understood. She just did not love me.

Frustrated, I wanted to leave. But when I floated to the door, something pulled me back.

"Mom, let me call her one more time. Don’t worry," Zac said as he dialed my number.

After three rings, someone picked up.

"Kate, you’ve gone too far. You ungrateful brat, why are you only answering the phone now? Are you trying to upset us on purpose?"

There was a moment of silence before a hoarse voice came through the other end of the line.

"She’s dead. But she kept begging me to save her."