A week before the SAT, my stepmother Belinda Dent insisted on dragging my sister Amy Wade and me to get plastic surgery.

I tried to persuade them to wait until after the SAT.

But after the SAT, Amy's crush, Oliver Collins, ended up with the school's queen bee.

Amy blamed me for not letting her get the surgery and losing her chance with him.

On the day we received our acceptance letters, she pushed me down the stairs.

My head smashed against the wall, and I bled to death.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day Belinda wanted to take Amy for the surgery.

This time, I said, "Go ahead. I'm looking forward to seeing your new selves."

***

"You're just afraid I'll end up prettier than you after the surgery, so you're stopping Mom from taking me, aren't you?" Amy confronted me, her lips pouty with frustration.

I thought, "Mom? Is Belinda really a mom?"

I snorted, recalling how, ever since Belinda married my father, Owen Wade, she'd done everything to stir up trouble between Amy and me.

When Belinda and Owen went on vacation and came back with gifts, I received an expensive designer handbag, while Amy got a basic skincare set.

Amy's face flushed with embarrassment, and she snapped at me, "Did you win Mom over behind my back?

"Why else would Mom give you a designer bag and me just cheap skincare products?"

Later, Amy even took the bag from my room to school, only for her classmates to expose it as a fake.

When she came home, she threw the bag at me, accusing me of letting her be embarrassed by pretending not to know it was a fake.

But if anyone should be blamed, it was Belinda. And before all this, I hadn't even known the bag was fake.

Amy and I were identical twins, but since Belinda arrived, Amy had been trying hard to win Belinda's favor, trying to prove she was better than me.

Now, standing before me, she said, "Mom says she'll take me to her good friend's clinic for the surgery. It's top-notch, guaranteed to make me gorgeous."

As I heard this, a dull ache seemed to pulse at my temples. In my past life, my interference had kept Amy from getting the surgery before the SAT.

As soon as the SAT was over, her crush, Oliver, announced he was with the school's queen bee. Amy resented me for not letting her have the surgery, blaming me for her lost chance with him.

On the day we received our acceptance letters, Owen and Belinda threw us a graduation party. Amy pretended to be drunk and accidentally pushed me down the stairs. "Die already! If it weren't for you, Oliver would have been mine by now! It's all your fault!"

Even when Owen was shouting to call an ambulance, she cried crocodile tears, claiming she was afraid of being held responsible. Together with Belinda, they played their roles perfectly, delaying my best chance for treatment. I ended up bleeding to death.

Before I died, I saw Amy's face light up with a relieved smile.

Now, as I faced Amy again, I smiled faintly, "Amy, my dear sister, you're right. Belinda's recommendations must be top-notch. I was just overthinking it."

I still hadn't called Belinda "Mom."

Amy eyed me suspiciously. "Really? You're okay with me going with Mom?"

"Yeah, after thinking it over, I realized Belinda means well. I shouldn't stand in the way of her kindness. It's just that I'm scared of the pain, so I won't go."

"Hmph, scaredy-cat. Fine by me. I'll be a stunning beauty while you stay a plain Jane."

With that, Amy skipped off to find Belinda.

The next morning, Belinda, with 200 thousand dollars from Owen, took Amy to her friend's clinic for the surgery.

When they returned, Amy and Belinda looked like twins with their sky-high noses and razor-sharp chins. They looked like a pair of plastic dolls.

I couldn't help but chuckle.

Owen walked around them, clicking his tongue in admiration. "You both look amazing. Belinda, you look even more beautiful."

Belinda tossed her head with pride. "Of course. I went through all this to become beautiful."

As she spoke, her cheeks, plumped full of fillers, quivered with every word. I half expected them to fall out.

Amy wasn't about to be left out. She grabbed Owen's arm and asked eagerly, "What about me? How do I look?"

Owen turned around, beaming with pride. "Just look at my daughter—perfectly stunning, even with the slightest touch-up."

Amy grinned widely, but as she laughed, she accidentally pulled at her stitches. She quickly covered her mouth, wincing in pain.

She turned her eyes, catching sight of me still standing there, and mocked, "Meryl, you can still change your mind. I can have Mom take you for another round if you want."

Indeed, she never called me "sister." To her, I was only a few minutes older, so she always addressed me by my first name.

With her prominent nose, plump cheeks, and sharp chin, she looked just like Belinda. I waved my hand dismissively. "No need, you two look great. I'm just a background player here. I should get back to my studies."

Amy basked in her self-satisfaction for days, completely neglecting her studies. Instead, she was obsessed with taking selfies from every angle and posting them on social media.

But she seemed to have forgotten something crucial.

On SAT day, she was barred from entering the exam hall.

The reason? The photo on her ID didn't match her, raising suspicions of impersonation.

I sat calmly in the exam room, watching the minutes tick by.

Outside, in the sweltering 89°F heat, Amy was sweating bullets. No matter how much she pleaded, the proctor wouldn't let her in.

Eventually, she broke down, sobbing in front of everyone.

The proctor, startled and fearing a disruption, called the police.

Officers stationed at the school entrance rushed over, verified her ID, and escorted her away from the premises.

As the exam bell rang, I focused my mind entirely on the test in front of me.

The room was silent except for the occasional creak of the ceiling fan.

The first testing went smoothly. When I got home, Amy was lounging on the couch, legs crossed, engrossed in TV.

Her morning meltdown seemed like a distant memory.

Noticing my gaze, she sneered, saying, "What's the point of all this book-learning? Even if you get into college, you're just going to end up working for someone else anyway."

I raised an eyebrow, curious about her grand plans. "So what's your big idea?"

She said with an air of superiority, "Mom says she's going to make me an influencer. I'll just stream all day and won't have to do anything else."

Her tone dripped with a kind of superiority I couldn't quite grasp.

I nodded. "Right, you're probably right. With Belinda's connections, I'm sure you'll make it big as an influencer. I'll be counting on you."

With that, I headed to my room. Amy called after me, "Where are you going?"

I waved her off. "I've got another exam this afternoon. I need to study."

"Such a bookworm."

I ignored her disdain and immersed myself in my studies.

After noon, I found Amy still fast asleep. I knocked on her door and half-heartedly called out for her to come to the test center with me.

"No way! You go by yourself. I'm sleeping in!"

I couldn't believe how easily she was blowing off the SAT under Belinda's spell. Shaking my head in resignation, I went to the exam center alone.

When I emerged from the test, I spotted Amy in a super-short skirt and heavy makeup, waving her arms excitedly.

I thought, "Is she here to pick me up?"

The next moment, Amy darted towards a guy emerging from the exam hall. I followed her gaze and saw it was Oliver. I thought, "When have they gotten together?"

Without any hint of embarrassment, they embraced and kissed right there in front of a crowd of parents and students. It was as if they had no regard for their public audience.

From what I knew, Oliver came from a wealthy family. His SAT was just a formality; his path to studying abroad had already been paved by his family.

Sure enough, just a few days later, Amy was at home, crying and complaining that Oliver had gone abroad and wasn't responding to her messages. She couldn't reach him at all.

Then she turned her anger on me. "Ugly witch, you knew all along, didn't you? You just wanted to see me suffer!

"You're jealous of me because I'm prettier, aren't you? How can you be so malicious?"

Her emotions were boiling over, and in a fit of rage, she flung a cup of scalding water at me.

I barely managed to dodge it, narrowly avoiding a serious burn.

I felt a cold chill, thinking, "When has my sister, whom I've grown up with, become so venomous?"

Belinda tried to calm her down, "Sweetie, why are you so hung up on Oliver? Once you become an influencer, you'll have your pick of men.

"You don't need to be fixated on some immature kid."

Amy's eyes lit up at her words, and she eagerly grabbed Belinda's arm. "Mom, when can I become an influencer? I want to start streaming right now."

Belinda scratched her face, leaving it slightly red like she'd had an allergic reaction.

I glanced at Amy again, noticing her face seemed even fuller than before.

Belinda turned to shoot me a glance, then reassured Amy, "Honey, don't rush it. I've already asked my friend to set up an account for you.

"And I'm just afraid someone would say I'm not treating both my daughters equally."

"Hey, ugly witch, you'd better be nice to me now. Once I'm famous, you'll be my personal servant every day. I might even give you some money. Who needs college, right?" Amy said, admiring her reflection in the mirror.

I smiled faintly, "No, thanks. I'd rather focus on my studies."

She looked at me as though I'd just told the funniest joke ever. She shared a laugh with Belinda, who joined in the hilarity.

I ignored them, thinking, "Enjoy your few days of happiness, little sister. You chose your path, so you'd better stick with it."