Chapter 5

Without a doubt, this time my confrontation with Sonya ended in a miserable defeat.

Actually, it's not the first time I've lost so badly.

Since the day she arrived at our house, I've never won.

When I was ten, my uncle and aunt died in a car accident, and my parents brought my cousin Sonya, who had lost her parents, to live with us.

Initially, I was happy to have an older sister.

But Sonya didn't like me; the malice in her eyes was glaringly obvious.

From the first day she came to our house, she pretended to fall to the ground, crying and accusing me of pushing her.

It was the first time my parents reprimanded me harshly.

Yet she forgave me with patience and grace, winning my parents' favor.

She repeatedly used this tactic to frame me, leading my parents to grow more and more disappointed in me.

They would often say, "Your sister lost her parents; can't you be more accommodating to her?"

"Why can't you learn from your sister? Look at how sensible she is!"

"Why has Hugh become like this? The older he gets, the more disobedient he becomes."

Sonya replaced me as the cherished daughter of my parents, while "malicious, " "arrogant, " and "liar" became my labels.

Only my brother believed in me, always shielding me.

He would pat my head and say, "Don't be afraid, Hugh.

Your brother will always protect you."

But when did the person my brother protected change to Sonya?

In the third year after I was abducted, the police followed a tip to Li family village, rescuing many women and children who had been trafficked.

I was successfully rescued, and I collapsed into tears in the arms of the female officer who comforted me.

No one knew how much I had suffered over the years, both physically and mentally tormented.

As I grew older, the old man's gaze became increasingly sinister.

In the isolated corners, he frequently made advances toward me.

I was terrified, unable to sleep at night, fearing someone might sneak into my room.

In my darkest moments, I resented my family.

Why hadn't they found me after all this time?

Why didn't my parents notice me back then?

Why did they let traffickers take me away?

But at the moment of rescue, all resentment vanished, replaced by an overwhelming longing for them.

I desperately wanted to see them.

Yet when I returned home, what I saw was a brightly lit, festively decorated Zayne villa.

They said the Zayne family was celebrating their only daughter's coming-of-age celebration.

I stepped into the home I had longed for, tears uncontrollably streaming down my face.

This was the debut party I had dreamed of.

At eight years old, after hearing the Cinderella fairy tale, I wrote in my diary: "Hugh's eighteenth birthday party will feature a white gown with pearl trim, a small crown, and beautiful glass slippers.

Then my brother will proudly escort me onto the stage and declare, 'The little princess of the Zayne family has come of age.'"

Only my brother and I knew about this teenage dream.

Yet why was my brother leading Sonya onto the stage instead?

He said, "Our Zayne family's little princess, my beloved sister-Sonya has come of age today. I hope everyone will take care of her for my sake."

Sonya's face was full of happiness, dressed elegantly like a princess.

Everything I had wished for belonged to her.

At that moment, I wore the white dress the female officer had bought for me.

Years of malnutrition had left me frail, making me look like I was wearing stolen adult clothes.

I felt out of place at the party.

Three years of torment had stripped me of my childhood innocence, and tears of longing for my family filled my eyes, bringing a sense of injustice.

I cautiously spoke, my voice catching in my throat, sour and unpleasant, "Mom, Dad, I'm back... "

However, my parents' first reaction wasn't the joy of a lost child returned, but rather confusion, embarrassment, and a hint of reproach in their eyes.

Were they blaming me for appearing now and disrupting their beloved daughter's coming-of-age celebration?

And my brother-his face no longer showed tolerance and affection, but contempt.

I didn't know then that Sonya had completely taken my place in the family.

My parents had become her parents.

My brother had become her brother.

The returning me was an outsider, an intruder.

The princess gown that was supposed to be mine had been stolen.