My parents are divorced. I was granted to my mom, but I live with my dad for school. The large house I now live in has been transferred to my name after mutual agreement from both parents. After my dad remarried, my stepmom moved in with her daughter. The little one started causing all sorts of trouble, even asking my dad to arrange for us to be in the same class at school, under the pretense of needing his help. After a fight with my stepmom and her daughter, I changed the keypad lock, set the central air conditioning to 32 degrees, and took all the remote controls to my grandparents’ farmhouse. During the summer, Riverstone can reach nearly 100 degrees, and I left the heat on. When they called me, I was lounging in my grandpa’s rocking chair, munching on chilled watermelon. After my dad remarried, my stepmom moved in with her daughter, Luna Fairchild. We didn’t get along at all; I had always been the cherished one in the family, and everything revolved around me. But ever since Luna arrived, she wanted a piece of everything I had, even trying to claim my belongings as her own. I heard that Luna’s biological father was a gambler who sold everything of value in their house, almost risking his wife and kids as collateral for his debts. So, you can imagine how envious she was of the love and attention my family gave me. On her first day at our house, she saw my spacious room with the best view, complete with its own bathroom and walk-in closet. She tugged at my dad’s sleeve and said, “Dad, I’m so jealous of Ella! She gets to live in such a big room. I’ve never had a room of my own.” My dad, feeling sorry for her, gently patted her shoulder and turned to me, saying, “Ella, why don’t you let your sister stay in your room? She’s never lived in such a big house before.” I scoffed, “Is it my fault she’s never lived in a big house? Why should I give her my room? Just because she calls you ‘Dad’ doesn’t mean she is your biological daughter. Why don’t you go get a paternity test; maybe she really is your daughter?” Before my dad could respond, I turned to Luna and said, “Let me be clear: this house was bought by my mom and dad together. Now it’s in my name, so you and your mom should be grateful to stay here. If you’re not happy, then leave and stop making demands.” Feeling the tension in the room, Luna’s mom hurried over to smooth things over, chuckling awkwardly, “Oh no, we won’t take your room; the guest room is fine. It’s much bigger than the room we had before.” Luna wiped away nonexistent tears and nodded, following Selene to the guest room. My mom and dad met in college; my grandparents were university professors, so naturally, my mom was exceptional. My dad came from a poor background but worked hard academically, so my grandparents approved of their marriage. It wasn’t until after the wedding that my mom discovered my dad’s weakness—his lack of backbone and his being overly attached to his mother. My mom had received higher education in the city, while my grandma, uneducated and quite traditional, always tried to impose her will on my mom, leading to a strained mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship. My dad always defended his mother, insisting my mom should yield to her, which ultimately led my mom to choose divorce. By the time I was a sophomore in high school, my dad married Luna’s mom, and Luna moved in with us. After the divorce, my mom moved abroad for work, while my grandparents always favored a pastoral life and returned to their rural hometown after retirement. Though I was granted to my mom, I still lived with my dad for school convenience. “Ella, Luna is your sister; you shouldn’t be so harsh with her,” my dad said after the two of them went back to their room. I barely looked up from my book, too lazy to even raise my head. “Mom only had me; I don’t have a sister.” My dad knew my temper and could only shake his head helplessly. “Luna is transferring to your school, and she should be in the same class as you. Can you please look after her?” “In the same school? Who’s paying for her tuition, you or her dad?” I went to a private high school with great educational quality and a nice environment, which meant tuition wasn’t cheap. Luna’s dad was deep in debt and wouldn’t pay for her tuition; as for her mom, she seemed to be out of work at the moment. “Your aunt is starting a job tomorrow, so she’ll cover Luna’s tuition. I’ll take care of her daily expenses since I’m married to her now; we shouldn’t nitpick about these small things,” Dad replied. I nodded, indicating I had no problem with that. “But my allowance needs to go up.” Dad affectionately patted my head and said, “No problem.” Just as I thought this new sister wasn’t so bad after all, things took a turn for the worse.
Even though my mom was working abroad, she sent me gifts every month—mostly jewelry and clothes, which I kept neatly in my room. Every time I opened a package, Luna would hover nearby. I had warned her not to just come into my room, and she had promised to obey. Until one summer day, I accidentally discovered a selfie of hers on social media. She was wearing a dress from a trendy luxury brand. It looked just like the birthday gift my mom had sent me last year. When I got home, I opened my closet, and sure enough, the dress was gone. At dinner that night, I pretended to casually mention her photo, asking Luna, “Your dress is gorgeous! When did you buy it?” Her face flashed with panic as she stammered, “Uh, just recently, I bought it while shopping.” “That dress must have been expensive. When did you get so much money?” I pressed on. To my surprise, Luna suddenly slammed her hand on the table, angry. “Why do you keep asking? Can’t I buy clothes? Are you jealous that I have nice things?” “I’m just asking; I lost a dress that looks exactly like yours,” I explained. “Why should I answer you? I’ve never even been in your room!” she shouted defiantly. I nodded. “Since you’ve never been in my room, that means we have a thief at home. The price of that dress is enough for a police report,” I said, pulling out my phone to call the cops. “What are you calling the cops for? I thought the dress looked great, so I borrowed it!” Luna tried to grab my phone, but I dodged her. “Borrowed? Did you ask me? Did you get my permission? Taking it without asking is stealing!” “You’re being so rude! I just wore it for a bit! I’m giving it back!” Luna shouted back at me. “Where is the dress? Give it back!” I reached out my hand. After a moment of hesitation, she reluctantly pulled a crumpled dress out of her bag and handed it to me. The brand-new dress was torn in several places. “I… I accidentally damaged it,” she said, her voice shaky. “I never wore this dress. It was worth $12,800; you owe me,” I stated firmly, placing the necklace back in her hand. “What do you mean, over $12,000? Just say you want to extort me!” Luna exclaimed, her anger palpable. I was too tired to argue and returned to my room to find the receipt to show her. To my surprise, she snatched the receipt, tore it into pieces, and tossed it into the trash, grinning as she said, “Now that the receipt is gone, this dress is trash, and I won’t pay you a dime.” The birthday gift from my mom was something I treasured and never wore, and now she called it trash. Fury surged within me as I raised my hand and slapped her hard. Luna was stunned for a few seconds before we both started fighting. Just then, Selene came home from work and saw Luna and me wrestling. She rushed over to pull us apart. On the surface, she was trying to break up the fight, but secretly, she pinched my side hard a few times. So, I retaliated and started hitting both of them. Seeing me attack indiscriminately, Selene began pulling my hair, cursing, “You little brat, your dad is away, and I can’t wait to teach you a lesson! You’ve always been so arrogant toward us!” I couldn’t take them both on, so I bit down hard on Selene’s thigh when the opportunity arose. She screamed while hitting me, trying to make me let go, but the more they hit me, the harder I bit, until my mouth was filled with blood. When they finally let go, I released her and wiped the blood from my lips. While they went to the hospital to get treated, I quickly packed my bags.
The next day, I woke up early and, while they were still asleep, set the central air conditioning temperature to 32 degrees before packing all the remotes and keys into my suitcase. Before leaving, I didn’t forget to change the password on the keypad lock and locked the door; without the password, the lock can’t be opened from inside. With summer temperatures in Riverstone reaching nearly 100 degrees, they could enjoy the heat at home. After doing all that, I dragged my suitcase downstairs, my hair a mess and my clothes torn from the previous day’s altercation. To leave the neighborhood, I had to pass through the small park where the older folks were doing their morning exercises. We had lived in this neighborhood for a long time, my parents were friendly, and I often tutored the neighborhood kids, so many residents recognized me. I was crying as I walked to the gate when someone stopped me. “Oh my, isn’t this the Caldwell girl? What happened to you?” an elderly lady asked. I wiped my tears and shook my head, unable to speak. I recognized this lady; her last name was Chen, and she lived in apartment 301 of our building. “Where’s your dad? Who bullied you? Tell me, and I’ll stand up for you,” Mrs. Chen said, holding my hand with concern. Hearing “dad” made me cry even harder, saying I missed my parents. Hearing the commotion, people nearby gathered around, asking what had happened. I sobbed as I recounted yesterday’s events, and a kind lady heard that I hadn’t eaten and handed me two buns. Between tears, I said I couldn’t stay in that house anymore and wanted to go to my grandparents’ place. The lady who gave me buns was named Mrs. Zhang, known in our neighborhood for her love of gossip and her warm heart. After hearing my story, Mrs. Zhang slammed her thigh and said, “I knew that mother-daughter duo wasn’t good! When they first moved in, they didn’t even respond to my greetings. I didn’t expect them to take advantage of the situation while your dad was away, bullying you like this. It’s so heartless!” “Exactly! What kind of stepmother is genuinely kind to their kids? Poor Ella!” “She’s a mother herself; how could she do that?” While Mrs. Chen was fixing my hair, Mrs. Zhang went home to get some iodine to disinfect the scratches on my neck. Once Mrs. Zhang finished applying the medicine, I stood up, bowed to everyone, thanked them, and said I was going to stay with my grandparents. As I left the neighborhood, I could still hear the indignant discussions behind me. They messed with the wrong person; the neighborhood’s wrath could drown them in their own words. Just as I got into the car, Selene’s call came through. I hung up and turned my phone off.
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