On my birthday, Mom and Dad presented me with a gift. It was a DNA test result, showing no biological relation. Mom’s smile was cold. “Maya,” she said, her voice devoid of warmth, “since you’re not our biological daughter, it’s time you repaid us for the seventeen years of expenses for your upbringing.” Dad snorted. “No wonder you don’t look anything like me. You’ve sponged off the Sterling family for too long. From today, you’ll be our housemaid. We’ll pay you fifty dollars a month, which will go towards your debt. Food and board are not included.” I didn’t cry or argue. I just nodded calmly. After all, last night, I’d heard it all from outside their bedroom door. My sister, Chloe, had been clinging to Mom and Dad, pleading, “Mommy, Daddy, my birthday wish is to be the Sterling family’s only child, to have all your love and attention just for me. Can Maya be our housemaid for a year? Please?” Dad, his face full of adoration, had replied, “Yes, my darling. Anything for you.” Mom had chimed in with a soft chuckle, “For this year, Mommy and Daddy belong only to our precious Chloe.” I leaned against the wall, my eyes burning with unshed tears. They didn’t remember that Chloe and I were twins, born on the same day. And my birthday wish was: To leave the Sterling home, not for a year, but forever.
My sister, Chloe Sterling, gasped, covering her mouth in exaggerated shock. “Maya, no wonder you’re so plain-looking, not like Daddy or Mommy at all! So you really are a fake, an imposter!” Her voice was loud and dramatic, as if she’d completely forgotten we were twins, practically mirror images of each other. “Oh no, you’re not my sister at all. You’re just some stray who showed up out of nowhere.”
Eleanor’s face was distant, cold. “Maya, since the truth is out, and you’re not a Sterling by blood, this birthday party is solely for our precious daughter, Chloe. You have no right to be here.” I glanced up at Chloe, her face radiating triumph. She wore a custom-made princess gown, a tiara on her head that probably cost as much as a house. Then I looked at myself: a faded shirt and jeans, frayed at the cuffs from countless washes. I smiled bitterly. Right. That word. It was something I’d never truly had, so how could I lose it now? Richard’s voice boomed, “Starting today, you’ll move into the maid’s quarters. Out of the goodness of my heart, you can stay here as our housemaid until you find your birth parents. I’ll pay you fifty dollars a month, no food or board, to start repaying us for the seventeen years of raising you.” Whispers erupted among the guests. I felt like a humiliated clown, surrounded by their mocking stares, as I bent down to pick up my backpack. Chloe rushed over, snatching my backpack with a powerful tug. The broken zipper, held together by a single safety pin, instantly burst open, spilling my things everywhere. “Aha!” Chloe shrieked. “I knew it! You are stealing from us!” Among the scattered books and papers, a pink sanitary pad lay exposed on the floor. Eleanor’s face tightened with discomfort. “Chloe, it’s fine. It’s just a sanitary pad.” But Chloe wouldn’t back down. “Mommy, I’m the only child of the Sterling family now! What is she, anyway? She’s sponged off us for years and now she’s stealing our things? I say she doesn’t deserve it, she doesn’t deserve anything!”
Seeing her anger, Eleanor immediately softened, her voice dripping with placation. “Alright, alright, darling, don’t be angry. You’re right. You’re Mommy’s only precious darling now. You can do anything you want.” Chloe, satisfied, stepped on the pad, grinding her heel into it. “There! Now I don’t want it. It’s yours.” I stared at the pad, now covered in muddy footprints. My throat felt like it was clogged with wet cotton, heavy and suffocating. In the end, I bent down and only picked up my books. After the party, Maria, the housekeeper, led me to the old storage room. It was a space barely five square meters, containing only a rickety plank bed piled with junk and a single, rust-streaked window. Maria hovered at the doorway, a conflicted look on her face. “Miss… Maya, Mr. and Mrs. Sterling do remember your good side. Once they come to their senses, you’ll still be Miss Sterling…” Before she could finish, two cockroaches scurried out from a corner and vanished. I pretended not to notice her discomfort. “Thank you. I understand.” Maria shook her head and left, muttering softly, “They look so much alike, how could she not be theirs? Sigh…” I sat on the plank bed, gazing blankly out at the inky blackness of the night. It’s okay. Just one more year, and I can leave forever. That night, my lower abdomen cramped painfully. Without sanitary pads, I had to stuff myself with toilet paper. As I came out of the bathroom, I heard Mom and Dad’s hushed voices. “Honey, do you think Maya will hate us for this? She is our flesh and blood, after all.” Dad scoffed. “It’s her own fault for always picking on Chloe. As an older sister, she never knew how to let her sister have her way. A little hardship will do her good.” “After a year, when Chloe gets tired of the game, we’ll just make up an excuse, say the DNA test was a mistake. When she’s restored to her place as a Sterling, she’ll be ecstatic, won’t even have time to be angry.” My fingertips went numb. It was absurd, ridiculous. How could they possibly think that after crushing me into dust, I would still patiently wait for them to decide my fate again?
The next day, I went out to buy sanitary pads. At the checkout, I was told there were insufficient funds. But I had $200 saved up on my card. Back at the mansion, I pushed open the door. The three of them were at the dining table, laughing and chatting. A gift bag sat on the table. Eleanor was stroking a silk scarf, a look of pure delight on her face. “Our Chloe is such a thoughtful little angel, always bringing Mommy gifts! I’m so happy!” Richard was twirling a plastic cup in his hand, grinning from ear to ear. “Daddy likes it too. You truly are my precious daughter.” Chloe pouted, leaning her head on Eleanor’s shoulder. “But these two gifts only cost two hundred dollars. You two won’t be mad that I bought something so cheap, will you?” Eleanor immediately shook her head. “Of course not! As long as it’s from my darling, even two dollars is a treasure in my heart.” Richard didn’t miss a beat, taking the chance to disparage me. “Exactly! Unlike your sister, who only knows how to spend the family’s money and never bought us a single gift. She’s an ungrateful leech. She could never compare to my Chloe…” As they noticed my return, their conversation died. Chloe tilted her head, her smile brimming with malice. That two hundred dollars… It was my allowance for two months. It was all the money I had. A cold dread washed over me. Something in my mind snapped. When I finally registered what was happening, my hand was already raised, aimed at Chloe. But before my palm could connect,
Richard kicked me across the room. My spine slammed against the sharp corner of the coffee table, and my vision blurred with pain. Chloe held up her arm, showing a tiny red mark, and wailed as if the world was ending. “Mommy, Daddy, it hurts so much! Is my arm broken?” Eleanor shrieked, “Call an ambulance!” Richard quickly interjected, “Forget the ambulance, there’s no time! I’ll drive Chloe to the hospital.” Chloe pointed at me, still sprawled on the floor. “I don’t want to ride in the car! This… this nobody hurt me! I want her to carry me to the hospital!” The nearest hospital in the city was about twelve miles from the mansion. Eleanor’s eyes were icy as she looked at me. “You orphaned stray. We took you in, fed and clothed you for years, and now you dare lay a hand on my daughter? Do as Chloe says.” Seeing that I wasn’t getting up, Richard grabbed me by the arm and yanked me to my feet. “Stop faking it! You just took a small bump! Now hurry up and carry Chloe to the hospital. If you delay my daughter’s recovery, I swear I’ll kick you out of the Sterling family for good!” I believed him. But I couldn’t leave yet. I could only put Chloe on my back and staggered towards the hospital on foot. Richard drove slowly behind me, keeping pace with my every painful step. He kept yelling, “Maya! Carry her properly! If you dare drop my precious daughter, I’ll skin you alive!” Eleanor frowned and complained, “Speed up, are you trying to starve yourself? Don’t you dare delay my darling’s recovery.”
Chloe chuckled from my back, a note of triumph in her voice. “See? Nobody in this family loves you!” Words like that used to pierce my heart easily. But now, perhaps after accumulating too much pain, I was numb, beyond feeling. Seeing my lack of reaction, Chloe fell silent. But just as we neared the hospital, a safety pin she’d hidden in her pocket dug deep into my back. I gasped, stumbled, and collapsed to the ground, Chloe still sprawled on top of me. Richard and Eleanor immediately pulled over, dashed out of the car, and scooped Chloe up, rushing towards the hospital. Eleanor, who was trailing behind, glanced back at my ashen face. She shouted impatiently, “You’re already at the hospital! Go find a doctor yourself. We don’t have time for your drama.” In the end, I never made it into the hospital. Because I had no funds. Too weak to move, I sat on the hospital steps until dusk before making my way back to the mansion. They were already back. Standing in the living room was a cowering, shabbily dressed middle-aged couple. “Perfect timing,” Richard said, gesturing to the couple. “These are your birth parents. You can go with them now.”
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