The thing about luck is that I never had any.
I grew up in a house that was no less than hell. Pain and bruises were a norm. Not one day passed without it.
I still remember that time I tried hiding from my father. I was ten. He'd lost a gambling bet, a few thousand dollars gone in smoke, and I was the nearest punching bag. I squeezed myself inside a cabinet, hand over my mouth, looking at him from a crack.
"Come out, you little vixen!"
His shouted. He overturned chairs, slammed doors, checked every room like a beast he was. I thought I was safe until my battered mother caught sight of me peeking through the crack.
"There! She's hiding there!"
Her voice was sharp and filled with resentment.
The rest is unforgettable because of the pain.
That day, he broke my leg.
CPS intervened eventually. I was dragged out of that prison I called home. The last thing my mother said as officers restrained her was,
"I should've killed you back then."
Those words stung. I won't lie.
Her eyes held a stange type of fire. I couldn't comprehend the emotion behind it. Resentment? Hate? Anger? But why?
And yet, I was hopeful of this pathetic life. So stupid of me.
They placed me in an orphanage. Life didn't get better, it simply changed shape. If violence and hunger were my first nightmares, the orphanage added bullying.
Then came my 13th birthday.
They told me my real family came to pick me up.
That day it was too sunny. I felt warmth I never had before. My eyes glistened under the light as tear prickled down my face.
Everything finally made sense. Why the people who raised me hated me. Why they looked at me like a curse. I finally understood the meaning behind the fire in my mother's eyes. I was never hers.
My heart sparked with childish hope.
A new family. A real one. Someone who would love me.
Right?
Wrong.
Because someone had already taken that spot. Someone adorable, lovely and beautiful.
Jasmine Lockheart.
The darling of the family.
And most importantly, my replacement.
I spent ten years in that family, and I could count all my happy memories on one hand.
As a child, ignored and dismissed, of course I resented Jasmine. She shined while I drowned in shadows.
It was supposed to be my life.
So why did I suffer in her place?
Why did she get everything? my family, my name, and worst of all… him.
Alexander White.
The crown prince of the city's elite circle.
The man I loved pathetically.
I still remember the day one of Jasmine's friend's dogs chased me through the complex. I was small, shaking, and sure I would be bitten.
Then…
Smack.
A stone hit the dog's head. It yelped and fled.
And there he was, my hero for a brief moment. My heart hammered like crazy.
But fairytales are cruel. He was Jasmine's fiancé.
Well , he would have remained hers until his grandfather decided he needed to marry the real daughter of the Lockhearts. Me.
No one liked it. My family and Alexander made sure I knew that.
That day, my hell began.
My father stopped looking at me altogether. My mother brushed past me like I was a pest she accidentally stepped on. My brothers looked at me with thinly veiled disgust. I became nothing more than a parasite living in their mansion—a shame they had to tolerate.
The dining table would fall silent whenever I entered the room. I would awkwardly sit beside them and eat my meal. After a month, I stopped eating with them and suddenly, they were all very chattery during their meals once again.
Eventually, they stopped taking me anywhere with them. But Jasmine… she made sure I never forgot how happy they were without me. After every family trip, she would "accidentally" send their smiling photos in the family group chat.
People began whispering behind my back. My sister's friends swore I was the reason Jasmine cried every night. Soon, society followed their narrative. Doors closed. Invitations stopped. Glances became daggers.
And Alexander White? He was the cruelest of them all.
He refused to comply with his grandfather's wishes. He attended elite parties without me, his fiancée. Each night, he surrounded himself with women,different faces, same intention: scandal. At first, I thought he was simply rebelling… but later, I realized the truth.
He was destroying his own name just to stain mine.
And he succeeded.
And hatred slowly build up.
I hated all of them equally.
But most of all, I hated myself for enduring it.
So I snapped. I tormented Jasmine. It was stupid and shameful looking back, because instead of fighting for scraps, I should've simply walked away.
Then came my twenty‑fourth birthday.
I slapped Jasmine.
Then I slapped my brothers , one by one , packed my bags and left.
My father hurled curses at me. My mother sobbed like I was the villain.
Alexander said nothing but the hatred in his eyes was louder than any words.
He ruined me after that.
For three years I starved for work, blacklisted everywhere.
So I disappeared.
Another city. A new life. I worked hard until I finally earned peace.
I forgot the Lockhearts. I forgot Jasmine. And slowly… I even forgot Alexander White.
Until-
"I'm sorry, Miss. You have only six months left."
My fate sealed itself quietly, like a page closing.
Turns out years of starvation and stress had rotted me from the inside . Stomach cancer, terminal.
I stared blankly and wondered…
Was all that suffering even worth it?
But I was sure of one thing. If there was another life, I would simply walk away.