They Don't Know What They Have Lost

My coworkers decided to play Truth or Dare at my promotion party. When it was my turn, I had to call the first person in my contacts. A little tipsy from the drinks, I laughed and read the line I had drawn. "I lost my job." I was just about to explain that I was only joking when my mom screamed through the phone. "What? You couldn't even keep your job? How can you be so useless?" My dad warned me from the side, "Your mom and I don't have any money. Don't even think about coming home and spending ours." I pressed my lips together, feeling nothing but disappointment. My younger sister had quit her job the week before because she thought it was too tiring. She went straight home and told our parents to support her. The next day, she posted a picture of the new apartment our parents had bought for her on social media. Her caption read. "Not everyone's pride and joy. Just my parents'." Chapter 1 The lively private room suddenly fell completely silent. My dad, Julian Stevenson, continued talking on the phone, "Lydia, we hate lazy people who do nothing but sit around. Go find yourself a new job." My mom, Stella Stevenson, quickly added in a louder voice, "Whether you wash dishes or sweep the streets, you have to give us money for household expenses. Otherwise, don't bother coming home." I finished my drink and calmly said, "That's enough. I'm hanging up." My coworkers exchanged awkward smiles and quickly tried to smooth things over. "If your parents knew you're officially becoming the general manager of the branch next month, they'd be so proud of you!" "Today's just a joke. Let's not bring it up again. Come on, everyone, let's raise a glass to Ms. Stevenson and celebrate her promotion!" I pretended nothing had happened and continued eating with everyone, but my smile was obviously forced. My younger sister, Iris Stevenson, had quit her job and gone home last week, but Julian and Stella hadn't treated her like this at all. Iris had graduated only three months ago, yet she'd already gone through five jobs. Her latest job was one I'd begged around and called in favors to get for her. I had even promised to secretly give her 3,000 dollars a month to help with her rent so she could live closer to work. But Iris quit just because she didn't want to get up early. When I heard the news, I was so angry that I went home to confront her. Seeing her completely careless expression, I snapped. "You worked there for 18 days, but you were late 15 times! Everyone else clocked in at 9 a.m., but you didn't show up until after 2 p.m. And you still have the nerve to say you had to get up early? I'm never helping you find another job again!" Iris immediately hid behind Stella and complained with a pout, "Mom, Lydia is being so mean! Our family isn't short of my paycheck. Why does she have to make such a big deal out of this?" Stella pursed her lips and frowned at me. "Iris is still young. As her older sister, can't you be a little more patient with her?" Julian slammed his hand on the table and said, "Enough! Stop fighting. It's not like our family can't afford to support Iris!" The very next day after our argument, Iris posted a picture of a new apartment on social media and happily tagged Julian and Stella. "Thank you, Dad and Mom, for paying for my new home in full. Even someone as useless as me can have a house now!" I saw the post while I was fixing an old, leaking pipe in one of my rental properties. Drops of water mixed with rust fell onto the back of my hand. I couldn't stop myself from calling Julian and Stella. "Dad, Mom, when I wanted to borrow 150,000 dollars from you for a down payment six years ago, didn't you say you didn't have any money?" They seemed to be out shopping for furniture with Iris at the time, so they impatiently replied, "Why are you still bringing up something that happened years ago?" I was speechless. Six years ago, when I asked to borrow 150,000 dollars for a down payment, they said they had no money. Yet now, they could afford to pay 1,500,000 dollars in full for a luxury apartment. Because I understood that they were getting older, I'd given them money for household expenses every month for the past six years. Sometimes, I even bought them expensive gifts. It made me wonder just how much of that money they'd given to Iris. As I thought about it, the alcohol finally began to take effect, and a dull pain pressed against my chest. I made an excuse that I'd had too much to drink and took a cab home. Chapter 2 When I got home, the front door was half open. I could faintly hear Stella complaining, "She wasn't even raised by us, so no wonder she has no manners. She wasn't lovable as a child, and now she's grown up to be useless. If I'd known this would happen, I never should have had her." Julian tried to calm her down. "I'll tell her later that she's not allowed to come home unless she finds a job. She's not capable of much, but she still listens to us. Don't worry." I froze where I stood. For a moment, I felt like a stranger who had walked into the wrong house. I didn't know what to do. Just then, my phone suddenly rang. They heard it and turned around. Stella let out a scream and put a hand over her chest. "Why are you standing by the door like that? You scared me to death!" Before I could say anything, she continued, "You've always been so sneaky. Ever since you were little." I stood there in a daze. I'd once heard my grandmother, Penelope Stevenson, say that my birth had been an accident. Julian and Stella had been busy with work back then, so they didn't want a child. But Stella's health made an abortion too risky, so they had no choice but to have me. I grew up with Penelope and only saw Julian and Stella once a year. It wasn't until Penelope died when I was 15 that they brought me from the countryside to live with them in the city. One winter, I went outside to take out the trash. When I came back, I couldn't get into the house. It was 23 degrees below freezing outside, and I didn't have a key. I huddled in the hallway, trying to stop my teeth from chattering. Julian and Stella didn't show up with Iris until after dark. When I heard them talking to Iris in warm, gentle voices, I finally realized they'd gone out to the movies with her. They had simply forgotten about me. Stella didn't recognize me at first. She even screamed in fright. Only after I showed my face did she scold me, "What are you doing hiding there? Don't sneak around like a thief!" I explained in a trembling voice that I didn't have a key. Iris laughed at me. "Lydia, didn't you know our front door has fingerprint access?" I really didn't know. Julian and Stella had forgotten to tell me. Stella grabbed my stiff fingers and registered my fingerprints while scolding me. "Why didn't you just go wait at a neighbor's house? You're already this old. How can you be so stupid?" I sniffed and carefully said, "My accent is different from everyone else's here. I was afraid I'd embarrass you." Julian had already warned me not to talk much in public because I still had my country accent. But when he heard what I said, his face immediately darkened. "Why can't you learn to adapt? You're so stupid." Later, they sent me to a boarding school. I only came home for one afternoon each month. I'd always gotten good grades. After graduation, I found a high-paying job, and Julian and Stella became more accepting of me. "You should set a good example for Iris as her older sister." "Don't waste the money you make. Save it. Buy a bigger house someday, and we'll all move in with you." They said things like that all the time. After hearing it so many times, I started to believe I was just as important to this family as Iris was. But now Stella was treating me like the stranger she'd forgotten outside the door, the same girl she'd once accused of sneaking around. All because I'd told them I was unemployed. I let out a strange little laugh. Julian suddenly shot to his feet and pointed at me angrily. "Your mom and I are worried about you, and this is funny to you? You're almost 30 years old! Do you really expect us to keep supporting you?" I said nothing. Instead, I looked at the shopping bags on the table. The 500-dollar skincare set, the new gaming console, and the brand-new foldable phone that had already been opened were obviously for Iris. This house was her safe place. It had never been mine. When Stella saw my face darken, she waved her hand at me in disgust. "Transfer this month's household money to me, then go back to your apartment. I'm sick of looking at you." I could have easily told them that I'd only been joking when I said I was unemployed. I could have made them stop treating me so coldly, just like before. But I didn't move. Chapter 3 I could keep sending Julian and Stella 5,000 dollars every month. I could still come home for dinner every weekend. I could even save most of my income and buy the mansion they wanted, while continuing to help Iris with her expenses. But this time, I didn't want to pretend they loved me anymore. I waved my hand. "I'm unemployed now. How could I still have money to give you?" Iris suddenly poked her head out of her room. "What? You're unemployed?" I held out my hand. "Yes. I'm broke now, so please give me back the 3,000 dollars I transferred to you at the beginning of the month." She immediately mumbled, "I already spent it all." I let out a cold laugh. "You don't need to pay rent anymore now that you're not working. Why did you spend the money I gave you for rent?" Julian's face grew darker. "You should be looking for a new job right now. Why are you making things difficult for Iris?" Iris glanced at Julian and Stella before turning back to me. She smiled and tilted her head. "Lydia, didn't you get severance pay when you were fired? Your position was so high. You should have gotten more than 100,000 dollars, right?" Stella slapped her thigh and stood up. "That's perfect! Iris is still a little short on money to finish furnishing her apartment. Why don't you lend her some first?" Lend? They should have just told me to give Iris the money. They'd been doing this ever since I was little. Whether it was a pen given to me by a classmate, a scholarship from school, or a dress I'd bought with my own money, anything Iris liked would be "borrowed." And once she had it, it became hers forever. If I showed even the slightest reluctance, they'd call me stingy. I hadn't even said anything yet when Julian spoke up, "Once Iris has this money, she won't need to take out a loan. As her older sister, you should be more generous." Iris smiled as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Lydia, you lost your job at the perfect time. I felt bad about asking Dad and Mom to help pay off my renovation loan. Luckily, I have such a good sister." As she spoke, she walked toward me and reached for my hand. I stepped back and avoided her. "No." I looked around the room and spoke in a cold voice. "I didn't receive any severance pay, so I don't have money to give you." As soon as I finished speaking, I pulled out my phone and opened my bank account. "Take a good look. Not a single penny was deposited." While they were still frozen in shock, I walked straight toward my room. "I can't afford to rent my apartment anymore, so I'll be living here from today onward." I shut the door behind me. Iris cried out in shock from outside, while Julian and Stella angrily cursed at me. Once inside, I looked at the piles of junk filling the room. I'd lived at home during my senior-year internship because it was closer to the company. But Iris would sometimes act sweet and complain to Stella. "Mommy, I have too many clothes. There's no room left in my bedroom. What am I supposed to do?" Stella would laugh, put an arm around her, and look at me. "Since you've started working, why don't you move out? It'll be good practice for learning how to take care of yourself." From then on, my bedroom became Iris's storage room. Even when I came home for Christmas Eve dinner, I had to return to my rental apartment alone afterward. I cleared the things off my bed and managed to get some sleep. The next morning, I was washing up when Iris walked up behind me with a dark look on her face. "Lydia, how could you use my face cream? That stuff is expensive!" I smiled. "Is it really worth 3,000 dollars?" Besides, the rent money I'd given her was already more than 3,000 dollars. During her years in college, she often asked me for spending money. She'd bought fruit that cost more than 100 dollars, shoes that cost over 800 dollars, a tablet that cost more than 5,000 dollars, and a computer that cost over 10,000 dollars. All those expenses had piled up until they felt like the dull ache in my heart, pressing so hard that I could barely breathe. Julian and Stella heard us and came into the living room with dark faces. "Lydia, don't push it! Why do you have to cause trouble the moment you come home? How can you treat Iris like this?" I shrugged like I didn't care. Then I walked to the door and pulled a ten-dollar bill from Stella's wallet. Chapter 4 "Mom, I don't have any money for breakfast. Just give me this dollar so I can eat." After I closed the door, Julian threw his travel mug at it. I tilted my head back and laughed at myself. So, Iris was allowed to do whatever she wanted, but I wasn't. I should have realized a long time ago that this was never my home. The main team at the new branch wasn't fully in place yet, so my boss generously let me take my vacation days. For the next two weeks, I started copying Iris and asking my family for money every day. "Mom, I found a dress I really like. Give me 2,000 dollars." "Dad, my friend is getting married, and I need to buy a gift. Just give me 1,000 dollars." But every time, they yelled at me. "Lydia, you're so useless!" "If you can't find a job, then just marry some man and let him support you. Just don't keep living with us." "How could we have raised such a useless daughter?" But I didn't care at all. I simply smiled and kept scrolling through my phone. Iris posted another picture on social media. She had her arms around Julian and Stella as they stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of her new apartment, all three of them smiling happily. Her caption read. "Dad and Mom came with me to decorate my new place. Thank you for making me so happy." Julian and Stella both liked the post and commented. "So proud of our baby girl! She put so much time and effort into making her new house a home!" I was unemployed just like Iris. But she was their precious daughter. I was the daughter they were ashamed of. Finally, they exploded after I ate the entire container of yogurt Julian and Stella had bought for Iris. Several of my relatives were invited over. They surrounded me and started lecturing me. Julian's sister, Aitana Stevenson, spoke first, "Lydia, I heard you've been sitting around at home without working lately. How can you do this? What if people find out? You'll embarrass the whole family." Stella's sister, Deborah Vance, quickly agreed, "Exactly. Iris is still young. She can enjoy herself for a few more years. But you're different. You're already this old. If you still can't find a job, you should hurry up and get married. Let your husband support you instead of constantly coming back and spending your parents' money." Stella curled her lips. "I really don't understand how she turned out like this." I took a sip of water and smiled. Julian suddenly slammed his hand on the table. "What are you smiling about? We're talking to you about something serious. Are you even listening?" Iris pretended to comfort me, "Lydia, we're all talking about something serious here. You..." I laughed until tears filled my eyes. "Family? I've been living with you for 15 years since I came home at 15. Have you ever celebrated my birthday even once? Do you even know what I'm allergic to? When Iris has nothing more than a cough, you rush her to the hospital in the middle of the night. But when I had a fever of 104 degrees, I had to go to the doctor by myself. Am I not your daughter too?" I wiped away my tears and continued coldly. "Stop pretending." Julian was so angry that he clutched his chest. Iris quickly rushed over to support him. Stella pointed at me and screamed. "You've gone too far! Then get out! From now on, we'll pretend we never had you as a daughter! All the money and property in this family will belong to Iris. We're going to make a new will right now. Don't even dream about getting anything!" Julian shouted angrily. "Get me some paper and a pen! I'm going to declare that she's no longer part of this family!" I nodded. Then I turned around and went back to my room. A few minutes later, I came out dragging a suitcase I'd already packed. I picked up the crumpled document Julian had written and pulled open the front door without even looking back at them. My assistant, Caroline Kavanagh, happened to be standing outside to pick me up. "Ms. Stevenson, I'm sorry. I was worried you wouldn't be able to carry all your luggage, so I took the liberty of coming upstairs to help you." At that moment, someone dropped a glass. It shattered on the floor. Stella screamed. "Ms. Stevenson? Isn't she unemployed?"