I Gave Up My Parents' Love First

Mom and Dad always disappear at midnight and don't come back until 8:00 am the next day. Even when I'm forced onto the roof because of a flash flood and try calling them 99 times, they still refuse to show up. I've tried clinging to them like glue as it gets close to midnight once. As the clock hands creep toward midnight, they hit me for the first time, lock me in my room, and then vanish once more. That all changes when a prestigious family comes knocking because of an old marriage arrangement and the fake heiress, Suzanne Weston, walks out through a secret door. Only then do I find out that ten years ago, Mom and Dad didn't actually send her back to her real parents. Instead, they secretly bought the villa next door and set up a whole second home there. Mom and Dad push the fake heiress forward before blocking me. "We've only spent eight hours with her every day for the past ten years. She's already had to put up with enough, so don't even try to fight her for this, Danielle Weston." I can't believe what I'm hearing. I try to storm next door and trash the place, but Suzanne shoves me into the man-made lake. As I'm drowning, I catch a glimpse of myself ten years from now beneath the water. She's skin and bones, and all her hair has fallen out. After Mom and Dad pull me out of the water, I speak up before they can say anything. "Mom, Dad, I'm not fighting for the engagement anymore." And I'm done fighting for your love, too. Chapter 1 Mom looked at me, her eyes lighting up with surprise. "Really?" She quickly cut me off before I could say anything else, as if she were afraid I'd change my mind. "You can't take back what you just said. And don't go playing the victim. For years, we've only ever been able to spend eight hours a day with her. You have the daytime with us. Letting Suzanne have the engagement doesn't mean we're playing favorites." Not playing favorites, huh? "Okay," I murmured. Mom breathed a sigh of relief, and Dad nodded along. The worried looks on their faces vanished, replaced by pure relief. As for me, I just stood there, clutching the hem of my shirt and trying to hide how cold my heart felt. They said I had them during the daytime, but I hardly ever saw them during the day. They were always so busy with work that they didn't spend time with me during the day. At most, they'd be home with me for a rushed hour or two each day. When I was little, I used to spend those brief hours desperately clinging to them, trying to make every second of their company count. But all that ever got me was a cold lecture from them. They would say, "You need to stop being so clingy. We're exhausted from work, so you need to learn to behave and be independent." To speed up my "independence", they shipped me off to boarding school. And just like that, I was out of the house. At first, I came home every two weeks. Then it became once a month, then once every three months. In the end, this house became more like a place I stayed occasionally, while the dorm became my real home. Dad, worried that I was still unhappy with it, said, "I know Suzanne's parents deliberately switched you with her after you were born, and because of that, you've resented Suzanne. "But you need to understand that Suzanne was simply unlucky enough to be born to people like that. If you could just get over it and stop taking it out on her, she wouldn't have had to suffer all these years." My grip on my shirt tightened. The years I was taken away were a living hell. I had to endure beatings in the dead of winter wearing nothing but rags, and even when I was sick, no one would give me medicine… It was endless torture. Moreover, I had never taken my anger out on Suzanne. That fake heiress, Suzanne Weston, was anything but innocent. She knew exactly who her real parents were from a young age. And she colluded with them behind our backs to siphon off a ton of my parents' money. As she got older, she even encouraged her biological parents to make my life even more unbearable. As such, the very first thing I did when I was finally brought back home was throw a fit about living under the same roof as the daughter of my abusers. Mom and Dad readily promised to send Suzanne back to her biological parents. But in reality, they kept raising her in the house next door behind my back. I guessed Mom and Dad really did see Suzanne as their sweet, well-behaved daughter. Chapter 2 When Mom and Dad were sure that I really had no intention of making a fuss anymore, they stopped paying attention to me and hurried off with Suzanne to the living room to give the Klein family the good news. They didn't even care how awful I still felt. I stayed there coughing for what felt like forever, but no one even bothered to check on me. After getting to my feet with the help of the wall, I made my way unsteadily toward the villa next door. Reaching for the keypad, I keyed in my own birthday out of pure habit. A beep sounded, and the door unlocked. I let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh. What was I even getting my hopes up for? This was Suzanne's birthday, after all. The moment I walked into the villa, the sight before me made my eyes sting. This was what a real home should look like, unlike that house I stayed in. Everywhere I looked, there were traces of everyday life, and traces of love, too. Right in the center of the living room hung a family portrait of the three of them. They looked genuinely happy in the photo. The house was full of pets as well. There were dogs, rabbits, parrots, and a black cat. I recognized that cat. It was entirely black except for a tiny patch of white on the tip of its tail. Years ago, I had pulled it out of a dumpster myself. I'd brought it home and nervously asked my parents if we could keep it. They didn't say no at the time, but the very next day, the cat was gone. I'd assumed they just didn't like pets. But now I realized Suzanne must have wanted it, so they just gave it to her without even bothering to tell me. Suddenly, an angry shout came from behind me. "Danielle Weston, what are you doing here?" I turned around and saw Mom, Dad, and Suzanne standing in the doorway. The moment they saw me standing in front of the family portrait, they rushed over to protect it. "Did you sneak in here to trash the place?" Suzanne lunged forward to shove me, but I simply sidestepped, taking a step back. When she failed to put her hands on me, she lost her balance and almost fell. Mom immediately caught her and shot me a death glare. "What, you couldn't trash the place, so now you want to get physical?" I slowly looked up and gave them a calm, placid smile. "Of course not. I've already thought things through. I'm not going to make a fuss. Suzanne's been with you since she was born, so naturally, she's your daughter. You guys are a family." Mom was absolutely delighted to hear that. "In that case, there's no point in keeping two separate houses! Let's just all live in the same house together. It'll be easier to plan Suzanne's wedding that way as well." Suzanne snuggled into Mom's arms and flashed me a smug smile. Dad stood off to the side, still looking a bit wary. I couldn't really blame him. After all, when they brought me home, I had cried, screamed, and even threatened to kill myself just to avoid living under the same roof as Suzanne. I looked him dead in the eye and nodded again, repeatedly assuring him that I was truly over it. Only then did Dad drop his guard and give me a genuine smile. Mom was already itching to get started. She grabbed Dad, and they rushed off to start moving their things. Unable to stomach their suffocating display of affection, I quietly slipped back to my own room. I sat in my room for a long time, but the cheer and celebration I was expecting never came. I got up and opened my door. The dead silence in the hallway made my heart skip a beat. As I opened Mom and Dad's bedroom door, I noticed that everything that belonged to them was gone. The secret door at the back of their closet was wide open. Through it, I could see the warm, cozy glow of lights coming from the house next door. Once again, I had gotten ahead of myself. That was their home. Not this. Chapter 3 The lights next door were bright, and the sound of their laughter and chatter was grating on my ears. They were gathered around a table, raising their glasses to celebrate finally having the whole family back together. I clutched my thin jacket tightly around me, biting my lip. I thought of the version of myself I had seen in the water. She was frail and pale. The cancer had taken her hair, along with her will to live. There was no light left in her eyes, and only despair and numbness were in them. She was barely any different from a corpse. In the water, I couldn't help but pull her into my arms. And as I held her, I clearly felt all the painful memories she carried. Those memories, set against the warm, harmonious scene next door, were even more suffocating than the lake water that had consumed me. I was their daughter too. And yet, they had been the ones to send me straight to my death. Right then, Mom's voice reached my ears. She sounded incredibly gentle. "We can finally all live together now. You've had it so rough these past few years." I quickly looked away, not wanting anyone to see the expression on my face. When I was finally brought home, battered and bruised after being swapped by Suzanne's parents, they had never once said, "You've had it so rough." Instead, they had been entirely focused on packing treasure after treasure into the luggage of the Suzanne they were supposedly sending away. And after she left, they hardly ever treated me kindly. Back then, having only just reunited with them, I assumed they were just busy running a massive corporation and were naturally stoic, emotionally unavailable people. But today, I finally learned that my parents were capable of love. Their love could probably fill a whole ocean and still have plenty left over. I just happened to have never received any of it. I was about to leave without looking back when I heard a voice behind me. "Danielle, come here. I want to show you something." I looked up to see Mom's smiling face. I dragged my feet as I followed her into their home. Mom stuffed a few photos and files into my hands. "Since Suzanne has gotten such a great fiance, we wanted to make things fair and picked out a few good candidates for you, too. Take your pick. "You can't say we're playing favorites this time." According to the memories of my older self that I saw underwater, after I got engaged to the son of the prestigious Klein family, Mom and Dad secretly found an even better match for Suzanne so she wouldn't feel bad. I found out, threw a fit, and demanded they not give Suzanne anything better than what I had. So, after carefully searching, Mom and Dad found her a researcher who was incredibly talented. And, egged on by Mom and Dad, Suzanne stole radioactive ore from the researcher's lab, which ultimately gave me cancer. I skimmed through the files in my hand. Even if I combined all the men Mom and Dad picked for me together, they still couldn't hold a candle to that researcher. Dad hemmed and hawed before speaking up. "Danielle, there's no need to rush your decision. Since Suzanne is marrying into a prestigious family like the Kleins, we obviously have to prepare a very generous wedding gift for her. "How about we give her all our cash as her wedding gift first? And we can figure your gift out later." To my parents' surprise, I didn't have a problem with that. "Sure. Give everything you have to Suzanne then." Suzanne's eyes lit up, the greedy look on her face plain as day. I couldn't be bothered to watch their little act anymore. I turned around, went back to my room, pulled out my suitcase, and started packing. As I gathered my belongings, I suddenly realized something. Mom and Dad weren't the only ones who barely had any belongings in this house. I had hardly anything to call my own. I smiled bitterly. Maybe this was for the best. It made deciding to leave feel less like a loss and more like a clean break. Chapter 4 The wedding planning moved at breakneck speed, as if Mom and Dad were terrified I might change my mind at any moment. In less than a month, the lavish wedding of one of the city's most powerful families was completely ready. Mom and Dad were insanely busy, but they were clearly enjoying every minute; they couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces. I had my own cause for celebration, too. My application for an overseas transfer had finally been approved. On the morning of the wedding, the whole house was buzzing with excitement and celebration from the crack of dawn. When the groom's motorcade arrived, everyone rushed outside with huge smiles on their faces. I took the opportunity to grab my suitcase and head toward the back door. But I never expected to see the two faces I could never forget in this lifetime around the corner in the backyard. They were Suzanne's biological parents, and Suzanne was arguing with them. "Suzanne, we're the Klein family's real in-laws! You have no right to stop us from showing up!" Suzanne glanced around nervously before hissing in a low voice, "Keep your voices down. You two are being way too impatient. Wait until today is over. "Once all our friends and family see me marrying into a prestigious family and everything is set in stone, then I'll officially acknowledge you two. "That way, all the wedding gifts and gift money from today will be ours." Her parents still looked a bit disgruntled. Stanley Pollard, Suzanne's father, said, "Of course we know that. But what kind of parents would we be if we weren't allowed to attend our own daughter's wedding?" Suzanne's mother, Trudy Williamson, smoothed out her bright colored dress as she chimed in, "Exactly. Don't tell me you're just ashamed of us and think that rich couple is more respectable than us." Suzanne frowned in annoyance and said in a low voice, "Of course not! The second their biological daughter came back, they kicked me out without a second thought." She practically spat those words out. "Don't worry. When it's time for the reception, I'll bring the groom back to our place. "Just have a few hundred tables ready, and I'll bring him back so that he can officially pay his respects to you." That was enough to finally satisfy Stanley and Trudy. "Fair enough. That way, we can make sure all our relatives know that you married into a distinguished family. "And our son-in-law will finally know who his real in-laws are. Then it's settled. Your dad and I need to head back and get ready." I sneered in the shadows. They sure were painfully naive. It was true that my parents grew our traditional medicine company into an industry giant thanks to our family's legacy in medicine. But next to truly prestigious families, we were basically small fry. So why would the Kleins, one of the most influential families in the country, honor some old engagement that had seemingly come from nowhere? It was all for a secret formula left behind by my great-grandfather, a cure for a genetic disease that had plagued their bloodline for generations. In the memories of my future self, after marrying Martin Klein, he eventually discovered that my parents had cast me aside and left me with no chance of inheriting the family business. And he also learned that I didn't even know the secret formula existed. He'd had no feelings for me to begin with, so once he learned the truth, he treated me even more coldly. And when I got cancer because of Suzanne, the very first thing Martin did was demand that my parents let him take Suzanne as his new wife. Now that Suzanne was about to marry into the family, she thought she was going to become a rich man's wife and could finally cut my parents off. Unfortunately for her, nothing in this world came that easily. My parents' voices sounded from the front yard. "Suzanne, come on! It's time for the family photos!" Suzanne quickly wiped the disdain off her face. She said, "Okay," in a pleasant voice, then hastily ushered Trudy and Stanley out the back door. When Suzanne still didn't show up after answering them, Mom and Dad came toward the back and spotted me. I instinctively panicked and tried to hide my suitcase behind my back. But their heads were so far up in the clouds over this wedding that they didn't even register that I was about to leave. "Everyone's running around trying to get things done, and you're just slacking off here? We need someone to take photos for the guests. Hurry up and go help out!" Just then, Suzanne came hurrying over from the backyard. Mom and Dad grabbed my wrist and took me toward the front. … When the fireworks were set off, Suzanne got into the car that would take her to the wedding hall. My parents finally had the time to turn around and look for me. But I was already nowhere to be found behind that camera. And inside that camera was a photo of me, waving goodbye to whoever would eventually see the photo. Chapter 5 After Suzanne's wedding was over, the house finally settled back into silence. That night, Mom and Dad came home from the wedding so exhausted they were practically gasping for breath. But the moment they opened the door and saw the mess inside, they were absolutely furious. A bridal jacket had been carelessly tossed over the arm of the couch, and the floor was covered in scattered petals and leftover decorations. And I, the one who was "obviously" supposed to clean it all up, was nowhere to be found. Dad frowned, looking around. "What's gotten into Danielle? I haven't seen her all day." "We didn't raise her, so it's no surprise she never truly became one of our own. She wouldn't even lift a finger to help with something as big as a wedding." Grumbling, Mom pulled out her phone and dialed my number. At that exact moment, I was sitting in the airport departure lounge. As soon as the call connected, an angry tirade came from the other end. "Danielle, where the hell have you been? You couldn't even be bothered to help clean up. You're so much more trouble than Suzanne." I took a deep breath, keeping my voice steady. "I'm going to—" But before I could even finish my sentence, Mom cut me off impatiently, "Alright, enough. Spare me the excuses. Don't bother coming home just yet. "Do us a favor and make a trip to Naroport. Suzanne has always wanted a massive piece of coral as decoration for her room. Bring one back for her in time for the reception in three days." I refused without giving it a second thought. "I'm not going to Naroport, nor am I attending the reception. I'm leaving, and I'm not coming back." The line went silent for a moment, then Mom blew up. "I knew it! You were just pretending to be the bigger person when you gave up the engagement! "You still hold a grudge against Suzanne, don't you? And now you think you can threaten us by running away? Let me make this perfectly clear. We're not giving in to you!" Mom furiously hung up on me. "That brat is so petty. If she hates us treating Suzanne well, then we'll just spoil Suzanne twice as hard. For the reception in three days, we'll invite twice as many people and give Suzanne the most extravagant party possible!" They immediately started inviting more guests and ordered the wedding planners to bring in extra staff. Three days passed in the blink of an eye. The reception kicked off with booming drums and a grand fanfare. All 80 tables were packed with guests. Everyone sat there eagerly waiting for the newlyweds to make their entrance. But despite all the fanfare, not a single person stepped onto the red carpet. The embarrassment on my parents' faces slowly gave way to a dark flush of anger. They immediately called Suzanne. "Suzanne, where are you and your husband? The reception started an hour ago. Why aren't you here?" Suzanne, on the other hand, sounded completely unbothered. "I'm at the reception." "You are? Then where are you? We don't see you!" Suzanne answered with a little laugh, "Obviously, I'm at the reception held by my real parents." Mom and Dad froze, clearly not expecting her to say that so matter-of-factly. "You!" "Enough. I'm busy. I have guests to entertain." Suzanne couldn't be bothered with them. She didn't even give them time to react before hanging up. She turned back to the guests behind her and raised her glass with a glowing smile, acting nothing like the cold, distant woman she'd been on the phone moments earlier. As for the man standing next to her, he looked absolutely livid. He fixed his eyes on the woman beside him, who was looking far too pleased with herself. And his gaze revealed just how deeply displeased, and even disgusted, he was. Suzanne, however, was completely oblivious to it all.