I Found Out I Was the Real Daughter Before the SAT So I Tanked It Chapter 05

I Found Out I Was the Real Daughter Before the SAT So I Tanked It Chapter 05

On the seventh day after the exams, Willa came back from a trip with a group of friends.

That same day, she ran downstairs crying, clutching an heirloom emerald bracelet shattered into pieces.

“Mom! Annalise was mad that I didn’t take her on the trip, and the second I got back, she shoved me. My bracelet broke…”

Mom stared at the fragments for three seconds, her face turning livid.

“Annalise Nolan! Are you out of your mind? That bracelet belonged to your grandmother.”

I glanced at it and scoffed.

Clearly, Willa had broken it while she was out having fun and wanted to pin the blame on me.

I took a bite of my apple and said directly, “That’s right. I pushed her. She’s supposed to be family, and she didn’t even take me on the trip.”

Mom and Willa both froze.

With my usual personality, even if I didn’t insist I was innocent, I would at least try to defend myself.

But this time, I admitted to something this serious without hesitation.

Willa recovered first and cried even harder. “Mom, forget it. Annalise didn’t mean it…”

Mom was still furious, but since things had already reached this point, all she could do was hurry to have the bracelet repaired.

“Annalise, you’re writing an apology essay, and your allowance is cut in half for a month.”

I nodded. “Can I have ChatGPT generate eight hundred words? Will that be enough?”

Mom was so angry she stared at me, speechless, but there was nothing she could do.

After all, I was her biological daughter. She couldn’t actually beat me to death.

That night, Dad called me into his study.

“Annalise, what has gotten into you lately? Ever since the exams ended, you’ve been acting like a different person.”

“What was I like before? Working myself to death to be first in everything while watching you give all your love to someone who can barely pass a test?”

His tone turned displeased.

“Annalise, don’t forget that you’re not really a Nolan. We only kept you because we pitied you. Is it wrong for us to love our own biological daughter?”

“I didn’t say it was wrong,” I said with a laugh. “If you were actually giving that love to your biological daughter.”

“You—” He opened his mouth, but in the end, nothing decent came out. “Enough. Get out.”

The conversation ended there.

In the middle of the night, Willa suddenly came to my room.

She leaned against the doorframe, looked me up and down, and said in a chilly tone, “You’ve gotten pretty bold lately. Acting out like this, aren’t you afraid Mom and Dad will finally get sick of you for good?”

I sneered.

Willa never bothered pretending in front of me.

She had long since figured out that I didn’t dare truly fight back, so she had no reason to hide anything.

“What game are you playing? You think getting into Harvard makes you special?”

“I never thought that.”

Her expression filled with contempt. “Good.”

“I’m warning you. Stay away from Landon from now on.”

“I’m Mom and Dad’s real daughter. You’re just an adopted girl they could send away at any time, so you’d better not mess with me.”

I shrugged. “Willa, didn’t you always tell Mom and Dad on me because you claimed dating would distract me from school? Now the SAT is over, and I’m eighteen. Naturally, Landon and I can date openly.”

Her face changed. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Why wouldn’t I? Landon’s family is rich. As the fake heiress, of course I should cling to him as tightly as I can.”

“Annalise!” Her voice rose. “Are you insane? Do you think he’s someone you can have? Do you want me to call Mom and Dad over right now and tell them you’re trying to steal my future husband?”

I laughed silently.

Future husband?

Did Landon know about that?

The light in the primary bedroom turned on.

Mom opened the door, frowning so hard her brows nearly knotted together.

“It’s the middle of the night. Are you bullying Willa again?”

Willa’s voice was thick with tears. “Mom… Annalise said she wants to date Landon. I told her she should focus on school, and she got upset. She even snapped at me for taking you and Dad away from her, so she said she was going to latch onto Landon…”

Mom turned and glared at me. “Annalise, have you lost your mind? You just finished your exams, and you’re already thinking about boys? The most important thing right now is waiting for your score reports and finalizing your college applications. Stop filling your head with nonsense.”

“I’m not.”

I leaned against the wall, my tone lazy.

I wasn’t thinking about boys, and I wasn’t thinking about scores or college applications either.

I was only wondering why, when we were mother and daughter by blood and had lived together for eighteen years, every conversation between us felt like we were speaking from two separate worlds.

Not once had she ever taken my side.

Mom took a deep breath and pointed at my nose. “Listen carefully. Landon is the only son of the Zane family. You’re an adopted girl, so don’t try to marry up. Focus on school and stop embarrassing the Nolan family.”

I laughed. “What if I insist on marrying up?”

She was so furious that she slapped me across the face.

My cheek burned.

In ten years, there had been corporal punishment before. I had been made to stand, made to kneel, and made to suffer through plenty of so-called discipline.

But a slap across the face was a first.

I touched my cheek and said nothing.

Mom’s hand trembled slightly. Then she grabbed Willa by the wrist, turned, and walked away.

“Go back to your room.”

Willa glanced back at me, trying to suppress a smile.