They Chose My Twin, So I Chose a Life Without Them Chapter 06

They Chose My Twin, So I Chose a Life Without Them Chapter 06

While everyone back home drowned in regret, I had already arrived safely in Miami.

Because of my academic record, the University of Miami gave me tuition assistance and an additional scholarship.

Combined with the savings from my vacation jobs, I had enough to cover nearly all four years of

college.

There was still a month before classes officially began.

Along with exploring the city and learning its culture, I gave myself a complete makeover.

I cut off the waist-length hair I had worn for eighteen years and replaced it with a neat

shoulder-length style.

The truth was, I had never liked long hair. I only kept it because Lily did.

Whenever people saw us together, they praised her flowing hair and called her beautiful.

Then they laughed at my shorter hair and said I looked like a tomboy no one would ever date.

To avoid the ridicule, I copied Lily, grew out my hair, and replaced all my jeans with long dresses.

I still remembered the day Lily walked up to Nathan in a dress with her hair loose.

His eyes had visibly brightened, and he barely looked away from her for the rest of the day.

The next morning, I wore my hair down, borrowed one of Lily’s dresses, and went to see him.

The moment Nathan saw me, he laughed.

“Claire Parker, are you personally demonstrating what a bad imitation looks like?”

“I’ve never seen anyone dress in a way that suits them so poorly. You look ridiculous.”

At the time, I thought I simply hadn’t copied her well enough.

Only now did I understand that every person was unique and carried a kind of beauty that belonged

to them alone.

The people around me had been so used to focusing on Lily’s more obvious beauty that they ignored

everything inside me.

Fortunately, I had finally stepped out of her shadow.

After cutting my hair, I bought a comfortable set of pants and shirts.

Wearing my new look, I went to the famous Biscayne Bay.

The city glittered around me that night.

I walked slowly along the boardwalk as the ocean breeze cooled my face.

At the end of the path, a graceful reflection on the water caught my attention.

A balanced figure. Sharp, clean hair.

But the eyes were what held me.

They were bright, confident, and full of light.

As I stared, my eyes grew hot.

Without people constantly belittling me, I could be beautiful too.

Here, I was no longer Lily Parker’s background. I didn’t have to let strangers judge every part of me.

I could stand openly in front of the world, see whatever I wanted to see, and do whatever I wanted to

That day, I tried desserts I had always been too afraid to touch and didn’t stop until the sweetness

coated my throat.

Lily had always been naturally small and delicate. Even though I was five feet six and only one hundred ten pounds, people mocked me as heavy whenever I stood beside her.

Now I had no reason to worry, and I no longer cared what anyone thought.

Whether I weighed one hundred ten pounds, one hundred thirty, or one hundred fifty, it didn’t

matter.

I was still me, one of a kind and entirely my own.

While I celebrated my new life, everything back home was falling apart.