They Chose My Twin, So I Chose a Life Without Them Chapter 07

They Chose My Twin, So I Chose a Life Without Them Chapter 07

After my parents learned I had ranked sixth in the state, they tried to contact me again.

When I refused their calls, they asked former classmates to call on their behalf.

The moment I heard my parents’ voices, I hung up. I also firmly refused to return for the college

send-off party they planned in my honor.

The mood in their house became unbearable.

Then Lily offered a suggestion. “Claire may not be coming, but we can still celebrate for her.”

She proposed holding the party as planned and telling everyone that I was attending an early orientation program for high-achieving freshmen.

My parents agreed without hesitation.

After all, what parent wouldn’t want to show off a daughter with an impressive score?

To make the event more spectacular, they canceled the ordinary banquet room they had originally booked for Lily and reserved the most luxurious hotel downtown.

They also sent Mason to a print shop for a thirty-foot banner.

It was supposed to read:

[Congratulations to our daughter, Claire Parker, ranked sixth statewide on the SAT and admitted to

the University of Miami!]

My parents personally delivered invitations to every relative and family friend.

On the day of the party, they dressed carefully and arrived early to welcome everyone’s

congratulations.

The moment my father entered the ballroom, however, his expression collapsed.

He pointed at the banner and questioned Lily, who had handled the printing.

“Why does this have your name instead of your sister’s?”

Lily answered guiltily, “M-maybe the print shop made a mistake.”

“Can we fix it with a marker?”

The guests were about to arrive, so my parents had no choice but to take the pen she offered.

They crossed out Lily Parker and wrote Claire Parker above it.

Then they hurried away to greet people, never noticing that the new ink began fading as soon as they turned around.

Within moments, the name on the banner had changed back to Lily Parker.

Although I wasn’t attending, my parents had asked Mason to prepare a carefully edited video of my

childhood.

Part of it was meant to compensate for how they had neglected me, and part of it was meant to show everyone what loving, responsible parents they were.

When the large screen lit up, the ballroom erupted.

The footage wasn’t the collection of clips showing how hard I had studied.

Instead, it showed the day I discovered the truth about the milk and lost my temper with the family

Every piece of evidence against Lily had been removed, leaving only my sharpest accusations.

To anyone who didn’t know the truth, I looked aggressive, cruel, and ungrateful.

As expected, the guests began whispering to one another.

But instead of attacking me the way Lily expected, most of them turned their criticism on my

parents.

“That was the Parkers’ older daughter, wasn’t it? Her behavior was appalling. She has no manners

at all.”

“When a child becomes like that, the parents share the blame.”

“Exactly. Instead of reflecting on their own mistakes, they publicly displayed their daughter’s worst moment. They didn’t leave her a shred of dignity.”

Someone remembered the enormous banner at the entrance and drew what seemed like an obvious

conclusion.

“They’re tearing one daughter down to make the other look better.”

“They put the younger daughter’s achievement beside the older daughter’s so-called breakdown. How is that anything but favoritism?”

The other guests suddenly understood and looked at my parents with even greater contempt.

“That’s horrible. They’re both their daughters. How could they favor one this openly?”

Every word reached my parents, and their proud smiles hardened into furious masks.

They admitted they had neglected me in the past, but they were trying to change.

The party had been intended as an apology, yet it had turned into a public attack on me and a trial of their parenting.

More than anger, they felt confused.

They had changed the banner to my name. Why did every guest think Lily was the high-scoring daughter?

And how had private security footage they had never sent to anyone appeared in the video?

They went looking for Lily, who had handled both matters.

Instead, they overheard her speaking to her best friend on the phone.

Like the milk incident, she had engineered everything.

The print shop hadn’t made a mistake. She had submitted a banner with her own name from the beginning.

The pen she handed our parents used disappearing ink that vanished once exposed to air.

She had also edited the video and replaced the original footage herself.

“She got lucky once and scored well. So what?”

“She’s never been better than me at anything. Today was supposed to be my moment, and I wasn’t going to let her steal it.”

Hatred filled Lily’s voice.

“I wanted to humiliate her. I wanted everyone to know I’m better.”

She ended the call and turned toward the ballroom.

A sharp crack split the air.