Pity From My Rich Sister? Oops, Her New Family Came Begging Chapter 08

Pity From My Rich Sister? Oops, Her New Family Came Begging Chapter 08

Now he claimed I had always been the smartest one.

That was the thing about becoming useful.

You didn’t have to be charming. You didn’t have to explain yourself or smooth over old grudges.

People would manufacture warmth all on their own.

Ottilie’s message was much longer.

[Carys, you’re incredible. I’m so happy for you.]

[You’ve done so much with your life. I’d probably feel embarrassed standing next to you now.]

(I’m still stuck at the same desk job while everyone’s fighting for five minutes of your time.

Honestly, I’m jealous.]

[Make sure you rest while you’re in Port Cresswell. Don’t work too hard. When are you heading back to Aldercrest? Dinner’s on me. We should catch up.]

I laughed when I finished reading.

Every line sounded like praise, but the jealousy underneath was impossible to miss.

The friendship had started falling apart long before Elodie entered the picture.

When we first started high school and I ranked near the bottom of our class, Ottilie and I had been

inseparable.

Then I started standing out in math and science. The more my teachers noticed, the sharper

Ottilie’s compliments became.

“Your calculus teacher praised you again? That’s great. Just don’t forget colleges look at more than one subject. Your overall GPA could still drag you down.”

“You solved that problem? That’s amazing. But how did you miss such an easy question in English?”

The insults were always small enough to deny.

Back then, I was too young to recognize them for what they were. I still believed family and friendship were things worth holding on to.

A red notification appeared on Instagram.

Elodie had posted an hour earlier.

The photo showed the reception ballroom overflowing with flowers beneath crystal chandeliers.

She stood onstage in her wedding dress, photographed in profile beneath a soft golden filter.

The composition was flawless.

[Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate our happiness.]

I closed the app.

A text from Rhodes appeared next.

[Carys, I’m truly sorry about today. I misunderstood the situation and said things I shouldn’t have.

I’d appreciate the chance to apologize in person.]

Leander had sent me a LinkedIn connection request.

[Dr. Calder, I look forward to working with you. -Leander Kincaid]

I turned my phone facedown on the arm of the sofa.

Beyond the windows, Port Cresswell glowed beneath the night sky, thousands of lights scattered along the coast.

Ten years ago, my family had not been poor.

My parents simply believed girls should grow up with less so they would not become spoiled or

materialistic.

Whenever school fees were due, my teachers had to remind me again and again.

I would sit there burning with embarrassment, too proud to admit I didn’t have the money.

Meanwhile, Elodie never had to ask twice. She had designer clothes, private tutoring, and anything

else she wanted.

Back then, I had promised myself that one day I would come home successful.

I would force them to see what they had dismissed.

I would repay every slight and every moment of neglect twice over.

But now that the day had finally come, I felt none of the satisfaction I had imagined.

I stood in a place people spent their lives trying to reach.

There was more money in my accounts than I cared to count, and beneath my feet was one of the

highest floors in the city.

The eighteen-year-old girl who had woken up sweating on that couch felt very far away.

So did the girl who had bled from a ceramic bowl to the forehead, knelt to pick up thirty dollars for

groceries, and cried herself to sleep because her family always chose someone else.

I no longer needed their apologies.

I had no use for their attention.

I had risen far enough that the wounds that once kept me awake now looked like specks of dust far

below.

I set down my wine, turned off the lights, and went to bed.

The mattress was soft. The room was cool.

I slept through the night without dreaming.