She Was Born Again, So She Stopped Begging For Their Love Chapter 07

She Was Born Again, So She Stopped Begging For Their Love Chapter 07

Happy birthday!”

Jenna shouted, and the other girls joined in, chuping their well wishes

Grace didn’t respond. But the corners of her month twitched up

A tiny curve. So small you couldn’t even see it in the dark. But it was real

Three years of high school, Grace ran like a machine on full power

She stayed in the top three of her grade. Won two first-place state awards and one second place national award. Got a national scholarship in her second year.

That money was enough to cover all her senior year expenses.

She contacted her family less and less.

She went home two days a month. Sometimes not even that. She always used “busy at school” as

her excuse.

Linda didn’t ask many questions. Chloe was busy too. She had her own SAT to worry about. All the

family’s attention was on her.

Richard would occasionally send a message in the family group chat. “How’s Grace doing?” She

would reply, “Fine.” End of conversation.

Linda would post photos of Chloe. Studying. At club activities. Wearing new clothes.

No photos of Grace. Not because none were taken. Because no one remembered to post them.

Grace scrolled through the photos. Her finger paused for a moment on the screen. Then she swiped

past.

She didn’t hurt anymore.

Senior year. Chloe got into a good university in her state. Not top-tier, but respectable.

Linda was overjoyed. She posted a nine-photo grid on Ins. “My precious daughter is amazing. Mom is so proud of you.”

Richard shared it too. “My daughter makes me proud.”

Grace saw the post. No reaction.

She didn’t tell anyone that she had already been accepted to the top university in the emaury. In her sophomore year.

No entrance examn needed. No worrying about cutoff scores. Her spot was already secured

She didn’t tell her family.

Because no one would care.

Or maybe she was waiting for the right moment.

A month after SAT, Grace went home to pick up some things.

She opened the front door. The living room was empty, but she heard Linda and Chloe chatting and laughing in the dining room.

As she changed her shoes, she heard Linda say, “Chloe, do you want to live on campus or commute? If you commute, Mom will rent an apartment near the school so I can take care of you.”

Chloe laughed. “Mom, I’m an adult now. You don’t need to take care of me.”

“That won’t do. You’re in bad health. Eating out all the time isn’t good for you. I’m worried about you.”

Grace stood in the entryway, listening. She suddenly remembered something Linda had said to her in her past life. “You’re an adult now. Can’t you take care of yourself?”

That was the first thing Linda said when Grace came home for winter break of her freshman year. She had a fever of 103.

She changed her shoes and walked into the dining room.

Linda saw her. Her expression barely changed. “You’re back? Did you eat?”

“Yes.”

A lie. She didn’t want to sit down and eat with them.

She went upstairs to look for something. As she passed Chloe’s room, the door was open.

Chloe’s room was cozy. Pink bedsheets, Lace curtains. Skincare products and makeup lined up on the desk. A photo of her and Linda on the wall.

Grace’s room was the same as always.

North facing. Cold. A corner of the wallpaper peeling. The desk bare

She hadn’t lived here in a long time, but the air still smelled damp and musty. Like the room itself was slowly decaying.

She found a document in the drawer. Her early admission letter.

She read it once, folded it up, put it in her backpack, and went back downstairs.

As she reached the stairwell, she heard Linda’s voice from the living room. She was on the phone.

“…Let’s have Chloe’s college acceptance party at the end of the month. Yes, at home. Invite a few tables of relatives and friends. Her dad says we should make it a big deal. She’s the first college student in the family.”

The person on the other end said something. Linda laughed. “Right. Chloe’s been such a good kid. Never gave us any trouble. Not like our own-she’s always off in her own world. Her grades are fine, I guess, but her personality… ah, never mind. Let’s not talk about it.”

Grace stood on the stairs, clutching her backpack straps until her knuckles turned white.

“Her grades are fine.”

Third in the city. National awards. Early admission to the top university. To her mother, that was “fine.”

She took a deep breath and pushed down the lump in her throat.

Then she went downstairs, walked through the living room, and said to Linda, “Mom, I’m leaving.”

Linda was still on the phone. She didn’t even look up. Just waved her hand.

Grace stepped outside and stood on the porch. The heavy security door closed behind her.

The lock clicked. Like a verdict.