The Daughter They Never Wanted Chapter 08

The Daughter They Never Wanted Chapter 08

No one knew I’d been accepted early.

When I saw Daisy get held back, I knew she’d do anything to destroy me.

So I prepared for everything.

The SAT was no different.

I rented a small place outside school. I holed up inside and ground my way through advanced competition problems.

Daisy thought I was just scared of being bullied. That I’d run away with my tail between my legs.

She didn’t know I’d already secured my spot. I won the first place in the contest. Early admission guaranteed.

I waited quietly. Let her rack her brains trying to find ways to destroy me.

Time was almost up. I had finished the last question and was about to review my answers.

Daisy finally snapped.

She shot out of her seat, lunged across the aisle, and slammed my laptop shut before I could submit.

The screen went black.

For a second, the whole room froze.

Then the proctors rushed forward and pinned her back.

—

The timer ran out. Daisy smiled at me. “You’re finished, Nancy.”

My parents rushed over. They begged and pleaded for Daisy.

“My girl just had a moment of weakness. She’s usually so kind. Just look at how pretty she is! How could she do something like this?”

The exam proctor was speechless. “What does pretty have to do with anything? She disrupted another student’s SAT session. That could affect her entire future.”

“Yes, yes, we’ll discipline her. Where’s the other student? We’ll pay. Whatever it takes.”

I walked out smiling. “Really? Whatever it takes?”

The second my parents saw me, their faces dropped. “It’s you?”

“They’re sisters, sir. Just messing around.”

The proctor’s jaw hit the floor. “Sabotaging another student’s test is ‘messing around’?”

Mom frowned. “Anyway, Nancy’s grades are average. Losing one exam won’t matter.”

Now the teacher, the principal, even the vice principal looked stunned.

The teacher sighed and put my scores in front of her. “If this is average, then Daisy’s grades are unbelievably terrible.”

Mom and Dad grabbed the report card. Stared at my near-perfect scores. Then stared again.

“This… this is Nancy’s? No way…”

—

They looked from the paper to me. Like they were seeing me clearly for the first time, stripped of all their old prejudice.

Dad slapped his thigh. “Ha! That’s my girl. Just like me back in the day.”

Mom smiled too. “With these grades, Harvard or Yale is well within reach.”

The proctor snorted. “It wasn’t a dream. Until your other daughter sabotaged her exam.”

Their faces went pale. “Can she retake it?”

“Even if we let her, she’s already at a disadvantage.”

“Just take a gap year,” Dad said. “Retake the test, apply again next cycle, and get into a school we can brag about.”

“Daisy gets a private college out of state. Why can’t you pay for mine?”

Mom looked embarrassed. “Nancy, studying abroad is expensive. We can’t afford two daughters.”

“Your dad might be vice president, but the company’s been losing money. We can’t even pay bonuses this year…”

She went on and on about their financial troubles, begging me to be understanding.

I smiled. “Good thing you only have one daughter. Raising two would be expensive.”

“What did you say?” Their faces darkened with fury. “We’re giving you

an out. Don’t think we can’t stop you from repeating!”

Word of the exam sabotage had already leaked out. Just then, a horde of reporters burst in with cameras, all here to interview the wronged student.

My parents got pushed aside.

I looked straight into the camera lens, my voice calm and steady for all the viewers to hear. “I knew Daisy would try to ruin me, so I already got an early acceptance to my target school.”