The Girl They Ignored Got Married, Then They Regretted Everything Chapter 01

The Girl They Ignored Got Married, Then They Regretted Everything Chapter 01

My younger sister, Chloe Mercer, had started dating someone.

The moment the family found out, everyone lost it.

My older brother, Grant Mercer, cracked his knuckles. “Who is he? What asshole thinks he’s good enough to date my sister?”

Mom looked just as disapproving. “Chloe, you’re still young. You have no idea how dangerous people can be. Sweetheart, forget him. You can do better.”

Dad slammed his palm down on the coffee table. “Break up with him. You have to end it!”

But the moment they realized Chloe was upset, they immediately changed their tune.

“Don’t cry. How about this? Bring him home for Thanksgiving so we can meet him. Would that make you happy?”

When it was my turn, however, they only tossed out a couple of indifferent remarks.

“Evelyn Mercer, you’re not as pretty as Chloe, and you’ve never been good with words. You should be grateful anyone wants you.”

“Don’t be so picky. Just marry him and be done with it.”

Grant joked casually, “Exactly. You’ve been together for five years. He hasn’t dumped you, and he still wants to marry you, so he must be decent enough.”

They never asked whether my boyfriend treated me well or whether his parents were decent people. They never once suggested meeting him.

They simply approved the marriage—not because my boyfriend had earned their approval, but because, to them, I was worth nothing.

I let out a slow breath and drained the coffee that had long since gone cold.

If they didn’t want me, I would choose a family that did.

From now on, they would live their lives, and I would live mine.

***

“Don’t you want to meet him?”

After a long silence, I asked anyway, still clinging to one last shred of hope.

Mom set down her coffee mug, looking uncomfortable as she brushed me off. “I don’t think that’s necessary. We’re not worried about you.”

Were they really not worried about me, or did they simply not care?

I lowered my gaze to the ring on my left ring finger. The joy of getting engaged vanished as if someone had doused me with ice water, leaving me cold to the bone.

I should have been used to it by now—to being ignored by my family, to their indifference, and to the simple fact that they didn’t love me.

But I still wanted to tell them.

My boyfriend was Adrian Sinclair, and he loved me. His parents owned a business, and they had always treated me well.

I had rehearsed every answer to every question Mom and Dad might ask until I knew them by heart. But they didn’t want to ask.

Their questions were never for me because I wasn’t Chloe, and this moment was no different.

I looked up to find Chloe standing with her arms folded, looking spoiled and petulant.

“Oh, why are you asking so many questions?”

“I’m warning you now—you’d better be nice to my boyfriend. This is my first relationship. What am I supposed to do if you scare him off?”

Grant’s expression hardened. “He wouldn’t dare. I’ll knock his teeth out.”

Mom then launched into a solemn lecture.

“Chloe, never chase a guy who isn’t chasing you. Know your worth.”

“You don’t have to cling desperately to the same man the way Evelyn does. If you two break up, your dad and I will take care of you.”

“Weren’t you always asking for a walk-in closet? Once Evelyn gets married, we’ll turn her bedroom into one for you. How does that sound?”

Dad wasn’t much of a talker, but he kept nodding along, clearly agreeing with every word.

They were planning what to do with my room right in front of me, without the slightest concern for how I felt.

Whenever Chloe was around, they never saw me.

I was plain and forgettable, timid and withdrawn. I wasn’t radiant or charming like Chloe, and I couldn’t win people over with words the way she could.

All Chloe had to do was stand there. Without the slightest effort, she drew every eye and every bit of attention—including Mom and Dad’s love.

When I was a child, I fought for that love too.

When Chloe finished at the top of her class, I studied night after night, determined to beat her.

But when I finally came home with an academic award for finishing at the top of my class, I asked, “Mom, Dad, can you love me a little more?”

Grant was the first to laugh. He told me I was dreaming.

A moment later, he was holding up a candy apple to make Chloe smile.

Mom merely ruffled my hair and reminded me that Chloe was my sister. Then she made an entire dinner of Chloe’s favorite dishes.

Dad’s gaze never even paused on me. Even in his forties, he still came home from work, dropped to all fours, and gave Chloe pony rides.

No one cared that I had finished at the top of my class. No one noticed the lonely girl standing in the corner.

When we grew up and Chloe started dating, the family’s adoration naturally extended to her boyfriend too.

When it came to me, there was still nothing.

At least I was no longer the unloved girl I had once been.

I looked at Dad and couldn’t stop myself from asking, “You once said you never wanted a daughter of yours moving far away after marriage. My boyfriend’s family is in Boston. Doesn’t that bother you?”

Dad froze, and his expression immediately turned serious.

Then he turned to Chloe. “Where is your boyfriend from? If he lives outside Rhode Island—no, outside Providence—I won’t allow it.”

I stood frozen. After a long moment, I laughed bitterly at myself.

So when he said “a daughter of his,” he had never meant me.

I got up and went back to my room. I opened my chat with Adrian and slowly typed out two messages.

Me: [I’ll marry you.]

Me: [Take me away. Please?]

His reply appeared a second later.

Adrian replied: [I’m coming.]