When fate plays its hand

Nelly spat, “You liar! You’ve been lying to everyone this whole time!”

Mindy responded calmly, “I really did lose my memory, but I’ve recently started to recall everything.”

Although the details were still fuzzy, she decided to test Nelly–and what a result it yielded.

want?”

Nelly stammered, “W–What do you

“So, everything I just said, you’re admitting to it?” Mindy pressed.

Nelly avoided her gaze. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about…

11

A moment ago, she had been furious, almost feral. But now she shrank back, refusing to face the truth.

11

Mindy, however, remained unbothered. She chuckled lightly and spoke in an even tone, You mentioned earlier that I’ve been spoiled all my life while you felt like an ugly duckling. That Mom and Dad loved me more and that Timothy liked me. Do you know why?”

At the mention of Timothy liking Mindy, Nelly’s expression twisted with resentment and

hatred.

“Let’s start with Mom and Dad,” Mindy continued. “I’m their biological daughter; you’re adopted. That’s the reality.

Despite that, they never treated you poorly. They gave you a privileged life. Anything I had, they made sure you had too. You received far more than most biological children in regular families ever could.

“Of course, humans are rarely satisfied with what they’ve got. When they have a lot, they crave even more.”

i novelbin

Nelly snapped, “You don’t understand! It’s true that they didn’t mistreat me, but they loved you more!”

She was jealous not over having less but over the disparity.

“Why wouldn’t they love me more?” Mindy retorted. “I’m their biological child!“.

Nelly froze as words got caught in her throat.

While all children were equally cherished in theory, it was human nature to instinctively protect and favor one’s own blood. This was an innate tendency, and it was hard to fault anyone for it.

Mindy’s voice grew sharper. “That is no excuse for you to hate them or harm mel”

Nelly let out a bitter laugh.

Mindy pressed on, “Let me put it this way; if you had Sam and an adopted child, wouldn’t you naturally favor Sam more? Could you truly treat them equally?”

Nelly froze again.

“If you can’t do it yourself, how can you demand it of Mom and Dad?”

People often failed to see their place, failed to understand what they should seek or abandon, and what they should fight for or leave alone.

“You’re right,” Nelly murmured, her laugh now bitter and hollow. “I’m not their biological daughter. And yet… so many times, I’ve wondered, just why am I the adopted one? Why wasn’t I the one born to Mom? Why is your life so perfect and mine so wretched?”

Mindy didn’t hold back. “You’re not lamenting fate. You’re jealous. Jealous that someone else has more than you do. And worse, that someone’s right next to you, where every little difference becomes glaringly obvious, inviting constant comparison. It eats at you.

“You’re not stuck in a mental rut, nor is this some temporary lapse in judgment. You’re simply rotten to the core!”

Those words shattered Nelly’s composure. She glared at Mindy with wide, furious eyes. What do you know! You’ve had everything handed to you, so it’s easy for you to stand there and talk down to me! Fine! Maybe I am bad, but you all drove me to this!”

“So you decided to hurt me?”

“That’s right,” Nelly admitted coldly. “I couldn’t stand seeing you. So spoiled and entitled, with everyone fawning over you. And Timothy, always circling you, holding you on a pedestal. No one’s life should be that smooth. Everyone needs to taste hardship.

“I wanted the little princess of the Garrison family to experience being trampled into the mud, to feel what it’s like to be uprooted and left without a lifeline. Doesn’t that sound fun?

་་

Mindy’s gaze sharpened. “Then, during our escape, when you said you didn’t have your backup phone–that was a lie too?”

Nelly smirked. “Of course. I had it with me. I just didn’t want to use it.”

“You

Even after all these years, Nelly’s admission stung Mindy to her core.

Nelly looked at her smugly. “You seem angry, but why should you be? In the end, you escaped, got married, had a child, and have lived peacefully for over 20 years. So, really, what’s there to be upset about?”