My Bully Is My Fated Mate

INVISIBLE I learned a long time ago that silence hurt less than disappointment, that was probably why I barely spoke during dinner nights anymore. “Mom, look!” My younger brother Ethan grinned proudly as he held up a test paper from across the table. “Ninety-eight in chemistry.” Mom gasped dramatically like he had just cured cancer. “That’s amazing, sweetheart.” Dad finally looked up from his phone long from across the table, enough to nod approvingly. “Good job, son.” Beside him, Emily smirked. “I told you he’d beat everyone.” I lowered my eyes quietly to the paper resting beside my plate, and on it was one hundred test I'd scored again. But no one noticed, not that I expected them to anyway. The dining room buzzed with praises for Ethan while I pushed rice around my plate with my fork, suddenly losing my appetite completely. The smell of roasted chicken filled the room, warm and comforting, but somehow I still felt cold sitting there. Invisible was the best word for what I had become in this family. It wasn't like I was hated or abused, I was just... forgotten, and that made it worse. “Dad,” Emily said excitedly, “our guidance counselor said scouts from Crestfall Prestigious University are coming in two weeks time.” That got everyone’s attention immediately. Dad straightened. “Seriously?” Emily nodded eagerly. “They’re looking at top students early this year.” Mom practically beamed. “I always knew you two were destined for something big.” My mother's words numbed my bones, and I stared harder at my plate instinctively. Just hearing Crestfall’s name made something twist painfully inside my chest. Crestfall Prestigious University is the kind of school people spent their whole lives dreaming about. It was Expensive and impossible to get in, only rich kids, talented kids or connected kids made it in. And People like Emily and Ethan belonged in there naturally. Not girls like me. Girls who wore secondhand hoodies and stayed awake until three in the morning writing fantasy stories under a secret pen name nobody in real life would ever care about. “Ellie.” My head lifted immediately at Mom’s voice, hope flickering stupidly fast inside me. “Yes?” “Please pass the juice.” That was all she said, and the tiny hope disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared, and I handed her the bottle silently. Stupid me! I should’ve known better by now. Nobody asked about my perfect grades, nobody asked about the scholarship application I’d spent months working on, nobody even noticed how exhausted I looked most days. Because in this house, I was the extra child. The adopted daughter, the one expected to understand everything and be selfless at all times. Mom smiled warmly at the twins again. “Imagine both of you at Crestfall together.” That came like a slap, and something sharp twisted painfully in my chest. Both of you, why not three of you? “I’m done eating,” I murmured quietly. Nobody stopped me when I carried my plate to the sink, and nobody really noticed me leave at all. My room was small compared to the twins’. Tiny and compacted honestly. The walls were cramped, the desk old and uneven, and the ceiling leaked whenever it rained too hard. But it was still the only place in the house that felt remotely mine. The moment I shut the door behind me, I exhaled shakily. I dropped onto my desk chair and opened my laptop. Instantly, the unfinished document from last night glowed against the dark screen. It was my secret world where thousands of people online knew me by my pen name. They loved my stories and they waited for updates. They called my characters powerful and unforgettable, and it was ironic considering nobody in my actual life ever looked at me twice. My fingers hovered over the keyboard before I started typing slowly. “She spent her whole life waiting for someone to finally choose her.” I stared at the sentence for a moment too long, then deleted it immediately because that suddenly felt too personal. A notification suddenly buzzed on my phone, and the screen lit up with Veronica's name on it. A small smile touched my lips before I even opened the message. Veronica: Still alive or did your family sacrifice you at dinner again? I laughed softly under my breath. Me: Barely survived. Almost instantly, another message appeared. Veronica: Dramatic. I like it. Me: You’re a terrible person. Veronica: Yet somehow still your favorite. That part was true. Veronica Cooper was probably the only person in school and the entire world who saw me properly. She was chaotic, impossible to embarrass, and painfully honest. She was basically my complete opposite. Another notification popped up. Veronica: Also Adrian was asking about you today. My heart betrayed me immediately as sudden heat rushed to my cheeks so fast it was embarrassing. Me: Stop lying. Veronica: I SWEAR! I bit down on a smile before it could fully form. Adrian Cole. Just thinking about his name alone felt dangerous sometimes. He was the kind of guy people naturally gravitated toward. A smart athletic charming boy, ridiculously handsome without even trying, and teachers loved him. Students admired him. And somehow, despite all of that, he was still kind to me. Not in an obvious way though, or even enough to mean anything. But enough to make my stupid heart hopeful anyway. Veronica: He asked if you finished the literature assignment. Me: That’s not romantic. Veronica: Let me be delusional for FIVE MINUTES WOMAN! I laughed quietly again, and for a few seconds the heaviness from dinner loosened slightly inside my chest. After the conversation ended, I leaned back in my chair and stared around my room. My eyes landed on the stack of scholarship papers sitting beside my laptop "Crestfall Prestigious University, Application incomplete" A familiar knot formed in my stomach instantly as I reached for the papers slowly. The scholarship was insanely competitive, and hundreds of students applied every year. Most of them richer, smarter, and more connected than me. People like Emily and Ethan had parents who pushed them toward success, while I had parents who barely remembered I existed. Sometimes I wondered if I was stupid for trying this hard. Maybe Mom was right, and maybe dreams like Crestfall weren’t meant for girls like me. I stared down at the unfinished application for a long moment, my chest tightening quietly. Does someone like me really belong somewhere like Crestfall? Or was I just setting myself up for another disappointment? That question nagged at me until I fell asleep.