The Daughter They Never Wanted

Chapter 4

"Megan is sick. I'm going to check on her," Justin said, grabbing his car keys from the desk and rushing out.

I stood rooted to the spot, making no attempt to stop him.

Justin's footsteps paused for a brief second near the doorway. He turned back, walked up to me, leaned down to kiss my forehead, and whispered, "I'll be right back to stay with you."

I still didn't move. He took one last look at me and walked out into the night.

From that moment on, Justin never came back, as if he had vanished into thin air.

Whenever I called him, he rejected the call. Whenever I texted him, he replied only with a terse, "Okay."

After working overtime for half a month straight, my body finally gave out.

Carrying the gifts I had bought for my family, I returned home, only to find that Justin had brought Megan back at some point, and they were celebrating the holiday together with my parents in cozy harmony.

Looking at this room full of smiling faces, the whole situation struck me as utterly absurd.

"Justin, you brought a stranger into our home for the holiday. Did you even ask my parents?"

Seeing my cold expression, my mother hurriedly chimed in, "She went to college with Justin! Justin had already explained it to us. She graduated from a top university."

"Besides, you weren't coming back anyway. What's wrong with letting her stay in the room for a few days? Don't be so petty," my father added from behind, taking a sip of his wine.

Noticing my reddened eyes, my mother pulled me aside into the hallway. Her tone softened slightly as she advised in a low voice, "Once you're married, you have to learn how to conduct yourself properly. It's your good fortune that Justin chose you, so stop trying to cause trouble all the time. Megan is so much sweeter with her words than you are. You've been like a wooden block since you were little. Why can't you learn a bit from her?"

I yanked my hand out of her grip, tears of humiliation welling in my eyes. "Is there even a place for me in this house?"

The moment those words left my mouth, my father barked in fury, "Samantha! What kind of attitude is that! If you don't want to stay in this house, then get out!"

Looking at the room full of people standing together against me, I suddenly realized that I was indeed the extra one.

I stood frozen in place. A few seconds later, I stepped forward and snatched the diary from Megan's hand with such force that she stumbled backward.

"Samantha, what are you doing!" Justin shouted.

Without looking back, I rushed out the door, leaving behind that place that had never truly belonged to me.

No one ran out after me.

I submitted my resignation to the company, returned to the home Justin and I shared, packed my belongings into a suitcase, and headed to the airport.

Before boarding, I noticed several missed calls and a text message from my father.

Father: Samantha, once you've thrown enough of a tantrum, come back. There's nothing a family can't talk through.

Next came text messages from Justin.

Justin: Megan has already gone home. You should be over your anger by now, right?

Justin: Where are you right now? Don't run around. I'll come pick you up.

I shook my head, blocked and deleted all their contact information, instructed my lawyer to send him the divorce agreement, forwarded the evidence against Megan to my manager, and turned off my phone.

'This time, it wasn't you who abandoned me,' I thought to myself. 'It was I who abandoned you.'

From this day forward, we no longer have anything to do with each other.