Chapter 2

I didn’t know how much time had passed. Finally, the sound of an engine came from the distance.

The rescue boat was actually coming back.

My nose burned, and my numb arms suddenly found a surge of strength.

"Mom! I'm here!"

The figure on the boat became clearer.

Mom was holding a clean, dry blanket in her arms.

Looking at that blanket, I couldn't help but smile.

So, they hadn't forgotten about me.

I even told myself that once I got on the boat, I wouldn't ask why they saved Chloe first.

As long as Mom wrapped that blanket around me and gave me a hug.

I would pretend nothing had ever happened.

But halfway there, the rescue boat suddenly turned.

Not far away, on a floating platform that had drifted from the broken pier, came a weak whimpering. It was Waffles.

Waffles was Chloe's dog.

His leash was tangled in the broken railing. The platform could flip over at any second.

Chloe immediately stood up on the boat, crying as she grabbed the rescue guard's arm.

"Save Waffles first! He can't swim!"

"He's been terrified of water since he was a puppy! He'll die if he falls in!"

The guard frowned and pointed toward me.

"There's still a person over there."

"The girl who fell in with you earlier, isn't she your sister?"

Chloe froze for a second.

Then, she shook her head.

"She’s not my sister."

"She’s just our housekeeper."

Across the crashing waves, I stared at Mom and Dad. I waited for them to deny it.

Even if they just said, *She is our daughter.*

But Mom avoided my eyes.

Dad just urged impatiently, "Mya knows how to swim. She has a floating board. She won't die anytime soon."

The guard still hesitated.

"Is she really not your daughter?"

This time, Mom finally spoke.

"No."

"She's been with us for many years. She just helps around the house."

"Save the dog first. You can come back for her later."

Those casual words drifted through the wind and pierced my ears.

I suddenly remembered when Chloe was twelve. She said her friends all envied only children.

She wanted to be the only child, too.

So, my parents used a Wish Coupon.

From that day on, I was banned from calling them Mom and Dad.

The first time I forgot and made a mistake, Mom’s face went cold.

"We promised to grant Chloe's wish," she warned. "Who are you calling Mom?"

Later, I learned to call them Thomas and Eleanor.

Even when I was burning with a high fever and barely conscious, I never dared to call her Mom again.

The coupon was only supposed to be valid for one year.

But after that year passed, no one ever told me I could call them Mom and Dad again.

Gradually, Chloe really became the only daughter in the family.

And I became the one who washed clothes, cooked, and cleaned the rooms—someone who didn't even deserve to call them parents.

I never thought that years later, they would actually tell a stranger that I was just the housekeeper.

The rescue boat veered right in front of me, heading toward the platform where Waffles was trapped.

Survival instinct made me wave my arms frantically, trying to get them to see me.

But a massive wave crashed down, burying me under the water again.

By the time I struggled back to the surface, Dad had already pulled the dog onto the boat.

Mom immediately opened the blanket in her arms, carefully wrapping it around Waffles' wet body.

The blanket I thought was meant for me was ultimately used to warm Chloe’s dog.