Chapter 2

I let go of the doorframe and sank back down onto the narrow cot.

Outside, the sun was shining brightly, but not a single ray could penetrate this windowless box.

At lunch, I met the adopted girl for the very first time.

Her name was Lily. She was a year younger than me, eleven years old.

When my mother walked in holding her hand, I was already sitting in the farthest corner of the dining table, with only a plain bowl of rice in front of me.

"Rain, this is Lily," my mother said with a soft, tender smile - a smile she had never once given me.

"Lily, sweetie, say hello to Rain."

Lily looked at me, her big eyes blinking with innocence, and chirped sweetly, "Hi, Rain!"

Her voice was soft, delicate, carrying an effortless, pampered charm.

Standing behind her, my mother gently patted her shoulder and murmured, "Did you take your heart medication, sweetie?"

"Yes, Mommy."

Mommy.

She called my mother "Mommy" so naturally, as if she were truly her own.

I stared down at the plain rice before me in silence, a painful wave of envy washing over my chest.

I wanted to call her that, too. I wanted to hold her arm and act like a child. I wanted to be the one walking in with her hand holding mine.

But I didn't know how to start. I couldn't even string a proper sentence together. I was terrified that if I opened my mouth, the raspy, harsh noise coming out of my throat would only frighten her away.

My father stepped out of his office. The moment he saw Lily, the lines on his face softened completely.

"Lily's home? How was school this week, kiddo?"

"Dad, I got the highest score in class!" Lily pulled an exam sheet from her backpack and handed it over proudly.

My father took it, looked it over, and ruffled her hair with a proud chuckle. "Good girl. I'll take you to the theme park this weekend."

Then his eyes flicked to me. He paused, tacking on an afterthought: "Rain can come along too."

That word - too - stung like a needle.

Suddenly, Lily clutched her chest, her face draining of color.

My mother instantly panicked. "What's wrong? Is your heart acting up?"

"I'm okay, Mommy... I just walked a little too fast, that's all."

Lily waved her hand weakly, offering a brave, obedient smile before turning to look at me. There was something unreadable in her eyes. "Rain just came home. She needs you and Daddy much more than I do. Really, I'm fine."

Tears immediately welled up in my mother's eyes. "Oh, sweetie, don't say silly things like that."

She pulled Lily tightly into her arms, stroking her back and murmuring, "Mommy loves you both. Mommy loves you both equally."

Yet, her arms never let Lily go.

Sitting in my corner, watching them embrace, I felt like a completely useless outsider.

Just like back at the brokers' house, watching the family's own kids eat fried chicken while I crouched in the dirt gnawing on stale crusts.

Nothing had changed.

I had simply moved to a nicer house to be an outsider.