Chapter 1

The day I died was the same day as my twin sister’s birthday party.

She was in tears and was wrapped up in my boyfriend’s arms.

My mom was seething with anger and kept calling me over and over again.

My brother was clearly upset and sent me a text saying, "You’re so selfish. You just can’t stand to see anyone else happy."

Even my usually quiet dad was furious and said, "She’s nothing but an ungrateful brat."

I touched my chest. Thankfully, it did not hurt anymore.

Chapter 1

The day I died was the same day as my twin sister’s birthday party.

She was in tears and was wrapped up in my boyfriend’s arms.

My mom was seething with anger and kept calling me over and over again.

My brother was clearly upset and sent me a text saying, "You’re so selfish. You just can’t stand to see anyone else happy."

Even my usually quiet dad was furious and said, "She’s nothing but an ungrateful brat."

I touched my chest. Thankfully, it did not hurt anymore.

……

Ever since I was little, my grandma always told me, "There’s no one better than a mother."

But I always felt like she was lying to me.

When I was eight, my mom took forever to come pick me up.

When we finally got home, I saw her comforting Gwen Lincoln, my twin sister.

We looked almost identical, except I had an extra mole beneath my left eye.

"Mom, who is she?"

"She’s Kate, your sister from the countryside."

Their dissatisfied questioning and cold response left me with a sense of unease.

From that moment, "countryside" became my label, creating a gap between us.

My brother, Zac Lincoln, glared at me with disgust, as if I were an intruder in his home.

Back then, I wanted to ask my grandma what was so great about having a mom.

And now, it was supposed to be our birthday party. But really, it was Gwen’s engagement party.

After greeting the guests, my mom slipped to the stairwell, calling my phone over and over.

By the fifth call, my phone was turned off.

My mom was seething with anger and she yelled, "Kate, you’re too much! I’m your mother!"

Zac overheard and came over, supporting her arm. "Mom, don’t waste your time on someone like her. She’s just bad luck.

"Today is all about Gwen’s engagement. She’s not important.

"Only Gwen is kind enough to still think about her, even when she’s being so difficult."

When my mom heard Gwen’s name, a smile finally appeared on her face.

She sighed and patted Zac’s hand, "Gwen is so thoughtful. How can two daughters be so different?

"When I gave birth to them, I almost died from the blood loss.

"And Gwen… She was malnourished in the womb and sickly after she was born. She barely made it.

"Even the doctors said she was a miracle."

A chill ran through me. I had heard all of this countless times since they brought me back home.

If it weren’t for my grandma, I was sure they would have abandoned me completely.

Zac comforted my mom, "She grew up in the countryside, she’s not fit for the spotlight.

"But for Gwen’s happiness, I had to bring her here today."

My mom nodded and followed him into the hall, "It’s such a shame for Gwen."

I did not think Gwen was suffering at all. Otherwise, why would she have thrown me in the basement.

……

I drifted into the makeup room and finally saw Gwen.

Tears shimmered at the corners of her eyes as she pouted, leaning into Orion Smith’s arms.

Her delicate makeup made her look pitiful.

"I’m so silly. It would’ve been so nice to just have a birthday party. Why did I have to choose today for the engagement?

"Kate didn’t come. Do you think she’s still mad at me?

"After all, you used to be her boyfriend, and she loved you so much."

Orion gently stroked her back, his eyes full of sympathy.

As soon as he heard my name, his face twisted in disgust. "Someone like her shouldn’t even share the same birthday as you.

"Just thinking about her love makes me sick.

"And this engagement? It has nothing to do with her."

I smirked. Didn’t Gwen choose today just to humiliate me?

"But she’s still my sister. I’d really like her blessing," Gwen muttered softly.

Chapter 2

After hearing that, Orion kissed Gwen on the forehead and said, "Gwen, I’ll be the one to give you happiness."

My heart ached.

He had said those exact words to me once, just as sincerely.

Back in college, I had been knocked down, and he was the one who helped me up. That day, his eyes were bright, and all I could see in them was my reflection. He gently stroked my hair with concern.

"Kate, from now on, I’ll protect you. I’ll be the one to give you happiness."

But after he met Gwen, his so-called happiness completely changed.

The day I saw the two of them kissing passionately downstairs, he shielded her behind him when he noticed me watching. The lipstick stain on his face and his swollen lips made me sick to my stomach.

I fought back the pain and walked toward him, asking why he had done this to me.

"There's nothing to say to someone like you, just pure disgust." Orion shoved me. He was too lazy to offer an explanation.

"Kate, we’re the real deal. You’ll give us your blessing, won’t you?" Gwen had smiled at me as they left.

The pain in my heart consumed me, spreading through my entire body.

Later, Gwen found me. Her smile was blinding.

"Kate, I really can’t stand you. You never should’ve come back. Wouldn’t you be happier staying in the countryside?

"All the love here belongs to me, including Orion.

"And especially that mole on your face. Don’t you think it makes you look filthy?"

Filthy?

Yeah, how could I forget? There was a time when I really was dirty.

Even in death, I was still so filthy.

……

When the party began, Gwen wiped away her tears, and the makeup artist touched up her flawless look.

My dad stood by her side. He was tightly holding her hand and his eyes were filled with guilt.

"Dad, I won’t hold it against Kate for not coming. I just want to wish her a happy birthday.

"As her elder sister, I haven’t been good enough. I hurt her feelings."

She forced herself not to cry, holding back her tears.

The same father who had always been cold to me patted her on the shoulder. "Don’t blame yourself. You’ve always been our pride.

"As for that ungrateful girl, when I see her, I’ll make sure she apologizes to you properly."

My mom stood beside them, her face full of relief, nodding in agreement.

"That ungrateful girl, it's better to just let her ruin her own life," Zac muttered under his breath.

My mom lightly hit him. "It’s a joyful day, don’t say anything unlucky."

Gwen laughed, linking arms with Orion as they walked toward the stage.

I was forced to watch them. I had never experienced scenes like these happy moments.

But it was okay. I had gotten used to it. My heart did not hurt anymore.

As the soft piano music played, they started to exchange rings.

My mom was in the audience, her eyes brimming with happy tears.

They all forgot today was also my birthday. But not everyone had forgotten.

"Where’s Kate? It’s her birthday today too, isn’t it?"

"I saw a cake with her name on it a little while ago."

"I heard Orion used to chase after her. Now he’s her brother-in-law."

Then came a wave of judgmental voices.

"She’s nothing but trouble. No integrity, always lying."

"No one would ever like her."

My parents really went out of their way to tarnish my reputation.

By the second year after I was brought home, my aunt came over with her son to visit.

He accidentally fell off the couch, and Gwen pointed at me, saying I had pushed him.

My aunt turned on me immediately. "So young, yet already so deceitful."

I tried to defend myself, but no one listened.

To force me to admit to something I did not do, my dad locked me in my room and starved me for two days. I ended up with acute gastroenteritis.

Chapter 3

Later, my mom felt a little guilty and was actually kind to me for a few days. But her kindness only lasted for those few days.

……

That evening, the engagement party wrapped up perfectly. No one cared whose birthday it was.

After the guests left, my dad’s expression immediately darkened and he told Zac to keep calling me. The phone, which had been off, now just went to missed calls.

Gwen grabbed Zac’s agitated hand and said, "Let it go, she just doesn’t want to see me. It’s fine."

She always knew how to appear so understanding.

As expected, my dad’s eyes filled with sympathy.

"It’s better that she didn’t come. She was bad luck for her own grandma, so her showing up would’ve just brought more misfortune.

"She was nothing but trouble from the moment she was born. It would’ve been better to just strangle her."

Hearing that, my body trembled, even in my ghostly state.

They had no right to mention my grandma.

When my mom gave birth to me, she hemorrhaged and almost died on the operating table. Gwen had been oxygen-deprived and sent to an incubator. But I was born healthy, glowing red.

Soon after, my dad’s business took a hit. They blamed all their misfortunes on me, claiming I was a curse that only brought bad luck.

That was when my dad decided to send me away.

But my grandma refused. She said they were just being superstitious and insisted on keeping me.

Up until I was eight, it was my grandma who raised me with love and care.

She was the one who named me, saying I should live happily.

When I was seven, my mom came to visit my grandma. When she left, she did not even glance at me.

I just wanted to ask her, why wouldn’t she look at me?

I chased after her car, crying, running as fast as I could.

That was when the nightmare started. I nearly died in that old, rundown shack.

When my grandma found me, she held me and cried for a long time.

She called my mom frantically, saying I was sick and begging her to come back.

But no matter how much she pleaded, my mom refused.

After that, I stopped wanting anything from my mom.

And after that, my grandma changed. She became more cautious. She even went to church and got me a small cross necklace, saying it would protect me.

But when I was eight, my grandma chased after someone who had hurt me, collapsed, and never woke up again.

I had killed the person I loved most in this world, leaving only the small cross necklace she had gotten for me.

When my mom came to pick me up, I had cried until my voice was hoarse.

My dad, out of obligation, agreed to bring me back, but I was no longer allowed to use the last name "Lincoln." I was just called Kate, no longer considered a real member of the family.

Even my legal records stayed linked to my grandma’s.

That nightmare never really left me. To this day, being in dark places still filled me with fear.

Like the basement Gwen pushed me into.

……

Gwen spent the entire ride home comforting our parents, playing the role of the dutiful daughter perfectly.

To make it up to her, my mom even made Gwen a cake.

"My precious daughter, I’m sorry you had to go through all of this today.

"Here’s your favorite cake, and may you be happy always."

Gwen snuggled up to my mom, acting spoiled, and said how lucky she felt to be so happy in this life.

"It would’ve been better if Kate had been here."

When she mentioned me, she bit her lip, looking like she was about to cry.

Zac, frustrated, muttered, "Gwen, you’re too kindhearted. That’s why you always end up getting hurt."

I stood nearby, watching them, feeling nothing but sheer irony.

The favoritism toward her was so obvious, yet she still did not think it was enough.

I knew why. It was because she hated that I existed.

It was not always this bad with my mom.

On one of my birthdays, she even made me my favorite pasta too.

I was so happy I nearly jumped for joy.

But before I could even thank her, Gwen’s eyes welled up with tears. "Just thinking about how much pain Mom went through to give birth to us makes me so sad."

Chapter 4

"I just want Mom to be safe and healthy."

Hearing this, my dad glared at me with pure anger. "What birthday? You're nothing but an eyesore. Get back to your room."

He dumped the pasta my mom had made into the trash. I never got to eat it.

Later, Gwen purposely came to my room, her words sharp as a poisoned knife.

"You still want to eat my mom’s pasta? You’re shameless.

"Why don’t you just die, you cursed wretch?"

Furious, I pushed her, and she hit her head against the door.

That night, my dad locked me in the basement for the first time, and it marked the beginning of my misfortune.

It was so dark. I was too scared to breathe and did not dare call out for my mom. All I could do was pound on the door with all my strength.

The nightmares would not leave me. It was as if I could hear the sound of clothes being torn apart.

I curled up in pain, calling out for my grandma over and over, begging her to come save me.

The fear overwhelmed me.

The next time I woke up, I was in the hospital, with my mom holding me.

But when I saw her, I instinctively shrank into the corner, terrified.

"I don’t want Mom, I don’t want Mom," I kept repeating.

I had forgotten that this was the first time she had ever held me on her own.

Her hand froze in mid-air, and her expression grew cold. "She’s just an ungrateful brat who can’t be raised right."

I was diagnosed with a fear of the dark, and she did not show any emotion. She just turned and left the hospital.

That night, I was almost consumed by regret.

Even digging my nails into my skin could not ease the despair and anxiety I felt.

From that point on, she became a mother who despised me even more.

When I went to college, Gwen decided she wanted her own study room. My mom did not hesitate. She threw away all my things and turned my bedroom into Gwen’s study.

They could not wait to get rid of me.

It did not matter anymore. Now that I was dead, I was never going back.

……

The next day, to cheer Gwen up, Orion gave her the keys to their new house. She happily brought the whole family to see it.

I followed behind my parents and Zac.

When we arrived at the new house, my parents sank into the couch, exhausted.

I listened to them talk about me again, criticizing everything I had ever done wrong.

"Kate is so out of line. She hasn’t even bothered to return a single call.

"I’ve failed as a parent, raising a daughter like that."

My mom glanced at her phone, seeing nothing but outgoing calls.

"It’s because she’s too heartless. She’s just an ungrateful brat. If she’s so tough, she should never come back," my dad said, holding my mom’s hand.

I watched their faces up close.

I wanted to see if, besides all the hatred, there was any trace of concern for me.

No matter how hard I looked, there wasn’t.

My dad rubbed his temples, clearly irritated just thinking about me.

My mom, with her eyes closed, let out a long sigh.

From the moment I went missing until now, not a single one of them had worried that something might have happened to me.

I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes. "Mom, just how awful am I, for you to hate me so much?"

Once, when she came to pick me up, I asked her in the car, "Mom, are you picking me up so late because you don’t love me?"

She did not answer. She just rested her head against the car window, not even glancing at me.

There was enough space between us for one person. She was on one side, and I was on the other.

I guess Grandma had been lying to me all along. My mom wasn’t good at all.

After I died, I finally understood. She just did not love me.

Frustrated, I wanted to leave. But when I floated to the door, something pulled me back.

"Mom, let me call her one more time. Don’t worry," Zac said as he dialed my number.

After three rings, someone picked up.

"Kate, you’ve gone too far. You ungrateful brat, why are you only answering the phone now? Are you trying to upset us on purpose?"

There was a moment of silence before a hoarse voice came through the other end of the line.

"She’s dead. But she kept begging me to save her."

Chapter 5

After the call was hung up, Zac cursed in frustration, calling it bad luck.

That voice sent me spiraling into endless fear.

……

The day before my birthday, I worked frantically to finish my tasks. My mom called, asking me to come home early, saying there was good news.

But all I really wanted was to visit my grandma’s grave on my birthday. The small cross necklace she left for me was still at home.

Just as I reached the house, I ran into Gwen and Orion.

"Kate, tomorrow is our birthday, are you coming to celebrate with us?

"And guess what, Orion and I are getting engaged on the same day. You have to come, okay?"

She leaned into Orion, her smile beaming with pride.

It was only then I realized that the "good news" was about her engagement. I ignored her and kept walking.

"Kate, are you really that bitter about me being happy?" She grabbed my arm tightly. She was not inviting me. She just wanted to rub it in.

"Fine, let’s see just how happy you can be."

Her smile faltered, and I knew my words had stung. I only meant to annoy her, never imagining it would cost me my life.

I searched the house for the small cross necklace, but could not find it anywhere. Frustrated, I burst into tears, feeling like something terrible was coming.

"Kate, are you looking for the small cross necklace?" Gwen said, as if she knew exactly what I was after.

"It’s in the basement now. No point keeping it out, it was just taking up space."

Ignoring everything else, I ran straight to the basement.

When I opened the door, it was pitch black inside.

Gwen stood behind me, tossing something inside, and then pushed me in without hesitation.

"You thought you’d come to my engagement party? Dream on.

"I’ll never share a birthday with you, not in this lifetime.

"Stay in there and let’s see just how scared you get."

I heard her harsh laughter, followed by the sound of the door being locked.

No matter how hard I pounded on the door, she would not open it.

Right! She said Grandma’s small cross necklace was in here.

I turned on my phone, using the dim light to search, but there was nothing. I tripped and dropped the phone, losing the only light I had.

Fear consumed me again, enveloping me in the vast darkness.

In a daze, the door opened.

It was my mom.

"Mom, save me," I wanted to call out, but no sound came from my mouth.

I lay on the ground, unable to move.

My mom stood in the doorway, glanced inside, put something down, and left without hesitation.

I fought to stay conscious, and after what felt like an eternity, someone finally came to rescue me.

"Help me," I whispered, barely audible. It startled the person in front of me.

"What the hell? There’s someone here. Scared the hell out of me.

"But hey, you look pretty. Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’ll save you," the man said.

I smelled alcohol on his breath, and then I heard the sound of clothes being torn.

……

By the time I floated out of my body, I saw that man lying on top of me.

The other guy picked up my phone.

"She’s dead. How did she die?

"Damn, she wasn’t even any fun. What a buzzkill!"

They panicked and stuffed my body into a burlap sack.

It was so dark that I could not make out their faces, but I knew there were two of them. Their voices drilled into my ears.

The sack was too small, so they kicked my body inside, forcing it to fit.

Terrified, I tried to escape, drifting away as I heard the distant barking of dogs. They sounded vicious.

When I turned around again, I found myself at Gwen’s engagement party.

The hall was brightly lit, with luxurious chandeliers hanging above tables filled with gourmet food and fine wine.

My family, dressed in their finest clothes, mingled and offered their congratulations. They only brought me up to curse me.

It was a stark contrast to the dark, cramped room where I had died.