“Besides, you were already ten back then, a child from the mountains, poor in studies, with no skills, wild and rough. No one would want you.”
“You’re eighteen now, still without any proper schooling. Other than going home, do you plan to stay in this orphanage forever?”
My biological mother’s face stayed calm as she stripped me of all worth with her words. When it was revealed that Phoebe Romero and I had been switched at birth, they found me right away.
The day before, they hugged me and said I had suffered enough. But the next day, because Phoebe wanted to run away from home, they sent me here instead and left me to survive on my own.
It wasn’t that I felt much for them, but they were still my biological parents. Yet they refused to even give me a place to stay. Feeling upset, I spoke up in protest.
All I got in return was their disgust.
“The switch wasn’t Phoebe’s fault. All these years, she’s been kind and filial. If you move in, people will start asking questions about her background, and it’ll affect her emotionally.”
“You’re our real daughter. You’ll have everything you deserve one day. Once Phoebe gets into college and stops feeling insecure, we’ll bring you home.”