They Chose Their Fake Daughter Over Me—100 Times
The last time, as they left me to die in a fire, I had screamed at them, asking why. Their eyes were filled with pity, but their words were a blade to the heart.
The more you suffer, Lily, the faster Auroras illness will fade. You wont really die, after all. We have no other choice. Just bear with it a little longer.
Aurora was the girl they adopted after I went missing, the golden child who took my place.
In terror, I dragged my broken body to my fianc, begging him to help me escape. He agreed without hesitation, only to lead me to the ocean and watch as I was torn apart by sharks.
Cant you stop being so selfish for once? hed pleaded. Only you can save Aurora. Once shes well, I promise Ill make it all up to you.
They had all made a deal with the System, trading my agony for Auroras health.
But they didnt know that I had made a deal with the System, too.
1.
Weve finally done it ninety-nine times. Just one more, we just have to kill Lily one more time, and our darling Aurora will be free from her sickness forever!
Our little girl can finally have a normal life! After this is done, we have to throw a huge party for her to celebrate!
I jolted awake, the phantom sensation of drowning still clinging to me, only to hear the excited chatter of my own parents just outside my door. They were already planning a future that had no place for me in it.
Mommy, Daddy if you keep hurting Lily, wont she hate you when she finds out the truth? I mean shes your real daughter, after all.
Auroras voice, sweet and cloying. My fists clenched. I waited, desperate to hear my parents reply. After all the pain theyd put me through for her, was there even a shred of remorse?
Aurora, sweetheart, thats not for you to worry about, my fathers voice was a cold, smooth stone. You just need to be happy and healthy. Your sister even if she knew, shed be happy to do this for you. Besides, its not like she really dies. He then cooed, telling Aurora not to worry her pretty little head.
His words were like a physical blow, stealing the air from my lungs. They never once asked me what I wanted. Even though my memories were wiped each time, the agony of my body being tortured to death, over and over, was terrifyingly real.
I remembered when they first found me after Id been missing for years. My parents had clutched me, sobbing so hard they could barely breathe. They promised me a happy home. They promised I would never suffer again.
They broke every single promise, all for their adopted daughter, Aurora.
If Aurora shed a single tear, it was my fault. Her pathetic, clumsy acting was enough to make my parents scream at me, to lock me in the storage closet for three days and nights, to ignore me when I was burning up with a 104-degree fever.
Tears soaked my pillow, hot and silent. The next moment, the door creaked open and my parents walked in. A flicker of guilt crossed their faces before being replaced by practiced, loving smiles.
I made you some soup. You need to get your strength back after falling in the water, my mother said. Auroras birthday party is in a few days. She really wants you to be there. You know how she gets when shes upset. That girl is impossible to soothe.
The mention of Aurora brought a wave of adoration to my mothers eyes. She would indulge her every whim, while I was always expected to be the understanding one.
What about my birthday? I asked, my voice small.
Aurora and I were born on the same day, in the same month, of the same year. Her birthday was my birthday, too.
2.
My mother froze. It was true; Id never had a real party. She looked at me with a sigh of weary resignation.
Oh, look at my memory. Im so sorry, Lily, darling. Your mother has just been so busy. Of course, well celebrate your birthday too. Its just its too late to have a gown custom-made. Youre about Auroras size, so youll just have to make do with one of her old ones for now. Ill make it up to you later, I promise.
Ill make it up to you. Id heard those words a hundred times. The hope I once felt had curdled into a numb acceptance. I just nodded.
My mother, relieved, brought the bowl of soup to my lips. My eyes burned as I drank it down, spoonful by spoonful. This simple act of maternal care was a scene I had replayed in my head a thousand times, and now, finally, it was real.
I was about to ask them, to beg them not to kill me again, when a violent cramp seized my stomach. The world blurred.
In agony, I tumbled from the bed, my body convulsing on the floor as foam frothed at my lips. Through the haze of pain, I heard my mothers worried voice.
The poison in this soup it seems so potent. Are you sure Lilys body can handle it?
She looked conflicted, reaching for me, but my father pulled her hand back.
She has to die a hundredth time sooner or later, he explained patiently. Dont you want Aurora to be fully recovered before her birthday? The more she suffers now, the healthier Aurora becomes.
They had reached an agreement. My mothers face hardened. She gave me one last look before turning away.
Lily, she said, her voice distant. Once Aurora is well, youll be the hero of this family. Mom and Dad will make it all up to you.
Moments after they left, I heard Auroras cheerful giggles as she cuddled between them. A happy family, their joy complete now that I was gone.
In the encroaching darkness, my tears ran dry. My heart was a dead, empty thing as I called out to the System. After Id recovered my memories, it had offered me one compensation for its error.
System, I thought, my voice a faint echo in my mind. You said that after I died one hundred times, you would help me fake my death and escape. Does that offer still stand?
Of course, its disembodied voice replied. Allowing you to regain your memories was my failure.
With that confirmation, I closed my eyes and waited for the end. But it didn't come.
The housekeeper, passing by my room, found me unconscious and called for an ambulance. My parents were furious that their plan had been disrupted, but they couldnt risk their public image as loving, doting parents.
So I woke up in a hospital, my parents standing beside my bed with red-rimmed eyes, tearfully telling a news reporter how they had failed as parents.
When my mother saw I was awake, she pulled me into a tight, heart-wrenching hug. I froze. She had never held me like this. I had spent my childhood watching her embrace Aurora with that fierce, protective love, my own heart aching with a jealousy so sharp it was a physical pain.
Even knowing this warmth was a lie, I desperately wanted to hold on.
But the shrill ring of her phone shattered the illusion.
She answered, her face immediately clouding with anxiety. Without a backward glance, she and my father rushed out of the room.
Theres an emergency at the company, she called over her shoulder. You be a good girl and wait here, Lily.
I was left alone with the awkward reporter.
Of course, Id overheard the call. It wasnt the company. Aurora had twisted her ankle walking down the stairs at home and was throwing a tantrum, refusing to let anyone treat it. That was their "emergency."
A few minutes later, my phone lit up. It was a new post from Aurora, a picture of my parents kneeling at her feet, carefully tending to her ankle. The caption read:
My little tantrums can only be soothed by Mom and Dad! And thank you for the priceless necklace you gave me to cheer me up. I love it so much, especially since its meaning is my one and only treasure.
She had tagged me.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips. I turned off my phone.
3.
I was in the hospital for only a day before the family butler was sent to forcibly discharge me.
I returned home, pale and weak, to find Aurora standing in the living room, preening in a magnificent gown as my parents showered her with praise.
I had almost forgotten. Today was our birthday.
Aurora, darling, my father began, today isnt just your birthday, its also
Had they finally remembered me? A foolish flicker of hope ignited in my chest, only to be instantly extinguished.
its also the day you become healthy forever! Your mother and I have waited so long for this. Youve suffered so much because of your illness, but thats all over now.
Thats right, my mother added, her eyes shining. Weve arranged everything. As soon as Lily dies one more time, youll be cured for good.
The three of them embraced, a portrait of familial bliss, while I, their flesh and blood, stood in the shadows, a ghost at their feast.
So this was why I couldn't miss the party. It was the stage for my hundredth death.
The butler hustled me forward. Aurora shot me a triumphant smile.
Sister, the partys about to start. Mommy forgot to get you a new dress, so youll just have to wear one of mine.
Two maids dragged me into a room, roughly stripping my clothes off, their nails deliberately scratching my skin, drawing blood. I met their contemptuous gazes and knew this was Auroras doing.
They ignored my struggles, forcing me into an ill-fitting dress. A thousand sharp, stinging pains erupted across my body. I reached down and touched the fabric. My fingers came away dotted with blood.
Hundreds of needles had been sewn into the lining.
The young miss picked this dress for you herself, one of the maids sneered. Its either this, or you go downstairs naked.
They laughed, then hauled me into the grand hall. It was already filled with guests. Their curious, malicious stares felt like insects crawling on my skin. Across the room, I saw Aurora, holding my parents hands, surrounded by a circle of well-wishers.
Did anyone here even know it was my birthday, too?
Auroras lips curled into a smirk. With all the pain I had endured recently, her cheeks were rosier than ever, her health blooming at my expense.
Happy birthday
A familiar voice from behind me. It was my fianc, Ethan, his face a mask of gentle concern.
I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. My desperate stare finally caught his attention. He saw me, and his brow furrowed in disgust. He took a deliberate step away, as if looking at something vile.
He walked right past me to Auroras side, carefully fastening a multi-million-dollar bracelet onto her wrist.
I remembered when we first got engaged. His eyes had been full of only me. He had promised to take care of me for the rest of my life. But after Auroras endless stream of lies and accusations, his affection had soured into revulsion.
It didnt matter anymore.
After the hundredth death, I would finally be out of their way for good.
As I stood there, lost in thought, one of the maids shoved me hard from behind. I stumbled, and at that exact moment, the massive crystal chandelier directly above me came crashing down.
The impact was immense, but the pain was so blinding I couldnt even scream. I looked down at my body, my limbs twisted at unnatural, horrifying angles. Blood pooled beneath me, a rapidly expanding stain on the marble floor. The guests recoiled, their faces masks of disgust.
With my last ounce of strength, I lifted my head. I saw my parents and my fianc shielding Aurora, terrified that my blood might splatter on her, that the grotesque sight of my broken body might frighten her. They were cooing at her, telling her not to look.
Aurora just stuck out her tongue playfully.
I could feel my consciousness fading. This, I thought, would be the last time I ever felt pain.
4.
Lily! Someone call an ambulance! Why arent you helping her?
As I lay dying, I heard a familiar voice cry out.
But who would want to save me? It must be another hallucination.
Then, a pair of hands pressed down on my wounds, and I realized it wasn't a hallucination. I forced my blood-matted eyelids open. It took a long moment for the figures to come into focus.
It was my adoptive parents.
The kind, simple couple who had found me when I was lost and raised me as their own. If not for them, I wouldn't have survived past the age of five. When my biological family found me, they were heartbroken to let me go, but happy that I would no longer have to live in poverty with them.
What would they think, seeing me like this now?
In their plain, worn clothes, they were starkly out of place among the wealthy guests, their frantic, desperate cries sounding almost comical in the opulent hall.
My parents and Ethan glanced at my suffering form, a flicker of pity in their eyes. But then they rememberedI wouldn't really die. Their brief concern vanished. It wasn't that they didn't want to save me; it was that for Aurora's sake, they couldn't.
Terrified my adoptive parents would ruin their plan, my father ordered the security guards to throw them out.
But they were stubborn. They clung to me, their bodies becoming soaked in my blood, refusing to let go. They screamed at my parents, their voices raw with disbelief.
Lily is your own daughter! Why wont you save her? When you took her from us, you promised you would cherish her for the rest of her life! We thought she would finally be happy, and you do this to her?
My adoptive mothers heartbroken sobs made my parents flinch with guilt. To prevent a bigger scene, my father barked at the guards.
What are you waiting for? Get them out! If they wont leave, break their legs and throw them out. The family can afford the settlement!
No I choked out, tears streaming down my face. Please Mom, Dad, Im begging you leave them alone.
I stretched a trembling hand toward them, desperate for them to look at me. My adoptive parents werent in good health. If their legs were broken, how would they survive?
But no one listens to the pleas of a dying girl.
I watched in horror as the guards took iron batons and shattered the bones in my adoptive parents' arms and legs. Then they dragged them out and threw them into the street like trash.
Of course. My parents didn't care about me. Why would they care about the people I loved?
Under their cold, indifferent gazes, I finally bled out, my last breath a shuddering gasp. The tears and blood mingled on the floor, a chilling testament to their cruelty.
And then, they got the confirmation from the System. Auroras illness was gone. For good.
They wiped away tears of joy and had my body carried up to my room. After all, for the last ninety-nine times, I had always woken up, my memory wiped clean.
But not this time.
This time, the torture was finally over.
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