She Stole My Life for Beauty

My sister, Chloe, was a total romantic, completely obsessed with beauty standards.

When she was fifteen, because her classmates said beautiful girls were tall and thin, she got bone-lengthening surgery and starved herself for a month.

At twenty, her boyfriend complained that her figure wasn't enchanting enough.

She then stole my $70,000 in emergency medical funds for plastic surgery.

Watching Chloe post on Instagram, "I'm so much prettier now. Do you want to see me?" I was furious.

I just wanted fairness.

But my mom, who always favored Chloe, snarled, "You're worthless. If this money makes your sister happy, it's the only good thing your pathetic life will ever amount to! Just die already, stop being a burden to us!"

With that, she pulled off my oxygen mask.

And I died, filled with resentment.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Chloe stole my money.

This time, I called the police immediately.

"I know the law better than I used to. Do you want to go to prison?"

"Maya, your sister just took some of your money, right? Do you have to be so petty?"

When Mom Eleanor's chilling voice rang in my ears, I realized I had been reborn.

In my previous life, my love-struck sister stole my emergency funds for plastic surgery, desperate to win back her boyfriend.

When I found out, Chloe scoffed, "Maya, I'm enhancing my looks, pursuing happiness! Unlike you, who's ugly and fat and totally clueless about it!"

I was so furious, I could only laugh. "You're destroying yourself to meet beauty standards!"

But Chloe shrugged it off, even cried to Mom, claiming I bullied her.

Eleanor, hearing this, immediately glared at me viciously and personally signed my death warrant. "You burden! Chloe is our family's darling, how dare you bully her? Go die!"

Snapping back to reality, I met their arrogant gaze and smiled coldly. "Fine. I know the law better than I used to. Grand theft is ten years in prison! If you're not afraid of jail time, go ahead and try it!"

My words made Chloe's face go pale. "Maya, you're so cruel!"

Her tears started flowing immediately. "Is it wrong for me to want to be beautiful? Are you just jealous that I'm younger and prettier, that's why you're treating me like this?"

Eleanor looked at Chloe's reddened nose and instantly felt sympathy. She pointed a finger at my face and yelled, "Maya! You vicious, venomous girl! Chloe is your own sister, don't you care about family ties anymore? You ungrateful wretch!"

She wielded the knife of 'family love' without hesitation, each blow aimed to kill.

Looking at her familiar yet strange face, my heart ached.

We were both her daughters.

Why could Chloe openly enjoy her favoritism?

What did I do wrong? Why did she hate me so much?

My thoughts returned.

I looked at Eleanor, each word torn from my soul. "Eleanor, I need money for my treatment too! I'm your daughter too! Why are you always so biased towards Chloe? Tell me, what do I have to do to earn your affection?"

I wanted to find even a flicker of remorse or affection on her face.

But there was nothing.

Eleanor shielded Chloe, her cold eyes held only distance and indifference. "Chloe is younger, shouldn't you, as the older sister, be more understanding?"

I laughed, tears welling up.

It seemed no matter how much I screamed and begged, her ability to deflect was more brutal.

Perhaps she was tired from yelling. She glared at me fiercely and walked out of the hospital room. "Forget it, I don't want to be around a heartless creature like you. You're bad news!"

The door slammed shut, echoing dully.

Leaving me standing there, like a discarded clown.

That afternoon, Chloe sought me out.

The girl's face had lost its earlier pitiful look, replaced by a hint of triumph. "Want to know why Mom hates you so much?"

She raised an eyebrow, her tone full of provocation. "Give me seven thousand dollars. And I'll tell you."

I gritted my teeth and paid her.

After Chloe saw the transfer notification, she gave a cold laugh. "Alright, if you want the truth, just look at this photo."

She picked up a yellowed photo and shoved it into my hand.

I lowered my gaze.

My eyes involuntarily widened.

The woman in the photo had eyes that curved into crescents, and a pair of shallow dimples appeared when she smiled.

She looked almost exactly like me.

"Maya, because of your face, even looking at you makes Mom sick! Before you were born, Dad had an affair and left Mom for another woman. During that time, Mom spent her days in tears, begging Dad to come back, but Dad mercilessly hurt Mom for that other woman..."

My body trembled uncontrollably.

My mind went blank instantly. "So, Mom hates me because I look exactly like that other woman?"

Each word felt like swallowing broken glass.

Chloe nodded, her expression cold as ice. "Yes, because of you. The moment Mom sees you, she remembers endless pain. So, Maya, just die already, stop being an eyesore!"

So that was it.

Just because I resembled "the other woman who stole Dad," from the moment I was born, I became a thorn in Mom's side.

My existence was a constant reminder of her broken marriage, of her painful past.

It turned out, Mom's favoritism, Mom's cruelty, had never been rooted in anything I did, but simply because my face resembled the person she utterly despised.

I looked at Chloe's smug face and suddenly found it incredibly laughable.

All these years, I had endured so much hardship, all because of a face.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms.

If no one loved me, if no one helped me, then I would love myself!

This life, I wouldn't tolerate it anymore.

Everything they owed me, I would make them pay for it, one by one!

Chloe took the money and immediately went for plastic surgery.

But after her eyelid surgery, she decided her chest wasn't big enough.

She demanded that I pay for her breast augmentation.

I refused.

She then wept pitifully in front of Eleanor.

This time, Eleanor completely lost it.

She grabbed my hair and screamed, "You ungrateful wretch! I gave you life, you have to do whatever I tell you! Now I order you, give Chloe the money immediately! Or I'll kick you out of this house! I'll disown you!"

Watching Chloe's smugly triumphant expression from the side, I sneered inwardly.

Outwardly, I deliberately feigned terror. " Eleanor, I know I was wrong, I'll give it to her right now..."

Chloe, seemingly satisfied with my submission, walked over and patted my face. Her tone was contemptuous: "Maya, you really are a spineless coward, such a pathetic wimp!"

I rubbed my scalp where Eleanor had pulled my hair, playing the role of the meek, submissive daughter. "$70,000 is a huge sum. Once you sign the contract, the money is yours, and I won't ask for it back!"

Chloe immediately nodded, afraid I'd change my mind. "Smart move! Sign it! Hurry up!"

I curled my lips into a smile.

I took out the contract I had prepared long ago from my bedroom drawer and handed it to her.

The girl took it, didn't even glance at the contents, grabbed a pen, and scribbled her name down.

After signing, she ecstatically contacted the plastic surgeon. "Book me the most exclusive breast augmentation surgery! I want it tomorrow!"

Then, she called her deadbeat boyfriend, Jake. "Honey, I'm getting my chest done even bigger tomorrow, I promise you'll love it!"

Hearing this, I almost laughed out loud.

She really was a love-struck woman obsessed with her looks!

But she didn't know that what she had signed wasn't a gift deed, but a $70,000 high-interest loan agreement.

The girl was still immersed in her joy, completely oblivious to my menacing smile behind her.

The next day, just after waking up, I saw Chloe's location on her Instagram story.

It was at the most exclusive plastic surgery clinic downtown.

In the photo, she captioned: "I'm so much prettier now, do you want to see me?"

I stared at the words and smiled.

Chloe, your good days are numbered!

Half a month later, Chloe's Instagram posts stopped updating.

I asked a nurse, and that's when I found out she'd had problems at the hospital: Excessive liposuction caused skin necrosis, breast implant infection led to inflammation, and even her eyelid surgery resulted in a nasty scar due to tissue rejection.

Her deadbeat boyfriend, Jake, saw her disfigured appearance.

He immediately dumped her.

After the breakup, Chloe was devastated.

She climbed onto the rooftop, contemplating suicide.

Eleanor was frantic.

She immediately grabbed my arm and appeared before Chloe. "Chloe, please come down. Mom will find a way to fix your face again, okay?"

Chloe was sobbing hysterically. "But, the $70,000 is all gone! Maya, where else would she get money?"

Eleanor's eyes shifted.

She turned her head to look at me.

Her eyes were cold. "Tomorrow, you'll marry that old guy, and the $70,000 payment will pay for your sister's treatment!"

I was stunned.

For money, she could be so ruthlessly extreme towards me!

Chloe's eyes immediately lit up.

She mumbled, "Yes, once I get the money from Maya's marriage, I'll get repairs! This time I'll definitely look beautiful! Jake will definitely come back!"

There was no way I would sacrifice my own happiness for Chloe.

Eleanor saw my indifference and instantly blew up.

She slapped me hard across the face. "Your sister is about to jump off the roof, and you'd just leave her to die? Do you have a heart of stone? Maya, I truly regret giving birth to such a cold, selfish, ungrateful daughter!"

I turned my head away, a handprint quickly appearing on my cheek.

The people around gasped and murmured.

Seeing this, Eleanor slapped her leg and started crying and wailing loudly. "Oh, the injustice! My older daughter is driving my younger daughter to suicide, what am I supposed to do? I have never done anything wrong in my life, how did I raise such a cold-blooded, heartless creature! My younger daughter is standing on the edge of the rooftop, one step and she's dead! But my older daughter? She won't even bat an eye!"

She cried, peeking at the gathering neighbors from the corner of her eye.

Seeing more and more people gather, her wails grew louder, and she even beat her chest, as if she was on the verge of collapsing: "Why is my life so miserable! I gave birth to two daughters, the younger one is sweet and obedient, but the older one is a cold, unfeeling rock! If my younger daughter jumps, I don't want to live either, I'll just jump with her!"

The neighbors, unaware of the full story, listened.

They all started blaming me. "Ugh! Ungrateful wretch! A disgrace to society! It'd be better if such a child hadn't been born! She's ultimately a heartless monster!"

Probing, scornful gazes assailed me, making me feel utterly suffocated.

They were clearly just trying to crucify me.

Cold sweat seeped down my back.

I prepared to agree for now, then escape this toxic family later.

Just then, several men in suits appeared.

They held documents and walked up to Chloe, saying sternly: "Are you Ms. Chloe? We are from the loan company. You took out a loan of $70,000 from us, and with interest, it totals 0-040,000. The repayment date is today, when will you be able to pay it back?"

Chloe frowned slightly.

She seemed confused.

Then, she scoffed, as if she'd heard the most ridiculous joke. "0-040,000? You must be mistaken, right? How could I possibly take out a loan? If you want to scam people, go somewhere else, I'm not stupid!"

The leading man sighed.

He handed the document to her, pointing to the signature. "Ms. Chloe, please look carefully! This is the loan contract you personally signed, amounting to 0-040,000, and the repayment date is today. If you cannot repay it today, we will, according to the contract, seize all your assets and pursue legal action."

The girl's smile froze on her face.

She still couldn't quite believe it, grabbing the document.

She ran her finger over the signature repeatedly. After confirming it was indeed her handwriting, she was stunned.

The color slowly drained from Chloe's face...

She suddenly looked up at me, urgently asking, "Maya, what is this? The contract you gave me wasn't a $70,000 gift deed, was it? Is this all your doing!? Maya, you tricked me, didn't you?! This isn't a gift deed at all, it's a trap you set for me!"

I stood by, tilting my head and smirking mockingly. "Oh, I don't understand, Chloe... Chloe, I only knew you wanted money, so I gave you a loan contract. Is there a problem with that?"

Chloe's face instantly went white. "It really was you! You bitch! How dare you trick me!"

She screamed hysterically, lunging at me, trying to hit me. "You evil witch! You're absolutely twisted! I'm going to kill you!"

The leading man stopped her, saying coldly, "Ms. Chloe, please calm down. This is not the time to throw a tantrum. Either pay back the 0-040,000 today, or we proceed with legal action."

Chloe's legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground, tears instantly gushing out. "0-040,000? Where would I get that much money? You might as well just kill me..."

Eleanor, standing nearby, also looked stunned.

Her eyes hollow, she said, "It's over, it's all over now!"