I Gave Up The Family Home I Could Never Return To

At my birthday party, my brother organized a game of Never Have I Ever.

The winner would get to ask him for one favor, no strings attached.

Everyone at the party knew that I had been brought back to the Stone family three years ago, but I still hadn't been officially recognized or allowed to move into the main estate.

They all purposefully let me win, whispering that my brother was finally giving me a chance to come home.

Only the fake heiress, Wendy, fought me at every turn.

"My brother gives me fifty thousand dollars a month for allowance."

"He bid a million dollars on a diamond necklace just for me."

"I get to spend every holiday with the family, front and center."

"My name is officially written in the Stone family registry."

After her four sentences, I only had one finger left up.

She smiled sweetly and delivered the final blow.

"My brother organized this entire game tonight just to make me happy."

My heart hollowed out. I looked at my brother.

He was smiling at her with absolute adoration. Just like every single time over the last three years, he chose her side.

I admitted defeat and put down my last finger.

Suddenly, I realized I didn't really want to go home anymore.

A bizarre, heavy silence fell over the private room.

Everyone's eyes landed on me, waiting to see how I would react.

I simply smiled, picked up my shot glass, and downed the liquor in one go.

"I lose."

Someone couldn't handle the awkwardness and tried to smooth things over.

"Actually, didn't Wendy break the rules? Who brings up family drama in a drinking game?"

Wendy raised an eyebrow and shot the girl a glare.

"Why not? Isn't this how the game is played?"

She turned to my brother, her voice dripping with sugar.

"Vance, did I break the rules?"

My brother's eyes crinkled in helpless affection.

"You win."

"I set this game up to cheer you up anyway."

"What do you want? Name it."

Wendy shot me a provocative look.

"Then you have to take me shopping tomorrow. I want a new dress, and you have the best taste."

I set my empty glass down on the marble table.

I lowered my head, expertly avoiding Wendy's arrogant stare.

I had been practicing this exact act of yielding for three years. I was fluent in it.

It was so natural that even my brother didn't notice anything wrong with my mood.

He frowned slightly, looking a bit conflicted.

"But I promised Maya I'd help her move tomorrow."

My chest tightened.

For the three years since I was brought back to the city, I had been living in a small apartment in the suburbs, miles away from the Stone estate.

Last month, my brother asked me what I wanted for my birthday.

I told him I wanted to be officially recognized. I wanted my name in the family registry.

He had patted my head with a sigh.

"Pick something else. You know Wendy is really sensitive about that."

"I've been trying my best to talk her into it. Once she agrees, you can come home."

I had lowered my eyes, taking a step back as always.

"Then... can I at least move closer to the estate?"

"Where I am now is too far. It's inconvenient to go anywhere."

He had frowned, not agreeing immediately, only saying he would think about it.

I knew the truth. He had to go ask Wendy for permission.

This little princess had stolen my life and grown up surrounded by their unconditional love.

Even my own mother walked on eggshells around her, terrified of making her upset.

Sure enough, yesterday my brother told me Wendy had approved the move.

He had already found me an apartment downtown. Once my birthday passed, I could move in.

I had been overjoyed, begging him to come help me.

He had promised.

The dim, shifting lights of the private club washed over Wendy's face.

She scowled.

"Why does she have to move tomorrow? Can't she do it the day after? Or next week?"

Seeing her get upset, my brother immediately softened.

"There's no rush to buy a dress, right? We can go any other day."

"I want to go tomorrow! That dress is limited edition and it's going to sell out!"

Wendy raised her voice, making the atmosphere in the room even more unbearable.

With so many people watching, my brother's face darkened slightly.

A moment later, his lips parted. He was just about to say something.

But I spoke first.

"You guys go shopping tomorrow."

"I'm not moving anymore. Where I live right now is fine."

The moment the words left my mouth, my brother snapped his head toward me in absolute shock.

My brother knew exactly how desperately I wanted to move downtown, how much I wanted to be closer to the family.

So when he saw me actively stepping aside to defuse the situation, a flicker of guilt and heartache crossed his eyes.

"Let's play another round," he suggested, looking directly at me.

"Maya goes first this time."

I didn't say anything for a long moment. The girl sitting next to me nudged my arm.

"Come on, hurry up! Your brother is throwing you a bone. You'll definitely win this round!"

I raised my hand, all five fingers up, and looked dead at Wendy.

"I have seen the sunrise deep in the mountains at 4:00 AM."

The crowd immediately played along, groaning in exaggerated defeat.

Wendy rolled her eyes and put down a finger.

Then she couldn't wait to speak.

"I have seen the Northern Lights in Iceland with the whole family."

My expression didn't change as I folded a finger down. I spoke slowly.

"I have raised a three-hundred-pound pig."

She scrunched her nose in absolute disgust.

"I own a registered star in the sky. Mom bought it for my birthday."

I lowered my eyelashes, my voice entirely flat.

"I have arranged and managed my adoptive parents' funerals completely alone."

She froze for a second, then gritted her teeth.

"I attended high-society charity galas representing the entire Stone family when I was eighteen!"

The entire room fell dead silent.

At some point, the game had become a duel between just the two of us.

I didn't back down. I held up my last two fingers, my voice completely devoid of emotion.

"At my lowest weight, I was seventy pounds."

Wendy refused to show weakness, pushing harder.

"I have twenty million in my bank account and three oceanfront villas!"

If she was pulling out numbers like that, it meant she was out of real ammunition to show off.

I gently curled the corners of my mouth into a smile.

"I don't have a home."

She folded her last finger. She opened her mouth, trying to find another comeback.

Then she realized she had already lost. Her face turned an ugly shade of red.

Just as she angrily reached for her shot glass, my brother grabbed her wrist.

"I'll drink this for you."

He downed the liquor in one smooth motion.

Then, his face completely dark, he stormed over, grabbed my arm, and dragged me out into the hallway.

"Why did you say those things? Are you trying to play the victim?"

"I know you suffered in the countryside, but tonight wasn't the time to fish for sympathy!"

My heart plummeted into a bottomless pit. I wasn't sure if it was the alcohol hitting my system or just an overwhelming, suffocating sense of injustice.

Whatever it was, the dam holding back three years of suppressed emotions finally broke.

"Wendy can flaunt her perfect life, but when I talk about my own life, I'm playing the victim?"

"Could you possibly be any more biased?"

My brother's face turned to thunder.

"She doesn't know any better! Are you saying you don't know better either?"

"I actually thought you were being understanding earlier. I was going to make sure you moved tomorrow no matter what. And then you pull a stunt like this?"

"Maya, have I let you starve these last three years? Have I not given you enough money?"

"What exactly are you in such a rush for?!"

My pupils constricted. I stared at him in utter disbelief.

"So you think the reason I'm desperate to come home... is for your money?"

My brother found me the year my adoptive parents died.

I had violently lost everything.

I had pushed through the physical exhaustion and heartbreak to handle their funerals all by myself.

At my absolute lowest, most helpless moment, he descended like a god from above.

With bloodshot eyes, he told me that I was the biological daughter of the Stone family.

"Maya, come back with me. Mom and Dad are waiting for you."

"It's too hard here. How have you survived all these years..."

I weighed seventy pounds at the time.

My severely malnourished body disappeared into his embrace.

His hands shook uncontrollably. His voice was raw.

"I'm so sorry. I'm late. I let you suffer so much."

I had stood frozen, not knowing what to do with my hands.

He was so tall. So elegant.

I felt like my dirt and poverty were staining his expensive coat just by him hugging me.

I was incredibly insecure, but I couldn't stop the overwhelming surge of emotion that came from finding my real blood.

So, I viewed him as my ultimate salvation, and I followed him back to the city.

But he didn't take me home.

He put me in a small apartment on the outskirts of the city.

"Actually, our family has another daughter. She really doesn't want you to come back. She's been screaming and crying, threatening to jump off the roof."

"Maya, just give it a little time. Let me talk her down."

To keep me calm, he brought our mother to see me.

The moment the elegant, aristocratic woman laid eyes on me, she burst into tears.

"Maya... look how big you've gotten. Mommy is so sorry!"

Just like my brother, she pulled me into a tight hug, her voice breaking with heartache.

"Just wait a little longer. Mommy will make Wendy understand!"

I hugged her back, terrified of breaking the moment.

"Okay. I'll wait."

She patted my head with relief and pulled a black credit card from her designer bag.

"You can spend whatever you want on this card. Even though you can't come home yet, you get the exact same treatment as Wendy!"

I pushed the card back in panic, feeling unworthy. But she forcefully shoved it into my pocket.

"Alright, Mommy has to go. If I stay out too long, Wendy will get suspicious."

"Next time I come, we'll have dinner together, okay?"

I nodded my head furiously. "Okay! Thank you, Mom!"

Who knew that "wait a little longer" would turn into three years.

In those three years, whenever I cautiously brought up going home, my brother would just sigh.

"Let's talk about it in a few days."

In the beginning, his tone was gentle.

But as time went on, and he realized I was a pushover who wouldn't throw explosive tantrums like Wendy, he grew annoyed.

"You have everything you need right now. Why are you in such a rush to move in?"

"Do you have any idea how much pressure I'm under just sneaking out to see you? We can barely hide it from Wendy anymore."

I couldn't understand it.

"Why do I need her permission to return to my own house?"

"Mom sneaks around just to see me. Am I even a daughter of the Stone family?"

His face had darkened instantly.

"You are my biological sister. Of course you're a Stone."

"But we love Wendy too. Are we supposed to just watch her jump off a building?"

I fell silent.

Seeing me upset, he had helplessly grabbed my hand.

"Don't worry, you'll come home eventually."

"Once Wendy softens up, I'll arrange for you two to meet. Try to become friends with her."

"Once you have a good relationship, she'll naturally accept you."

I had never imagined that the road back to my own family would be littered with so many insurmountable walls.

That was the first time since arriving in the city that I truly missed my adoptive parents.

And now, any lingering hope I had of returning to the Stone family had completely shattered.