99 Coupons of Betrayal, I'm Done

When I was a child, Mom told me that I made my sister Chloe deaf by hitting her. Because of that, she said they owed Chloe ninety-nine Favoritism Coupon.

On my birthday, Chloe wanted a mango cake. She whipped out one of the cards, and Mom immediately replaced my strawberry cake with mango, even though she knew I was severely allergic to mangoes.

When Chloe was caught smoking at school, she used another card. Mom forced me to take the blame for her.

The whole school rumored that I was a delinquent. For an entire year, nobody would talk to me.

From the time I was eight to eighteen, Chloe used ninety-six cards. And I endured ninety-six cold shoulders.

I used to think that once she used up the last three, I would finally get the same love from my parents.

Until today, while helping Mom clean the house, I stumbled upon a medical report from eighteen years ago.

It read: "Chloe, two-month-old newborn. Diagnosis: Congenital Bilateral Deafness."

A cold shiver ran down my spine, making me tremble uncontrollably.

Her deafness was never my fault. It was congenital. My parents' lack of love for me was the only real thing.

There was no point in hoping anymore.

I should have realized long ago that they didn't love me.

After all, Chloe was always the princess of the house. I was just the other daughter, the disposable one.

Rubbing my tired eyes, I looked down at my phone. The family group chat on Snapchat was buzzing.

As I scrolled up, my finger accidentally tapped a transfer. It was only twenty dollars, sent by Mom with a note: "For Chloe's smoothie."

My finger froze. My instinct was to send it back. But the money had already been accepted automatically.

The next second, Chloe's voice message popped up, dripping with sarcasm.

"Hazel, how can you be so shameless to steal my drink money? Mom clearly sent that to me. You sure are fast with your fingers."

Mom chimed in immediately, her bias showing in every word.

"Hazel, send that money back to Chloe right now. Her ears have been hurting lately, and she just wants something sweet to feel better. Don't fight her over such petty things."

A faint pang of pain went through my heart.

Silently, I Venmoed twenty dollars back to Chloe. Just as I locked my phone, Chloe's whining voice echoed from the living room.

She was hugging Mom's arm, swaying back and forth, saying she needed new clothes for graduation.

It was an intimacy I was never allowed to have.

Perhaps my gaze was too intense. Mom shot me a sideways glance and snapped.

"Hazel, can't you be more like Chloe? If you want something, just say it. Stop standing there with that miserable face. It looks pathetic."

But "just saying it" was a privilege for the beloved, not for me.

Ultimately, Mom dragged me along to the mall.

All along the way, Mom held up dresses against Chloe, buying her everything she wanted.

At the last store, a dress caught my eye. It was a simple, elegant white dress, a style I had secretly liked for a long time. The size was perfect.

I gathered my courage and spoke up.

"Mom, can I try this one on?"

But Chloe grabbed the hanger, refusing to let go. She pulled a brand-new Favoritism Coupon from her purse and stuffed it into Mom's hand.

"Mom, I like this one too. I'm using my coupon. This dress is mine."

Mom looked slightly hesitant. The sales clerk tried to diffuse the tension, saying to Chloe,

"This size might not fit you well, sweetie. We have the latest arrivals over here, why don't you take a look?"

But Chloe remained stubborn. "So what if it doesn't fit? I like it. Besides, Hazel owes me."

Mom immediately stepped forward and forced my hands off the dress.

When she looked at me, her face was cold and hard.

"You're older than her. What does it matter if you have one less dress? Chloe has bad hearing. Any minor irritation makes her ears ring. Just let her have it."

I stood there, my knuckles turning white.

Ever since we were kids, clothes, stationery, snacks. As long as Chloe pulled out a coupon, I was always forced to back down.

The weight of ninety-six past humiliations rushed over me. Suppressing the bitterness, I asked quietly,

"Mom, if I were the one with the hearing loss today, would you make Chloe give in to me for everything?"

I couldn't help but think: What if she only loved Chloe more because of her ears?

But when Mom heard this, her eyes flickered. The next second, she raised her voice, full of accusation.

"Why do you have to compete with Chloe for everything? It's just a dress. Is it really worth being so petty over? Chloe's hearing loss is your fault. Instead of being understanding, you're always comparing yourself to her. How can you be so narrow-minded."

*Caused by me?*

That one casual sentence crushed my last shred of hope.

Their guilt was only reserved for Chloe. I was never within the scope of their care.

Just then, Chloe walked out of the fitting room wearing the ill-fitting white dress, spinning around triumphantly.

She intentionally bumped into my shoulder and whispered mockingly,

"That's what you get for breaking my ears. You owe me. You should give me everything."

I lowered my eyes and quietly looked away, no longer arguing.

On the way home, I pulled out my notebook and crossed out the 97th grid:

*Give the white dress to Chloe.*

Only two empty grids left.

I stared at the dark night outside the window. My heart was completely numb.

Once the last two coupons were used, I would leave this suffocating town forever and never look back.

I looked closely at the previous grids. Each one felt like a knife scar on my body.

The 96th grid read: "She threw away my SAT prep materials."

Suddenly, I remembered how damp and cold the rain was that night.

Three months before the SAT, I had organized all my study prep materials, which I had saved up for a whole year to buy, into a canvas backpack.

Whenever I had a spare moment, I would study.

But Chloe took advantage of the time I was taking a shower and threw all my materials into the trash outside.

By the time I realized my books were gone, the sky was completely dark.

I was trembling with anxiety. I dragged Chloe to ask where my books were, but she didn't show a hint of remorse. Instead, she laughed and pulled the 96th Favoritism Coupon from her pocket, handing it to Mom, who had rushed over.

"Mom, I'm using my coupon. I just hate seeing Hazel read all day. Those books are gone, so tell her not to yell at me."

Holding the paper coupon, Mom immediately shielded Chloe. She turned around and scolded me harshly.

"It's just a few books! You can just reprint them or copy them again. Why did you have to scare Chloe? Her hearing is already so fragile. You yelled at her so loudly that her head hurts. Can you take responsibility for that?"

My eyes burned with tears, my voice shaking.

"I spent a year saving up for those materials! There are practice tests in there that you can't even buy anymore! There are only three months left before the SAT. How am I supposed to start over?"

Dad sat on the sofa scrolling through his phone, chiming in casually.

"You're smart. Missing a few books won't affect your test. Chloe was just being a playful kid. Let it go."

"A coupon is on the table. This matter is settled. Don't bring it up again."

I ran downstairs to search the bushes. It was pitch black and pouring rain.

My legs were scratched and bleeding from the thorns, but I refused to stop.

It wasn't until midnight that I found my materials. They had been soaked into a muddy pulp by the rain.

They were completely ruined.

I squatted in the thorns, picking up the torn pages one by one. The cold wind whipped my face, mixing with the tears streaming down.

But the cold outside was nothing compared to the ice in my heart.

A neighbor passing by saw how miserable I looked and kindly helped me.

Meanwhile, my parents stood at the entrance of the building, busy comforting a sulking Chloe. They didn't even bother to come down and look at me.

When I got back inside, holding the wet, ruined books, I ignored my feverish and battered body. I tried to negotiate with my parents, asking if they could help me buy new materials.

Mom waved her hand impatiently.

"Our money is saved for Chloe's future college fund. Figure out your own problems. Who told you to pick a fight with her anyway?"

In the end, I had to stay up until three o'clock every single night, manually reconstructing those materials.

Pulling my thoughts back to the present, I traced that line of text. It felt hilarious.

Back then, I studied so hard because I wanted to major in pre-med. I wanted to cure Chloe's ears.

I wanted to wash away the "guilt" I supposedly owed her.

But it turned out, I never owed her anything.

Suddenly, my phone rang. It was my high school counselor.

"Hazel, the school offers a special $5,000 Community Merit Grant for outstanding graduating seniors. If you need it, come to the office tomorrow to fill out the form."

I quickly agreed.

I knew that to escape this family and go to college, I would need a lot of money.

But the moment I hung up and opened my room door, I found Chloe eavesdropping outside.

Without a shred of embarrassment, she ordered,

"Hazel, give that grant money to me!"

In front of our parents, Chloe threw a massive tantrum. She stomped her feet, tears flowing on command.

"I want the latest iPad Pro! Everyone in my class has one for graduation except me! I can't even play games properly!"

As she spoke, she snatched the 98th Favoritism Coupon from her pink wallet and slammed it onto the wooden dining table. The paper made a sharp slap against the wood.

She shot me a smug look, as if this was completely natural.

"Mom, I'm using this coupon. Make Hazel transfer her grant money to me so I can buy my iPad!"

Mom, habitually taking the coupon, looked at me and said,

"Hazel, tell your counselor that Chloe needs the grant more. Bring the application materials out and sign them over to Chloe."

Dad put down his phone and chimed in, his tone taking it for granted.

"What's wrong with fulfilling Chloe's wish for once? Don't forget her ears are like that because of you. You can't always be so greedy over a little money."

I clenched the edge of the table, my knuckles turning white.

Eighteen years of accumulated resentment finally exploded.

"This is my merit grant! The school gave it to me because I work part-time while maintaining top grades! On what grounds do you expect me to just hand it over to her?"

I raised my voice, openly defying them for the first time.

My parents looked shocked. Even Chloe froze.

"Chloe has everything she wants, clothes, jewelry, allowance. I have to work part-time just to afford food, and you've never once asked if I was struggling. Why do you always sacrifice me for her?"

When she saw me talk back, Chloe cried even harder. She threw herself into Mom's arms, clutching her sleeve.

"Hazel just hates me! She's doing this on purpose! She broke my ears, and now she won't even let me have this little thing!"

That sentence was the spark that ignited Mom's fury.

She stood up abruptly, rushed over to me, and slapped me hard across the face.

SLAP.

The sharp sound echoed in the quiet living room.

My cheek instantly burned with pain, and my ears rang.

My head was whipped to the side. I tasted copper as my teeth cut into my inner lip.

"I raised you to eighteen just so you could talk back to us and fight with Chloe?"

Mom's chest heaved with anger, her eyes filled with disgust and disappointment.

"Chloe's ears were ruined by you. You have your health. What's wrong with letting her have some benefits?"

*I've let her have everything for eighteen years. Isn't that enough?*

Holding my burning cheek, my eyes welled with tears, but I stubbornly refused to let them fall.

No matter how obedient I was, the moment I showed any resistance to Chloe, I would only get blamed.

But the selfish, cowardly ones were them.

The image of that congenital deafness diagnosis kept flashing in my mind.

My heart felt as cold as ice.

"I didn't break her ears," I whispered, my voice trembling. I was so close to spitting out the truth about the medical report, but I held it in.

Revealing it now was pointless. It would only bring more intense accusations.

I just needed to quietly take my SAT and leave this place forever.

Mom assumed I was just being stubborn. She let out a cold laugh and turned to Dad.

"Go to the school tomorrow morning and tell them to transfer Hazel's grant to Chloe's name. I'll get the paperwork."

That night, while I was showering, Mom pried open my desk drawer and took all my application materials.

The next day, my counselor called, her voice full of pity and helplessness.

"Hazel, your mom insisted that Chloe has health issues and demanded the grant be transferred to her. I couldn't stop her."

After hanging up, I went back to the living room. Chloe was playing with the used coupon, crumpling it up and tossing it into the trash.

My parents were huddled around her, picking out iPad models on Amazon, laughing and chatting.

I was always the outsider. Why should I even care?

I walked back to my room, picked up my pencil, and firmly crossed out the 98th grid.

*Give the grant to Chloe.*

Only one coupon left.

Once it was gone, my debt to this family would be fully paid.

I would apply to a college as far away as possible, and I would never see them again.

On the day the SAT scores were released, my parents gathered around Chloe in the living room to check her score.

I sat alone in my room, checking mine on a cheap, laggy secondhand phone they had discarded.

The screen kept loading.

Outside, I heard Mom's gentle voice. "Chloe, you did so well! 1000 is an amazing score. I'm so proud of you!"

It wasn't until noon that my screen finally loaded: 1580.

I gripped my phone and let out a long breath. I finally had the ticket to escape this place.

That evening, Mom asked me casually how much I scored.

Before I could answer, Chloe spoke up. "She got a 1580. She's the top scorer in our school."

At that, Chloe's eyes welled with tears. "If my ears were fine, I wouldn't be so stupid. I wouldn't have scored so low. Mom, should I even be alive?"

Mom shot me a look of annoyance, then quickly comforted Chloe. "We don't care about her score. You will always be our pride."

A sudden ache hit my chest. The beloved child is never blamed even with a terrible score, while the unloved child's achievements go unnoticed. Even though Chloe couldn't even get into a decent college.

Looking at the two score reports, Mom suddenly took my hand, her tone taking my compliance for granted.

"Hazel, your high score is useless anyway. Our family is under tight financial pressure right now. Chloe wants to go to a private university, and the tuition is over thirty thousand a year. That's more than a hundred thousand for four years."

"You shouldn't go to college. Go find a job. Send all your monthly paychecks home to support Chloe through her four years."

I snapped my head up. My 1580 score was the future I had traded my sleepless nights for. In their eyes, it wasn't even worth Chloe's overpriced private college tuition.

"This is my life. I want to go to college too," my voice shook.

Dad agreed from the side. "What's the use of a girl getting so much education? Chloe has bad hearing. It'll be hard for her to find a job later. She needs a degree to back her up."

"You're healthy. It's your duty to work early and support the family."

"Besides, she's using her last coupon. Just let her have this last one."

Chloe leaned back on the sofa, speaking nonchalantly. "You're so smart, you'll have plenty of chances to study later. This is my only chance to get a bachelor's degree. Why can't you just help me out?"

The last bit of warmth in my heart evaporated completely. But my face remained calm, pretending to submit.

"Fine. I'll listen to you. I'll look for a job and skip college."

Seeing me give in, my parents immediately beamed with joy. They turned back to Chloe, planning her college life, completely ignoring me.

They never would have guessed that their obedient daughter was lying.

I found a summer job and rarely went home.

I hid it from everyone and secretly accepted an offer from Columbia University in New York, thousands of miles away.

The day the admission letter arrived, I packed a single suitcase and quietly boarded a train to New York.

Before the train started moving, I blocked all of their contact info.

When my parents finally realized I was gone, they panicked.