My Mom Threw My Acceptance Letter Away For My Stepsister Chapter 02
I’d just tucked the papers back under the bed when the knock came.
Ethan and Gavin stood in the doorway. One held a mini cupcake. The other held a cardboard party hat.
“Happy birthday.”
I froze.
Sophie and I were born the same day.
From the moment she moved in, even my birthday stopped being mine.
The banners always said Happy Birthday Sophie. Never my name.
I’d forgotten it was today. Couldn’t remember the last time I’d celebrated.
I lifted my head, dizzy.
They remembered?
Did that mean they still cared? Even a little?
Gavin tapped my head lightly. “You gonna stare or blow out the candle?”
“Make a wish,” Ethan added.
I held back the sting in my nose, closed my eyes, and made my wish. Blew the flame out in one breath.
Ethan tilted his head. “What’d you wish for?”
I stayed quiet for a second. I’d wished for open sky. Somewhere far away. A life that was mine.
I opened my mouth.
Gavin cut me off. “Doesn’t matter.”
I blinked.
He cleared his throat. “You know Sophie’s health is fragile. Severe asthma. She can’t handle stress, so…”
Something cold dropped into my stomach.
Then he said it.
“Once you start college, if anyone asks—Sophie’s the Whitmans’ real daughter. Mom’s biological kid.”
“Mom is changing Sophie’s last name to Whitman. You’re taking Robert’s last name. Hayes.”
“Basically… you two swap.”
He said it so casually.
Inside me, a hurricane ripped through everything.
I don’t know how I found my voice. My throat felt shredded.
“Mom said this?”
Ethan nodded. “Yeah. Robert married into the family. It’s a sore spot for Sophie. People talk.”
My fists clenched so hard my palms throbbed.
She didn’t want me anymore. She was giving my name away. “She’s sensitive, so I’m the one who has to suffer?”
I hadn’t done anything wrong.
They both looked startled that I’d pushed back. For years, I’d just nodded along like a well-trained dog.
Ethan slammed the cupcake onto my desk. His expression twisted.
“This isn’t up for debate.”
“Natalie. Be reasonable.”
He exchanged a look with Gavin, and they walked out.
I stood there frozen.
Staring at the smashed cupcake. A dry, broken laugh crawled out of my throat.
I’d actually believed they cared.
A treat before the beating. That’s all it was.
They’d barely left when Sophie slipped in. Victory was already dripping from her smile. “Finally, Natalie. Everything that’s yours is mine now.”
I lifted red-rimmed eyes. “Why do you hate me so much?”
She gave an innocent little shrug. “Because Mom and Ethan only get to love me. There’s only one Whitman princess, and it’s me. And if you’re miserable…” She grinned. “That’s just a bonus.”
She crushed the cupcake in my hands.
“Happy birthday.”
“Enjoy your last night with the Whitman name.”
The door slammed shut.
Sticky frosting slid down my face. Tears cut tracks through the mess.
On my own birthday, I looked like a clown left out in the rain.
The next morning, Mom pushed open my door.
Her first words were pure irritation. “You’re how old, and you still don’t know how to air out your room?”
She stopped.
I watched something flicker across her face. Because this room had no window.
Mom coughed and changed the subject. Wash up and come downstairs. We’re going to the name change office to change your name.”
My eyes were raw from a sleepless night. My head throbbed.
“Mom…”
She paused mid-turn. “What?”
“I…”
I wanted to tell her I was leaving. That I had a ticket out. That once the name change went through, I was never coming back.
I wanted to ask if we could just not do this.
But I saw the hurry in her eyes. The irritation simmering underneath.
The words lodged in my throat like stones.
Forget it.
If I spoke, I’d only get another lecture.
“Nothing.”
…
We went to the name change office.
Even the clerk raised an eyebrow. “A legal name change isn’t a small thing. Are you sure about this?”
Mom and Ethan answered in perfect unison.
“We’re sure.”
Thirty minutes later, Natalie Whitman became Natalie Hayes.
Sophie was ecstatic. She clung to Mom and Ethan, laughing and crying. “Now I’m really part of the family. I have a real family!”
The two of them fussed over her, led her away.
Nobody waited for me.
I stood outside the building alone, holding my new birth certificate. I pulled the corner of my mouth into something like a smile.
Fine.
From now on, the Whitman family and I had nothing to do with each other.