The Forgotten Twin Chapter 10
The day I arrived at Silverhowl Academy, the sky was clear.
Sunlight slipped through the gaps between the clouds, scattering across the stone paths like broken pieces of gold.
I stood at the school gate with my suitcase in hand and looked up at the sky.
It was so blue, so pure.
My phone had been vibrating the entire way here. There were calls from Mom, William, and Thomas. Even Clara had called several times.
But I didn’t answer a single one.
By the third day, the calls gradually became fewer.
By the fifteenth day, they stopped completely.
The scholarship the school offered was generous enough to cover my tuition and all living expenses.
I no longer had to work at the KTV.
I no longer had to wear a uniform, bend over, and sell drinks.
I no longer had to stand at the entrance counting my hourly wages while waiting for my shift to end.
My freshman year schedule was packed. I woke up at seven every morning and returned to my dorm at eleven every night.
I was exhausted, but fulfilled.
—
So fulfilled that I no longer had time to miss anyone.
As for the potion’s effect, it disappeared the day I was accepted into Silverhowl.
I never told anyone.
After all, if I hadn’t experienced it myself, I wouldn’t have believed something like that was possible either.
I devoted myself completely to studying and training.
I ranked first in the midterm exams. And I ranked first again in the finals.
My mentor asked to speak with me and asked if I had considered joining the Royal Warrior Program.
I nodded.
Mom and the others came to see me once.
That day, I was walking out of the teaching building with my backpack when I saw a familiar car parked outside the school gate.
Mom stood beside the car, holding a thermos in her hands.
William leaned against the door, his head lowered as he smoked.
Thomas sat inside the car, staring at the school entrance without blinking.
My footsteps paused for a moment. Then I turned around and left through the side gate.
During my sophomore year, I started my own business and was
—
featured in a newspaper.
The headline was eye-catching:
[From D-Rank to SSS-Rank: Creating “Seen” for Every Child Who Was Sacrificed.]
During the interview, the reporter asked me, “Do you hate your family?”
I thought about it for a long time.
“I used to. But not anymore. Hating someone is exhausting. I need to save my energy for myself.”
After the article was published, William’s pack was affected.
Allies began distancing themselves from him, and the pack’s reputation suffered.
I heard he tried explaining himself everywhere, but no one wanted to listen.
Thomas’s parents completely cut ties with Mom and the others, afraid of being dragged into the situation.
Mom stopped caring about Clara.
Clara didn’t repeat a year because she never got accepted anywhere.
She ended up working at a nightclub, selling drinks.
I never went looking for these updates.
But news had a way of finding me.
—
My training camp continued growing.
I wanted children like me, children who had been sacrificed for someone else, to finally be seen.
My first client found me online. She was an Omega from a small pack.
She had excellent grades, but her family favored sons over daughters. They refused to let her attend high school or receive training.
I helped her find financial support and trained her personally.
Later, she was accepted into Royal Fang Academy and became an outstanding warrior.
She sent me a message: [Thank you.]
I stared at those two words for a long time.
During my junior year, the number of people participating in my training camps exceeded one hundred thousand.
I appeared on the cover of a business magazine.
When I graduated in my senior year, I gave a speech as an outstanding graduate in front of the entire school.
“Today, I want to share a few words with everyone.”
“Someone once told me, ‘You’re so smart. What’s wrong with repeating a year?'”
“Someone once told me, ‘Be obedient. Give way to your younger sister.'”
“Someone once told me, ‘It’s okay if you fail. Your brother will support
—
you.'”
“Their words represented the path they believed I should take.”
“But I knew the path I wanted to walk was not one they could decide for me.”
“In these four years, I ranked first in my entire department.”
“I joined the Royal Warriors, founded a training camp with more than 300,000 users, and continued providing talented warriors to packs across the werewolf realm to protect its safety.”
“I spent every minute of my life on myself.”
“I never believed those words they said.”
“I believed in the electrolyte water beside me when I trained at two in the morning.”
“I believed in the side door the library guard always kept open for me after closing time.”
“I believed in the first message my first user ever sent me, those two simple words: ‘Thank you.'”
“I believed in the quiet sound of determination growing stronger inside me every time I chose myself.”
“I was once the person everyone sacrificed.”
“But now, I am the person who saved herself.”
Applause filled the auditorium.
Standing in the light, I smiled softly.
—
Outside the window, the sunlight was beautiful, just like the day four years ago when I dragged my suitcase through the school gates.
Golden light covered the ground.
I stepped off the stage.
Ahead of me was a brand-new life.