My two older sisters got into a car accident and lost their memories.
They forgot about me and mistook my parents’ friend’s son for our biological brother.
Chloe, my older sister, gave him the inheritance my parents left for me.
Harper, my second sister, used her connections to get him my graduate school admission spot.
I thought they had truly forgotten me.
Until one day, I accidentally overheard Chloe telling Harper, “Faking amnesia is exhausting. How about we just kick Julian out? Then we won’t have to pretend anymore.”
I didn’t need them to kick me out. I left on my own, joining a twenty-year closed medical research program.
During these twenty years, I couldn’t contact the outside world or go home.
When my two sisters found out, they cried their hearts out.
1.
I was carrying the cake box, not even inside the front door yet, when I heard Chloe’s words.
Harper chuckled softly. “Sounds good. Besides, without him, we can focus all our attention on Liam. Best of both worlds.”
A shockwave ripped through me, and the cake box in my hands almost slipped.
So, for the past six months, my two most beloved sisters
had been deceiving me.
They hadn’t forgotten me at all.
And they knew Liam wasn’t their biological brother.
Why? I couldn’t understand why they would lie to me like this.
“But it’s his 23rd birthday today. Wouldn’t it be a bit harsh to kick him out right now?”
Chloe suddenly spoke up again.
My older sister still remembered my birthday.
They remembered everything, yet for the past six months, they’d treated me like a stranger.
Countless times they’d thrown me out of the house, countless times they’d showered Liam with affection right in front of me.
“He’s really looking forward to this birthday. We have to make him leave on the day he anticipates most; that’s the only way he’ll completely give up and stop pestering us.”
Harper’s voice was chillingly cold.
That word—’pestering’—stabbed into my heart like a dagger.
Thud. The cake I had personally baked fell to the floor, the frosting instantly smeared into a mess.
Before, on my birthdays, Chloe and Harper would always prepare the cake for me.
They’d also make sure to prepare lots of my favorite foods well in advance.
So, every birthday was the happiest day for me.
This time, I was also very much looking forward to it. I had hoped my birthday would somehow jog their memories.
But now I knew: they had been faking amnesia all along.
2.
When I entered the house, I was still carrying the ruined cake.
Chloe was sitting on the sofa, peeling pecans for Liam.
Harper was next to him, slicing an apple and thoughtfully drizzling it with honey.
They used to treat me that way.
Every time I came home for the weekend, they’d buy me tons of snacks, and both of them would play games with me.
But recently, they’d been doing all this for Liam.
They treated me like a stranger, giving me cold stares every day I came home.
They never even cooked for me.
I just thought they had amnesia, so I didn’t hold it against them.
“Julian, come join us.”
Liam flashed a smile, looking at me.
He was the son of my parents’ friends.
A year ago, his parents went on a business trip with mine and tragically died in a car accident.
I was there too. In a critical moment, Dad shielded me, saving my life.
With his last breath, he told me, “You’re a man now. You have to take good care of your two sisters.”
I took his words to heart, willing to give up my own dreams and stay in the city with Chloe and Harper.
But not long after, they both got into a car accident too, and then they lost their memories.
When they woke up, they had forgotten me. They took Liam as their own brother and doted on him relentlessly.
3.
“Oh, you’re just too sweet. These are from Chloe and Harper. Don’t you want to eat them all yourself?”
Chloe ruffled Liam’s hair affectionately.
Liam chuckled. “Even though Julian isn’t always nice to me, I believe I can win him over with my own kindness.”
Harper shot me a cold look. “People like him can never be won over.”
“Look how long we’ve kept him around. Not only is he ungrateful, but he keeps pushing his luck, shamelessly refusing to leave and claiming he’s our brother.”
A bitter chill spread through my chest, and the hand holding the cake box tightened.
Since they started faking amnesia six months ago, they’d treated me like a stranger, demanding I leave the house.
But this was my home. I couldn’t just leave.
So every day, I told Liam to get out and tried to tell my sisters that I was their real brother.
But even when I showed them proof and had a paternity test done,
they didn’t believe me. They said I was just faking it to get their money.
They’d tried to kick me out more than once, but I stubbornly refused to go.
Back then, I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t believe me, even with all the evidence right in front of them.
Now, I finally understood.
I looked at Chloe and Harper, and slowly, step by step, I walked toward them.
I placed the cake box on the coffee table.
Through the clear plastic, I could see the frosting was slowly melting, making the cake unrecognizable.
“Chloe, Harper, it’s my birthday today.”
My voice came out bitter.
I couldn’t believe my sisters, who used to be so good to me, would now treat me so poorly for an outsider.
They must have a good reason, a hidden difficulty.
I didn’t want to expose them. I wanted them to tell me themselves.
“How many times have we told you? We’re not your sisters!”
Chloe looked at me with disgust.
She probably forgot how much she used to adore me.
Back then, she’d take me to play on the slide every day.
She always told me, “Julian, Chloe will always be there for you.”
“Yeah, what does your birthday have to do with us?”
Harper’s face was equally cold.
Normally, she was a very gentle woman, and always gentle with me.
She owned her own company and once told me, “Julian, when you’re older, don’t worry. Harper will pave the way for you.”
But now, they had both changed.
Like this ruined cake, utterly unrecognizable.
4.
Chloe grabbed the cake box and tossed it into the trash, her eyes cold as she stared at me. “Julian, please don’t come to our house anymore.”
“You’re not our brother. You have no right to live here.”
Actually, I should have noticed the clues earlier.
They claimed to have forgotten me, yet they remembered my name, Julian.
They treated Liam as their biological brother, but never once questioned why his last name was different.
I trusted my sisters too much; my head was just muddled.
I desperately wanted to expose them, but I held myself back.
If I exposed them, they would surely get angry and wouldn’t want me anymore.
My chest ached slightly, and I looked at them with pleading eyes.
“Please don’t make me leave, okay?”
“I… I only have you two.”
I would never forget what Dad told me.
I wouldn’t give up on them.
Chloe paused, and for a moment, I thought I’d moved her.
But after a few seconds, she said, “No. You’re not our biological brother. You can’t stay here.”
“Liam is our brother.”
Harper stood up and pushed me toward the door, her attitude unyielding.
The pain was unbearable.
I never thought they could hate me this much.
“Fine, I’ll go.”
If my absence made them happy, I was willing to leave.
I turned to go, but then I heard Chloe tell Liam, “Liam, Mom and Dad left some money for you, and I’ve already transferred it to your name.”
My whole body stiffened. I almost thought I’d misheard.
Because my parents’ jobs involved some risks, they had transferred all their assets to my two sisters before the car accident.
At that time, I wasn’t yet 18, so they had Chloe manage my portion of the inheritance.
But now, she had actually transferred it to Liam.
Even if they had a good reason to treat him well, they shouldn’t have given him my money.
I had no income now. That was the money I needed for graduate school!
5.
“Chloe, that’s my money! You can’t give it to him!”
I turned back, glaring at Chloe.
To my surprise, she got even angrier, stood up, and slapped me across the face.
“You’ve got some nerve! You’re not even part of this family, so why would you claim that money is yours?!”
“Those funds were left by our parents for Liam!”
My ears rang, and my cheek throbbed with pain.
“You always say Liam is your and Harper’s biological brother, but why is his last name different?”
I stared intently into her eyes, catching a fleeting moment of panic.
But the panic quickly vanished. She calmly fabricated a story: “Liam was raised by others for a while, so he took their last name. That’s why he’s a different last name.”
“As for you, you probably just made up your own name!”
“You’re not our brother at all.”
A bitter chill spread through my chest. I thought that by speaking so plainly, they would drop the act.
But they were still pretending.
Chloe, Harper, what exactly is your secret that makes you treat me this way?
6.
In the end, I was kicked out of my own home.
On my 23rd birthday, the only two family members I had in the world abandoned me.
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