All my life, I felt like an outsider in my own family. My mother adored my sisters but treated me like a burden. The reason? I looked too much like the man she wished to forget. When I finally discovered the truth about my real father, everything changed—but not in the way she expected.
They say children pay for the sins of their parents. My mother made sure that was true. Though she never admitted it. All my life, I felt like a stranger in my own family, and it turned out there was a reason for that.
I grew up with two older sisters, Kira and Alexa. I spent my childhood watching them and how our mother treated them.
She loved them openly, bought them expensive clothes, gave them new toys, and took them out for ice cream on warm summer days.
She brushed their hair, kissed their foreheads, and told them how much she adored them.
Meanwhile, I got their worn-out clothes, their old toys, and their leftovers. I didn’t get bedtime stories or hugs.
Instead, I got orders. “Olivia, clean the kitchen.” “Olivia, fold the laundry.” “Olivia, stop standing around and do something useful.” I was a servant in my own home, and nobody seemed to care.
My father tried to protect me. I remember the times he pulled me into a hug when my mother’s words cut too deep.
He used to tell me I was special. That I mattered. But as I grew older, he did that less and less.
His voice lost its strength, and his kindness faded into silence. Then, the arguments started.
“How can she be mine?! We are both brunettes, and she’s a blonde with blue eyes!” my father shouted back.
“That happens! Maybe someone in the family had lighter features!” my mother insisted.
“Then let’s do a paternity test!” my father yelled.
The fights became a routine. And they always ended the same way—my mother cried, accused my father of hating her, and he backed down. But I never forgot those words.
By fourteen, I couldn’t stand being home. I got a job, not just for money, but to escape.
With my first paycheck, I bought a DNA test. And when the results came, everything fell apart.
One evening, I stepped through the door and saw my father standing in the living room.
He held an envelope in his hand, his eyes locked on my name printed across the front.
“What is this?” he asked. His voice was sharp. “Why is this letter addressed to you?”
My stomach dropped. I took a step forward. “Give it back,” I said, reaching for it.
He pulled it away. “Explain first,” he said. His grip tightened on the paper.
I hesitated. My hands trembled. “It’s… a DNA test.” My voice barely came out.
He didn’t wait. He tore it open. His eyes scanned the page. Then, his face twisted with rage.
“SIMONA!” he roared.
My mother rushed in. “What is it, darling?”
“Olivia, go to your room,” my father ordered.
“But—”
“NOW!” he shouted.
I turned and left, my heart pounding. I didn’t have to guess what the results were.
My parents’ voices carried through the thin walls, each word cutting deeper than the last.
“She’s not mine?!” my father shouted.
“It doesn’t matter!” my mother snapped.
“It matters to me! You lied to me, Simona! For fourteen years!”
“You don’t understand! I had no choice!”
My father’s anger filled the house. I pressed my hands over my ears, but nothing could block out the truth. He wasn’t my biological father. My mother had cheated on him.
Days later, he tested my sisters. Alexa was his, but Kira wasn’t. I watched from the hallway as he packed his bags.
“You’re leaving?” I whispered.
He didn’t look at me. “I have to.”
He filed for divorce, paid child support for Alexa, and cut ties with the rest of us.
After he left, my mother’s hatred for me grew. “This is your fault,” she hissed. “If you didn’t look so much like him, none of this would have happened.”
She ignored me unless she needed something. “Olivia, wash the dishes. Olivia, mop the floor.” I was invisible until it was time to clean.
But Kira? She never lifted a finger. My mother still adored her. “My beautiful girl,” she’d say, tucking Kira’s hair behind her ear. “You look just like me.”
I was nothing to her. I had never been.
One day, my mother walked into the room. Her face was cold, her arms crossed. “I’ve decided you will start paying rent,” she said.
I blinked. “What?” My chest tightened. “I already buy my own groceries!”
“You earn money. It’s only fair,” she said.
I clenched my fists. “Then make Alexa and Kira pay too!” My voice shook. “Why only me? Why do you treat me like this?!”
Her eyes darkened. “Because you ruined my life!” she shouted. “This is your fault!”
I felt like I’d been slapped. My throat burned, but no words came. I turned and ran to my room, slamming the door behind me.
