The Genius Ex-Wife’s Revenge Portfolio novel Chapter 10

But Ella could never forget Jessa.

The truth was, they weren’t really sisters. Different mothers, different fathers. Peter wasn’t Ella’s real dad. He was just her stepfather.

Once upon a time, Ella had a happy family. Her dad Jon and her mom Rachel loved each other. Her dad loved her so much, he’d scoop her up and spin her around. “Ella has to be happy,” he’d say, every single day.

Then, one day, her dad died. Everything changed. Peter, her dad’s younger brother, moved into their house with his own daughter, Jessa. And suddenly, Ella’s mom wasn’t just her mom anymore. She was Jessa’s mom too.

Her mom remarried. To her uncle.

After that, it felt like her mom only had eyes for Jessa. If Jessa got a 99 on her test and Ella got a 100, her mom would smack Ella’s hand with a ruler. “Can’t you let your sister win for once? Why do you always have to do better than her?”

When Jessa got sick, when all her hair fell out from chemo, she cried about being ugly. Ella’s mom didn’t hesitate for a second—she shaved Ella’s head too. “You can be ugly together. That way, your sister won’t feel so alone.”

Every night, Rachel, Jessa, and Peter would pile into one bed, laughing and whispering like a picture-perfect family. Ella would stand outside their door, hugging the doll her dad gave her, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Mom, I’m scared,” she’d whisper, but nobody ever heard.

Eventually, Jessa started calling Rachel “Mom.” Rachel was thrilled. But Jessa said, “A mom can only have one daughter.”

That day, it was pouring rain. Her mother drove her out to the countryside and left her behind. Just like that.

Ella chased after the car, barefoot in the mud, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. “Mom, please! Don’t leave me... I’ll be good, I’ll let my sister have everything... Mom, please come back... I’m scared…”

She tripped, clutching her doll, landing face-first in the muddy water. She looked up just in time to see the car speed away, her mother disappearing from her life for good.

Ella would never forget Jessa.

Now, in the present, Cedric came running over. “Jessa, that’s... that’s your sister, Ella.”

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