THE CHILD I REFUSE TO LOVE Episode 2

When Anita moved into my house, I told everyone the same thing.

“She is my sister’s child. I will raise her like my own.”

People praised me. They called me kind, responsible, selfless. I accepted their compliments with a calm smile.

But inside my home, the truth was different.

David was my heartbeat. Everything I did revolved around him. I woke him gently every morning, stroking his hair and whispering, “Good morning, my king.” I bathed him, dressed him in neat, expensive clothes, and packed his lunch with snacks and juice.

Anita woke up on her own.

Sometimes I deliberately made more noise in David’s room, laughing loudly so he would feel loved, while Anita quietly folded her thin mattress in the corner of the smaller room.

David attended one of the best private schools in town. His school fees were high, but I paid them proudly. I wanted the world to see that my son lacked nothing.

Anita went to the public school down the street.

“It is close by,” I told neighbors who asked questions. “And it is not good to waste money.”

But deep down, I knew I was punishing her.

When it was time to eat, David got the biggest portion of meat. If there was only one piece left, it automatically belonged to him. Anita learned quickly not to ask.

If David broke a plate, I laughed.
“Boys will always be boys.”

If Anita accidentally spilled water, I scolded her harshly.

“Be careful! Do you think money grows on trees?”

She would bow her head and whisper, “Sorry, Aunty.”

That word Aunty always reminded me that she was not mine.

One evening, David was watching television while Anita washed plates in the kitchen. I noticed she kept glancing toward the living room, listening to the laughter from the cartoon.

“Finish what you are doing first,” I said sharply.

She nodded.

Later that night, as I passed by their room, I heard Anita helping David with his homework.

“You’re wrong here,” she said gently. “Two plus five is seven, not eight.”

David frowned. “How do you know?”

“I came first in my class today.”

There was no pride in her voice, just quiet fact.

Something twisted inside me. Instead of feeling proud, I felt threatened. How could she come first when my son struggled? How could she shine in my house?

The next day, when she showed me her result sheet, I barely glanced at it.

“Go and keep it,” I said dismissively.

But when David brought home an average result, I held his face tenderly.

“It’s okay, my son. You will do better next time.”

That night, I noticed something for the first time.

David had started speaking to Anita the way I spoke to her.

“Move,” he said rudely when she sat too close to him. “You are just a visitor here.”

She did not argue.

She simply shifted quietly to the edge of the bed.

And though I saw it… I said nothing.

In my house, there were two children.

One lived like a prince.

The other survived like a stranger.

continue reading Episode 3