I don't want that biased love.

When my parents committed me to the mental hospital, Olivia Knowles was taking a bow for her violin performance. My fiancé and my own little brother were in the audience, applauding her wildly. It should have been my moment of glory. That violin should have been my twelfth birthday present. I’d spent my whole life competing with Olivia. Whether I was right or wrong, my parents always sided with her, especially after she’d shed a few strategic tears. But I was their real daughter! It wasn’t until I was dying that I finally understood. If I ever got another chance, I wouldn't waste my time fighting for love that was already biased against me.

I opened my eyes again, reborn into my eleven-year-old self. It was the day Olivia wanted to change her last name to Knowles, trying to fully integrate into our family. Olivia was my uncle's daughter. He and his wife had died in a car accident, leaving Olivia, a frail child, all alone. My dad, being my uncle's brother, couldn't bear to see her in foster care, so he and Mom took her in. Olivia snuggled into Mom's arms, her voice full of longing. "Mom, could I have a name like Lizzie’s? They never gave me a proper name before, and I want to be a real Knowles, too." Mom stroked her hair affectionately. "Of course, sweetie. Since your brother’s middle name is Nathan, how about we call you Olivia?" I stood on the staircase, watching the heartwarming scene unfold below, my heart cold. Dad noticed me. He frowned, a look of suspicion on his face, as if he already assumed I was about to cause trouble for Olivia. "Lizzie, don't be difficult. Olivia is your sister now." "She's not well, so you need to be patient with her. Don't bully her, do you hear me?" Hearing the same words as in my past life made my stomach sink. Olivia was frail, so I, as the older sister, had to give in to her. I heard those words countless times in my previous life. Ever since Olivia arrived, the love and attention that had once been solely mine were largely diverted to her. Just because she was an orphan and sickly, I was expected to constantly yield to her. Eventually, even the scraps of affection that remained were given to Olivia. But I was only two months older than her! And she was my cousin, not my sister. Why did my parents treat her like their own daughter? Just because she knew how to cry? I still remembered the look of disgust on Mom's face the last time I saw her. "Lizzie Knowles, I've spoiled you rotten. You couldn’t even leave poor Olivia alone." But she seemed to have forgotten that she hadn't truly shown me any affection since Olivia arrived. I was her own flesh and blood! I looked down at Mom trying to appease me. "Lizzie, even with Olivia here, Mommy still loves you the most." A flicker of something dark, too mature for her age, flashed in Olivia's eyes. If I hadn't lived this life twice, I might have missed it. But in the next instant, she batted her eyelashes and, in front of my parents, gave me a small,委屈的, "Lizzie?" I ignor...