They Have a Family Group Chat, I’m Not in It Chapter 06
Five days after I left, Nova posted a new photo on IG with a caption.
The photo showed Mateo’s scraped knee from falling off his bike and her own tear-swollen eyes.
The caption said: [Because of me, a perfectly good family fell apart. Hazel, I’m sorry. This is all my fault.]
The comments exploded.
[Sending you hugs, it’s never your fault. That girl is just too petty.]
[She even nitpicks over trivial things like an apple. It’s better she’s gone.]
[Don’t blame yourself, Nova. You didn’t do anything wrong.]
When I read those comments, I felt almost nothing.
I would have broken down in grief and grievance if this had happened before.
But now I just found it laughable.
She always used the same trick. She played the vulnerable victim perfectly, convincing everyone that every mistake was mine.
But what I didn’t expect was a familiar name among the comments.
It was Mom.
She didn’t know it was Nova’s finsta. She thought it was just some random stranger’s post.
She commented: [You’re absolutely right. My daughter is far too immature. I only wish she were half as sensible as you.]
I stared at that comment. My fingers went cold.
So this was really how my mother saw me.
I put my phone down and stood on the balcony for a long time.
I remembered when I was little and had a fever. Mom stayed up all night by my bed, changing the cold cloth on my forehead over and over.
Back then I believed her love for me would last a lifetime.
Only later did I realize love can easily shift to someone else.
A week later, Jenna landed a huge order. The total value was over five hundred thousand dollars.
The client needed it urgently. We pulled two all-nighters to get all the inventory ready.
While packing, the calluses on my hands kept tearing open and scabbing over, then tearing open again. The pain was sharp and deep.
But I felt grounded. Every penny I earned was honest and hard-earned, with no need to bow to anyone.
When it came time to split the money, Jenna was very generous. She split the profit right down the middle.
I told her it was too much, and she shot me a playful glare. “If you think it’s too much, you can always give it back.”
I smiled and didn’t argue anymore.
Just when I thought everything was finally getting better, Mom tracked me down.
She didn’t know exactly where I was, but she knew Jenna.
She called Jenna, crying, saying she missed me and begging Jenna to tell her where I was.
Jenna came to ask what I wanted her to do. I said, “If it doesn’t put you in a difficult position, just tell her you don’t know.”
Jenna nodded and walked away.
I didn’t know what she said to Mom.
But after that, Mom’s harassing calls dropped off a lot.
Not long after, things took a turn.
I was negotiating prices with a supplier when Jenna suddenly sent me a link.
She added a note: [Your cousin is trending.]
I clicked on it. It was a post from a gossip account.
The headline was explosive: [Famous Influencer Crashes Relative’s Home, Steals Cousin’s Entire Life, Then Plays Victim and Begs for Sympathy]
The post was very detailed. It started with Nova’s IG post.
Then it dug up more of her finstas. The things inside were shocking.
On one account, she had been documenting her “daily life.”
[Today I got Nova moved to the balcony. Aunt Margaret really does love me the most.]
[I brought up the apple thing on purpose. Aunt Margaret and Mateo both took my side. Hazel was so mad that her face turned red. Hilarious.]
[Everything Hazel has will be mine eventually. Everything she owns now, I’m going to take it all.]
[Aunt Margaret bought me new clothes. Hazel has to do her own laundry now. Hahaha.]
Every single line stabbed into my heart like a knife.
It wasn’t that I hadn’t known all this before.
It was seeing everything laid out plainly in black and white, like a list of trophies, detailing exactly how she had pushed me out of my own home step by step.
The comments completely flipped.
[Oh my God. Everyone who called that girl petty needs to come out and apologize right now.]
[This girl is disgusting. Such a fake.]
[My heart breaks for the cousin. Her own mother drove her out of the house.]
[The mother is the worst one of all. Abandoning her own daughter to raise someone else’s child.]
I read those comments. My nose stung badly, but I didn’t cry.
I promised myself that starting from that night, I would never shed another tear for any of them.
I found out later that Nova had a falling out with someone she used to be close to.
She had a “best friend” who knew everything about her.
They turned on each other over a guy, and the friend leaked everything.
How ironic.
The one who ruined my life ended up destroying herself in the end.