Our parents have two children, but they only seem to love one.
I have always known that my mother and father favored my sister, Emily, over me. They made it plain again when they asked me to move out of the family home, telling me, You can afford a flat now that you work from home.
While Emily was at university, my parents treated her like a pampered princess. They ran errands for her, dealt with the deans office on her behalf, covered her expenses when she attended seminars, and now look after her little ones, Olivia and Jack. I never received that kind of support, and now they are driving me from the house.
My father says that, as a man, I should be able to fend for myself, yet somehow my brotherinlaw, who is older than I am, is deemed incapable of providing for the family.
During the heated argument about my departure, I foolishly claimed that I had the same right to the flat as Emily and that I deserved a share of it. My mother snapped that she and my father still lived there, called me a pig for talking about the division of property, and Emily added that I was trying to evict her and her children.
Legally, there seems no way forward; I am certain my parents could quickly rewrite their will and cut me out entirely.
Can a family really crumble over a house? I am also their child, yet they treat me like a stranger. What good is having two children if one of us feels completely expendable?
In the end, I have learned that a home built on favoritism cannot stand the test of time; true security comes from the respect we earn, not the walls we inherit.
