Eventually, we completed a special adoption process, and I legally became their child.

Thanks to this, I was able to actively participate in physical education classes and enjoy playing with my friends.

I also saw an improvement in my health and rarely worried about my illness anymore.

I am truly happy to be living with my aunt and uncle.

Afterward, I started competing in trading card games. Despite the risk of seizures, my aunt and uncle did not stop me but supported me, allowing me to focus on the competition.

A strong desire to repay them someday was born in my heart.

I joined the Trading Card Club upon entering high school. This school’s Trading Card Club is well known in the competitive trading card world.

I was excited to grow and develop in such a stimulating environment, and I was happy to be able to showcase my abilities.

In my second year of high school, I won the National Championship, surpassing other prestigious schools.

Unable to contain my joy, I ran home that day to share the good news with my aunt and uncle.

By then, the seizures from my illness had almost completely stopped. Before graduating from high school, I was informed by a doctor that my illness had completely healed, and I had become as healthy as my sister.

After high school, I continued competing in trading cards, with my aunt and uncle always supporting me.

When I performed well, they celebrated my success as if it were their own.

I started to achieve stable good results after turning 20. Now, at 22, I am known as a top player and recognized as the queen of trading cards.

It has been about 10 years since I was taken in by my aunt and uncle. I thought it might be time to give something back.

“Ah, Christmas is coming up, and I want to make my aunt and uncle happy,” I thought.

I made plans while feeling the cold winter air on my way home.

Upon arriving, I noticed several unfamiliar shoes at the entrance.

“I’m home. Is someone here?” I asked as I entered the house.

In the living room, a high school girl was sitting on the sofa, and my aunt greeted me as I walked in.

“Welcome back.”

“Um, who is this girl?” I asked reflexively, but she seemed familiar.

Wait. That face.

“Noel?”

“Sonia.”

I heard her voice.

She had grown so much that I didn’t recognize her immediately, but she still had the traces of her younger self.

When I called her name, her face twisted as she began to cry.

“Sonia, you remembered me. I’m so glad,” she said.

“Yes. What’s going on?”

I was unsure how to react, but then my aunt started to explain.

“Noel ran away from home.”

“What?” I exclaimed, looking at my sister in surprise.

Noel nodded, wiping away her tears.

“Ran away? What do you mean?”

“Sonia, help me,” Noel said with a trembling voice.

Then she began to tell me about what had happened at home.

It seems that my father driving me out of the home was a huge shock for her. Noel had pleaded with our parents, crying,

“I’ll quit basketball. Just let big sis come home.”

However, our father harshly scolded her.

“What are you saying? It was all for your basketball. You shouldn’t do things half-heartedly. I won’t accept you quitting.”

“You are your mother’s only child. You should work hard and become a respectable player,” my mother said in a chilling voice, refusing to take Noel’s words seriously.

My parents had thoroughly controlled Noel’s life, forcing her into a basketball-centric existence against her will from childhood until she was a senior in high school.

During a career counseling session, Noel finally mustered the courage to declare her separation from basketball.

Our parents were furious, and my father accused her with a terrifying voice.

“Hey, do you have any idea how much money we’ve spent? Your sister sacrificed for you. You’re not allowed to stop until you turn pro.”

Feeling mentally cornered, Noel escaped to my aunt’s house to get away from the situation.

“I had no idea you were in such a situation, Noel.”

I was at a loss for words.

While I had been freely raised in my aunt and uncle’s home, my sister had been sacrificed by our parents.