Aria "Happy birthday, Aria!" my mom exclaimed, holding a strawberry cake with a lit candle on top, grinning from ear to ear. "It's time to blow out the candle and make a wish!" Mom inched happily closer to the side of the bed, still wearing her festive demeanor. I heaved a sigh before extinguishing the flame. My mother's forehead formed vertical lines in the middle, and her smile vanished, replaced by a mixture of confusion. "Did you not make a wish, Aria?" "As if it will make any difference to her already pathetic life," I heard my older sister, Cassie, say. She was leaning against the door, arms crossed on her chest, disdainfully looking at me. "Don't talk to your sister like that, Cassie! Can you spare her your hate just for now? It's her birthday for crying out loud!" Mom yelled at her. "Whatever!" Cassie flipped her hair and walked away, rolling her eyes. I heaved a sigh. My sister really hated me. We may have shared the same womb, but Cassie and I were very different from
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