Swapped: I Live as My Dead Sister

My mother, Eleanor Leigh, is pregnant with fraternal twins, but we aren't developing well. The doctor recommends terminating my younger sister, Juliette Vance, whose chances of survival are slim. Since Dad, Thomas Vance, suffers from azoospermia and can never have children again, I, Julian Vance, become the pampered, only child of the family. For my first birthday celebration, Mom and Dad gift me a house and a vehicle. Every day, they dress me up like a porcelain doll and specifically enroll me in ballet classes to elevate my poise. They even carry me everywhere I go, terrified that I might fall and end up with a scar. I only learn I'm a boy in elementary school when I get laughed at for entering the girls' restroom, and later learn it in a science lesson. Because of my classmates' constant bullying, I break down in tears, begging Mom not to make me wear dresses anymore. However, she, who is usually so gentle with me, suddenly flies into a rage and slaps me hard across the face right in the middle of the street. "What's going to happen to your sister if you don't wear dresses? It's your fault for being born a jinx! You killed your sister! "If you hadn't stolen her nutrients, she would be alive and well right now! Our family business would be booming as well. You'll either be our daughter for the rest of your life, or you can go to hell right this instant!" It turns out Juliette and I are the children Mom and Dad begged the heavens for, and while Juliette's a lucky charm, I'm a jinx. I wear long hair and dresses because I'm Juliette's body double. I sprint away in tears, only to be sent flying by a car running a red light. As my consciousness slips away, I wish with all my heart to go back to when Mom first found out she was pregnant. This time, I'll be the one to be reduced. Chapter 1 "Mrs. Vance, due to poor sperm quality, it's highly unlikely that both embryos will survive. One of them is already severely underdeveloped. I'm putting you on nutritional supplements for the time being, but if things don't improve in two weeks, I strongly advise a selective reduction. If not, the pregnancy will pose a threat to the healthy fetus." The doctor's words rang in my ears. When I opened my eyes, everything was pitch black. I could only faintly feel a little lump of flesh next to me, and it was noticeably smaller than I was. So, I was inside Mom's womb. I immediately used all my strength to pull my younger sister, Juliette Vance, toward me in a desperate attempt to share my nutrients with her. However, she was simply too foolish; she didn't even know how to absorb the nutrients that were right at her mouth. I couldn't help worrying whether her condition would improve over the next two weeks. Mom abruptly demanded, "Perform the reduction on the healthy one right now! It's doing nothing but stealing my daughter's nutrients! My daughter must live on!" The doctor was dumbfounded. "We can't do that. Regardless of gender, we are legally and ethically obligated to prioritize the healthy fetus." Dad bellowed, "How dare you neglect my daughter, you quack? There must be something wrong with the prenatal medicine your hospital gave us! If not, how could that little brat be stunting my daughter's growth? I bet your hospital is behind this whole thing!" I stiffened. As it turned out, Mom and Dad retained their memories, too. Since they wanted me gone so badly, I might as well grant their wish and make way for Juliette. Seizing Juliette's umbilical cord, I pumped nutrients into her. A sharp pain shot through Mom's belly, and the ultrasound showed that Juliette was fighting for nutrients. Dad and Mom breathed a sigh of relief, no longer giving the doctor a hard time. … The moment we got home, Dad rushed into the kitchen to stew some chicken soup. Mom gently caressed her belly. "My precious Juliette, you must grow big and strong and survive!" With twice the nutrients flowing to her, Juliette quickly began to catch up in development. Meanwhile, due to the complete lack of nutrition, it took less than a week for me to starve to the point of suffocation. After an emergency examination, the doctor delivered a grim verdict—I had to be terminated immediately. Mom lost control of her emotions and started throwing and smashing everything in sight. "No, absolutely not! There's nothing wrong with my daughter! There must be something wrong with your tests. None of you is allowed to touch my daughter!" The doctor snapped, "The fetus's heartbeat is barely detectable. If it dies inside your womb, the other baby won't survive either." The ultrasound showed that Juliette, who was now overnourished, had completely taken over my space. Dad pounded his chest in anguish. "My son truly is a jinx! He's jinxed my daughter, who is my lucky charm!" Mom had only managed to get pregnant with us after five years of IVF. Because Dad had been a heavy drinker for years, he could no longer produce viable sperm for another round of IVF. Consequently, they had pinned all their hopes and dreams on this single pregnancy. My heartbeat grew weaker and weaker. I wanted to tell them that Juliette would survive. The one who was dying was only me... the jinx. Mom's abdominal pain intensified. Citing the risk to her life, the doctor forced Dad to sign the consent form. Soon, I felt a terribly long needle pierce right into me. It hurt so, so much. I remembered how, for as long as I could recall in my past life, Mom and Dad had constantly drummed it into my head that Juliette had sacrificed herself just to protect me. Hence, I had to live on Juliette's behalf. Even though I liked action figures, I was only allowed to play with dolls. Even though I hated ballet with a passion, I had to grit my teeth and keep learning it. At last, I realized the reason behind the sorrow that always clouded Mom and Dad's eyes. I was a boy who couldn't bring them fortune, and our family company's revenue had been plummeting day by day. Thus, this time around, I decided to end my life. When the doctor announced that the remaining fetus would now be able to develop safely to full term, the heavy weight in my chest finally lifted. Dear Mom and Dad, you could finally hold your heads high and brag about having a daughter who brought you prosperity. Chapter 2 I floated right beside Mom after her surgery was over. The anesthesia hadn't even completely cleared from her system when she started pounding on her abdomen, shrieking, "It's all this jinx's fault! He's killed my daughter once again! Why couldn't he have been the one to die?" Sensing Mom's hostility, Juliette thrashed wildly. Mom, however, only hammered her stomach harder. "You sure are stubborn. I should've aborted you as well!" I was beside myself with anxiety, terrified that something terrible was about to happen to Juliette. So, I lunged in front of Mom and cried out, "Juliette's the one left in your womb, Mom! I'm the one who died. Please, calm down!" Unfortunately, she couldn't hear me. Her eyes were filled with grief over losing her daughter. The nurse on duty, worried that the situation would turn fatal, hurriedly summoned the doctor. The doctor solemnly explained, "An expectant mother must keep her emotions in check. If you don't calm down, you're going to lose your baby!" "That'd be for the best! I wish this jinx would die right now!" Mom snarled. "My daughter's dead. Why should I stay in the hospital? Since this little brat's so resilient, let's see just how much he can take!" Mom jumped off the bed, as if afraid the fetus inside her wouldn't be injured. Just then, a nurse came by to check on Mom. Mom collapsed on the floor again. "My poor girl, you haven't even developed into a human being yet, you haven't even had the chance to see this world, and you were already killed by your heartless brother!" Crimson blood soaked right through her clothing, but she didn't seem to care in the slightest. I remembered vividly how Mom used to faint at the mere sight of blood. Even if a piece of pork she brought home from the market had even a single speck of blood on it, she would shriek in horror for ages. Dad, too, clenched his jaw and glared at Mom's belly, as if the life growing inside it were his mortal enemy. The doctor sighed. "Giving birth to a son or a daughter is all the same. If you refuse to cooperate with the hospital's treatment, you're not only going to miscarry, but you're also going to completely destroy your own body." "At worst, I'll just die! My lucky charm has already been jinxed to death; he might as well jinx his own mother to death, too! Then, I'll be able to go to the afterlife and be with my daughter." With that, she went completely rigid and fell backward onto the floor. However, even when she lost consciousness, her arms remained locked tightly around the lump of flesh. I greedily basked in the warmth of Mom's embrace, even though I knew it wasn't meant for me. The doctor rushed Mom into the emergency room, stating that they needed to stabilize the pregnancy. Dad cursed loudly by the window, "Do you want to see me go bankrupt that badly, you little bastard? You already killed my lucky charm, and now you want to harm my wife too?" Although the doctor hastily called security to haul him away, I was still shrouded in immense grief. My heart ached for Mom, who was suffering inside the emergency room. Simultaneously, I felt deeply aggrieved for myself. For seven long years, I had been forced to masquerade as their daughter simply because of my gender. And yet, after everything... No one genuinely loved me. Grandpa, Marcus Vance, called to ask about the situation. Dad hesitated and stammered for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh. "Forget it. Worst-case scenario, we'll just adopt a baby girl when the time comes and claim she was born part of a set of twins." He paused, seemingly considering the words from the other end of the line, before pinching the bridge of his nose. "I know. I'll make sure everything is handled properly. I won't let a whisper of this leak out. "The fortune teller only said my daughter would bring us fortune; he never specified she had to be biologically mine. It's all that little bastard's fault for being a jinx. If he hadn't tanked my company's revenue, we wouldn't be in this mess!" After wrapping up the call, he stared blankly at my remains. After what felt like an eternity, tears trickled down his face. "I'm so sorry, Juliette. I failed to protect our family's little lucky charm. I hope you can be reborn as our adopted daughter. I'll definitely make it up to you!" Leaning against the wall, I felt a suffocating tightness in my chest. As it turned out, all Mom and Dad wanted was good fortune. Even if the child wasn't biologically theirs, she would still be valued more than I ever was. Chapter 3 Because Mom needed to carry her pregnancy to term and deliver me safely, she was still admitted to the VIP ward. However, she only had eyes for Juliette. When she saw the urn Dad brought back, she sobbed bitterly, "My poor, sweet girl... Why couldn't that harbinger of bad luck have gone to the grave with you?" Dad looked utterly grief-stricken, but his tone was laced with malice. "Rest and recover for now. We can't give those old fogies any excuse to wag their tongues. Come the day of delivery, I'll personally ensure that wretched brat atones for our daughter's death!" I broke into a cold sweat. Mom and Dad, whom I had pinned my hopes on, didn't even want me to live. "But I've already granted your wish, Mom, Dad!" I parted my lips, but my words fell on deaf ears. Mom stared blankly at the fetal heart monitor. "If only this heartbeat belonged to my daughter... In our previous life, in order not to let the heavens notice, I had to mask my sorrow. I never had the time to truly be there for my poor daughter. I even had to force myself to praise this jinx!" I could no longer feel any physical pain, yet I still felt so suffocated that I wanted to vomit. As it turned out, every single time I thought my parents truly loved and praised me, they were just putting on an act. Growing up, I never once got to celebrate my birthday. Every year on that day, Mom would buy all the latest toys and snacks for Juliette. Dad, on the other hand, would go to the cemetery and sit by her grave all day. Every single moment of our daily lives, they were molding me into the exact image of the daughter they wished they had. There were times I wanted to ask them if they were praising me or Juliette. Dad clenched his fists in anger. "The heavens are cruel. Since we were given a second chance at life, why couldn't it have sent us back a few months earlier? If it had, I would've made you terminate him first thing!" I could no longer tell if the gentle father who used to help me with my homework and lift me high above his head was even the same man standing before me. Ever since I was little, I had been much quieter than my peers. While other children ran wild and caused mischief, I would just stay at home and read. Dad used to brag to everyone about what a well-behaved child I was. Mom, too, would always gently lull me to sleep. Had all of that affection not been built on the phantom of their dead daughter, I believe I would've been the happiest child alive. As if sensing my thoughts, Mom let out a long, heavy sigh. "When we first found out we were expecting twins, I had hoped it would be fraternal twins. I thought my life would be perfect with a son and a daughter." She paused before lowering her head and letting her tears land on the bedsheet. "If I had known things would turn out like this, I would rather have just had one child. Even twin daughters would have been fine! Why did it have to be a jinx?" Right... If Juliette and I could've been brought into this world together, I probably would've been happy too. Perhaps it would've been best if I had never existed in the first place. I couldn't bear to watch Mom and Dad grieve over me, nor could I bear the realization that I was destined to be nothing more than a hollow, unloved placeholder. Juliette had initially suffered from poor nutrient absorption and was now making up for lost growth with intense developmental spurts. Consequently, Mom would be struck by strong bouts of hunger every few hours. Yet, she ripped the IV nutrition drip from her arm. "Eat, eat, eat, all you know how to do is eat! You've eaten away my daughter's life! Let's see how you like being starved!" Mom also secretly threw away the miscarriage-prevention medication prescribed by the doctor. Then, she stuffed herself with cold, raw foods that were strictly forbidden during pregnancy. Within a few days, Juliette couldn't take it anymore. Mom, however, locked herself in the bathroom and picked up a fruit knife, pointing it at her abdomen. "It hurts, doesn't it? Good! I want you to feel every ounce of the despair my daughter felt! "Why should a jinx like you be allowed to steal my daughter's nutrition? Since you're so fond of stealing, why don't you gorge yourself on these junk foods instead?" The words left her lips as the color drained from her face, her complexion turning a ghostly white while her lips began to bruise a sickly purple. I was so anxious I was on the verge of tears. The one inside her belly was the daughter she had been yearning for! Juliette was suffocating, overwhelmed by the toxins from all that junk food. But Mom had already plunged the knife in. "Go to hell! I don't want to give birth to a jinx like you anymore! You're the reason our family went bankrupt! Now, die!" By the time a torrent of crimson blood pooled onto the floor, the medical staff finally burst into the bathroom. Chapter 4 Perhaps it was written in the stars that only one of us could enter this world. Even though Mom suffered a severe hemorrhage, Juliette survived. Sitting beside Mom's frail form, I felt as though I had gone completely numb. This was the woman who had showered me with affection my entire life. Up until a moment ago, I had held onto a final sliver of hope, telling myself she was just saying those things in the heat of the moment, that she couldn't possibly mean it. Yet, the scene from earlier kept replaying in my mind. Mom had meant every word; she seriously wanted to kill me. Dad stormed into the room, but it wasn't out of concern for me. "I thought we agreed this child had to be born! If you miscarry now, how the hell do you expect our company's revenue to double?" Pointing at him, Mom shrieked, "What if the company does even better without this jinx? Don't you hate this curse of a child, too? Getting rid of him now is way less of a headache than raising him all over again! Don't tell me you actually want to raise him a second time just to watch the company slowly go bankrupt?" Her hysteria mounted, flailing her limbs. "It's his own fault for having such a wretched fate! Why did he have to be a jinx? If he had been just an ordinary child, I could've raised him properly!" Standing beside them, the nurse timidly interjected. "Excuse me, ma'am... You're carrying a girl. The fetus that was reduced earlier... was your son." Mom froze for a moment before seizing a cup from the nightstand and hurling it at the nurse. "Get the hell out! I can't believe you're lying to make me keep this baby. I'm his mother. Do you think you know better than me? "It's all your fault, you useless quacks! For the sake of a jinx, you killed my lucky charm. I'll make sure you all pay for this!" The nurse tried to show Mom the medical report, but Dad ruthlessly drove her out of the room. He then declared, "I've already found another pregnant woman whose due date matches yours, and I've checked; she's carrying a girl. You must carry this baby to term now! I'll not allow the company's future to be jeopardized in this lifetime!" I later learned that in our previous life, no matter how meticulously my parents groomed me to be a girl, the company's revenue never stopped spiraling downward. Mom was eventually forced to accept reality. Yet, she was still determined to take her spite out on me. Consequently, she would only let them inject half a bottle of the nutrition IV each time, and she barely touched her food. She also made a habit of startling Juliette, knowing that I had always been easily startled. "In your previous life, you were born so robust and intelligent, but that was only because you stole it all from my daughter! This time, I'll make damn sure you're a sickly weakling, the kind no amount of money can cure! When that time comes, I'll have the perfect excuse to bury you alongside my daughter!" My heart had gone numb. I wanted to leave, yet an invisible force kept me bound strictly to Mom's side. Every day, she found new, twisted ways to torment Juliette. "Just because you survived doesn't mean you get to live the same good life you had in your previous life!" Had I led a good life in my previous life? I closed my eyes, at a complete loss for words. To be honest, I never liked having my hair braided, nor did I enjoy wearing princess dresses. I wanted to learn how to swim, and I wanted to roughhouse and get into scraps with the other children. However, I knew that the only way to make Mom and Dad happy was to obey their every whim. Therefore, from a young age, I had learned to read the room and do my best to perform accordingly. After all these years, I couldn't even remember what I actually liked anymore. All I had ever wanted was to make Mom and Dad happy. Now, knowing they didn't love me, I felt like I was finally free. Because of her constant, self-destructive antics, Mom went into labor early. The moment she was wheeled into the delivery room, her face was bright with a manic smile. "I'm going to avenge my daughter!" So, she deliberately refused to push. It didn't take long for disaster to strike; she suffered an obstructed labor as the umbilical cord wrapped tightly around Juliette. Mom, however, refused to consent to an emergency C-section. "If he dies in my womb, that's just his wretched fate!" "But you're putting your own life in grave danger too!" the nurse cried out. In the end, after a delay of 30 minutes, Mom was finally wheeled into the operating room. The second Juliette was brought out, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief for her sake. The nurse held the baby up to let Mom check the baby's gender. Gathering the very last of her strength, Mom pushed Juliette away with sheer disgust. "What's there to look at with a jinx of a son? Get him away from me! He's nothing but bad luck." Yet, the nurse brought Juliette a little closer to Mom. "Ma'am, it's a girl. However, due to severe, prolonged asphyxiation, she's in critical condition. We need a family member to sign the consent form immediately so we can rush her to the NICU!"