The "Fair" Lottery Chapter 2

There are three kids in my family: my older sister Chloe, my younger brother Tyler, and me, Harper Vance.

Actually, I didn't realize there was anything wrong with my given middle name until right before I got married.

I even thought "Harper" and my middle name, "Dawn," sounded very pretty together.

But one day, while bickering with my fiancé, Liam, he blurted out that my parents didn't love me at all.

I argued back: "My parents don't love me? Who made the pot roast you ate for lunch today? If they didn't love me, would they cook for me and drive all the way here to drop it off?"

He unceremoniously punctured my delusion: "The money your parents spend on you is less than a tenth of what they spend on your sister and brother, but the return they get from you is more than a hundred times that. What's a little pot roast? For your sister's birthday, your parents gave her a gold bracelet. For your birthday, they made you a bowl of pot roast, and you're proud of it?"

"They only love you with their words."

I was so angry at the time. I repeatedly defended my parents, saying they were very fair, and even accused him of not understanding sibling dynamics because he was an only child.

When the argument reached its peak, he blurted out: "If your parents really love you, why did they give you the middle name Dawn?"

I froze.

So, I quickly called my mom: "Mom, why is my middle name Dawn?"

My mom hesitated for half a minute: "Huh? Dawn as in the break of day, Dawn is..."

Liam typed on his phone next to me to show me: "Ask Mom directly, is it supposed to mean 'Dawn of a son'?"

I asked nervously: "Mom, when you gave me this name, was it because you were hoping for the dawn of a baby boy?"

I tried to make my tone sound as light as possible.

My mom sighed in relief: "We were able to have your brother all thanks to you bringing in the dawn! I'll have to make that brat buy you dinner sometime!"

My face instantly turned cold: "Mom, you always said my brother was an accident. You said you didn't specifically keep trying just because you wanted a boy!"

My mom panicked: "Hey, Harper, listen to me..."

After hanging up the phone, my face was dead pale.

Liam hurriedly apologized: "I'm sorry, honey, it's my fault! I shouldn't have said anything!"

"Dawn of a son." How could I have not realized this for the past few decades?