My “Perfect” Sister Dropped Out Of Med School With $150k Debt After My Parents Abandoned Me For Her. Now They Lost Their Home And Want My Grammy Money. I Told Them My Money Has No Value For Them.
The Rejection
Marta’s expression darkened.
“The scholarship? You’ve always managed on your own, haven’t you?”
she sighed.
“It’s not the path you chose, but this time it’s a bit difficult.”
Melody explained the bill.
“I’m short $2,000. I tried to find other work, but no one is hiring at the moment.”
Harold remained silent, his eyes fixed on the newspaper, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.
“When you said you were going to major in music, we predicted this would happen,”
said Martha coldly.
“We advised you to choose a practical major.”
Melody spoke in a low voice.
“Music is my passion, and I’ve never asked for help before, have I?”
At that moment, Ashley’s smartphone rang, and she snatched it up.
“Oh, an email from the university,”
she said, looking at the screen.
Melody looked at Ashley and glimpsed the message on the screen. The words “Full payment of tuition fees completed” and an amount more than 10 times what she needed caught her attention. Ashley’s eyes sparkled with joy.
“Dad, Mom, thank you! The tuition payment went through.”
Melody froze. She looked at her parents.
“Are you paying Ashley’s tuition in full?”
she asked, her voice trembling.
There was a moment of silence.
“Naturally,”
Martha replied as if it were obvious.
“Medical school is special. It is an investment for the future.”
“Why?”
Melody said, her voice cracking.
“Why only her?”
Martha put down her fork and wiped her mouth with a napkin. Her eyes were cold.
“Your sister has a future. Becoming a doctor will bring honor to the family. There is no value in spending money on you.”
Those words pierced Melody’s heart like a knife of ice. The sense of alienation she had always felt was now explicitly confirmed by her mother. She turned to seek her father’s gaze, but Harold remained silent, merely reaching for his wine glass.
Ashley snorted with disappointment and sneered.
“Isn’t it a waste to spend money on you, little sister? Do you really think you can become a pianist? Which do you think contributes more to society, a doctor or a musician?”
Walking Away
A frosty silence spread through the room. Melody stood up slowly and put the folded bill back in her pocket. Her eyes were blue and moist with tears, but she refused to let them fall.
“I understand,”
was all she said before leaving the room.
Walking up the stairs to her room, Melody opened the closet and pulled out a large backpack. Suppressing her emotions, she packed only the bare essentials: clothes, valuables, and her most precious piano sheet music. Outside the window, it was dark and had started to rain.
Melody looked around her room, the room she had lived in since childhood. On the walls were some certificates from music competitions, but not a single family photo. Shouldering her backpack, she paused in front of the piano. She brushed the keys with her fingertips, saying a silent goodbye, then left a note on the desk: “I will prove my value.”
Melody descended the stairs silently, heading for the front door without being noticed. From the dining room, she could hear Ashley talking about her university life and her parents’ laughter. They didn’t seem to have noticed her absence.
When she opened the door and stepped out into the rain, Melody didn’t look back. In her heart burned a vow.
“I’ll show them. I will prove my worth.”
That rainy night, Melody walked through downtown Nashville. She had only a backpack and a little money. There were no messages from her parents on her phone, only a worried message from Eleanor Wilson, her old classical music teacher.
“Come to my house tomorrow morning. Stay in a hotel tonight,”
she had written.
In a cheap motel room, Melody stared at the rain outside the window, reflecting on her choices. Continuing university was now impossible. She couldn’t pay the next semester’s tuition. After her parents had so blatantly denied her worth, she could no longer count on them.
The next morning, when she went to Eleanor’s house, the former music teacher welcomed her warmly.
“I won’t let your talent go to waste,”
Eleanor told her.
“I know an apartment with a spare room. The rent is affordable, and I know the owner of a bar in town, so I can help you find a job.”
Melody grasped her teacher’s hand with tears in her eyes.
“How can I ever thank you?”
“There is no need for thanks. Repay me with your music.”
Finding Her Voice
From that day on, Melody’s new life began. Her small studio apartment was modest, but it was her space. Eleanor helped her negotiate access to a piano to practice at a local music studio. She worked morning shifts at a café, and in the evenings, she secured a job as a pianist at a downtown jazz bar, the Blue Note.
Dropping out of college was a setback, but Melody continued to study music theory on her own using old textbooks, Eleanor’s sheet music, and online courses. She honed her skills at her own pace.
“Your playing improves every day,”
said the owner of the Blue Note.
“The customers are increasing too. Your original songs are particularly appreciated.”
Every night in the dim light of the jazz bar, Melody transformed her emotions into music. Anger, disappointment, and new determination flowed through her fingers.
One evening, a regular customer approached her.
“That was a wonderful performance. Your original pieces particularly struck me,”
said the man, who introduced himself as Marcus Weir, a music producer.
“Have you ever uploaded videos of your performances to social media?”
Following that conversation, Melody started recording her compositions on her smartphone and uploading them. At first, she had only a few dozen viewers, but when she published a song titled “Value,” everything changed.
The song was a moving piano ballad born from the experiences she lived with her family. Even though there were no lyrics, the emotions Melody poured into every note were palpable. Within a week of posting, the video surpassed 500,000 views, and the comments section was filled with reactions like, “This touched my heart and I couldn’t stop crying.”
Marcus called her 10 days after the video was published.
“Melody, your talent is real. Would you like to sign with our label?”
A year later, Melody’s debut single “Value” was released. Although it was a simple song focused on piano and voice, her transparent vocals and touching melody captured the hearts of many. The lyrics “Know your value” resonated particularly with young women.
Melody’s song topped the U.S. charts, and the music video was viewed millions of times. When her debut album was released, she was asked in a music magazine interview:
“Tell us about your musical background.”
She replied quietly:
“I am self-taught. I didn’t have family support, but I had a wonderful mentor and the courage to believe in myself.”
When asked: “What does your family think of your success?”
She just smiled.
“I think my music speaks for itself.”
