The favoured child never learned that love could simply stay
You were the one they pointed to. The one whose report card got framed, whose opinion was solicited at the dinner table, whose feelings were treated as weather events the whole family had to prepare for. It felt like love, and parts of it were. But underneath the attention was a quiet, unspoken contract: you were loved for being exceptional. For being the one who made them proud, who reflected well, who fulfilled something they needed you to be.
