Chapter 2 - Kelly

Every part of me aches. 

My head throbs, my body feels heavy, and my heart feels like it’s about to die on me. Like it was ready to fall apart, all over again. 

To make it worse, when I opened my eyes, I found myself in my room, with Merry beside me. 

“Thank the goddess you’re okay,” she said, “I’m sorry for all the pain you had to endure for being rejected. But I love Leo so much. And the thought of losing him is just too much for me to bear.” 

I don’t know why she was even here. Is she bragging that she won Leo’s heart? The man that I had loved for so long, my mate, left me for her?

Just then, my brother Aiden opened the door of my room with a cake in his hand and a big smile on his face. 

“Surprise!” He greeted as he started singing Happy Birthday.

With everything that’s happening in my life, I forgot that today was my birthday.

“Make a wish,” Aiden said, smiling happily at me. I gave him the best smile I could give as I blew my candle.

Remembering what happened to the garden and seeing my brother’s smiling face brought me to tears. 

“Hey,” my brother said as he wrapped his free arm around me. The comfort it gave me just made me cry harder. I am so happy that I always have him and that he even prepared a surprise for me. I wanted to tell him the pain I was feeling, but I didn’t know if it was the right thing. 

“I wanted to treat you out, but I have a business trip,” he said apologetically. “By the way, what happened to you? I was surprised to hear that you were sick.”

I was about to reply, but Merry beat me to it, irritating me more than ever. “She got heatstroke because of the weather.”

My brother nodded as he rubbed my back. 

“Before I forget, I have an announcement to make,” Merry announces the moment my father enters the room. “Leo and I are Mates.” 

My brother looked at me with a sad smile before standing up and congratulating Merry. Gently patting my head, he tried to comfort me, saying that Merry and Leo were fated mates, something that couldn’t be changed, and I had no choice but to accept it.

When my father heard about it, he was so happy and proudly called her Luna. 

Once again, Merry was the star of the show, and I was once again left to the side. 

Everyone who came into my room to greet me on my birthday turned their focus on her. It was as if they had all forgotten that just a few months ago, I was Leo’s long-time girlfriend. 

There are moments when I just want to disappear. Because no matter what I do, they only notice me when I do something wrong or do something stupid. I felt so helpless against Merry. 

After a few days, while having breakfast, Merry made an announcement. 

“I have some good news,” Merry said as we were eating. And just like always, she got my father’s full attention. “I am pregnant!” She added excitedly. 

I stopped eating and looked at her. How can she be pregnant when I just saw a used tampon of hers in the bathroom yesterday?

She turned and looked at me, smiling as she asked, “Kelly, could you come to me and help me buy some baby clothes?”

“No,” I said,  “I have some things to attend to.”

“You should go with her.” My father interrupted, “She is carrying the Alpha’s child. She needs a lot of support from her family. As her sister, you should be the one to help her with everything she needs.”

“Thank you for supporting me,” she said, beaming at me, but I looked away and focused on eating my eggs and bacon. 

“I think we would need a room specifically for my and Leo’s baby. And Kelly’s room is the closest. I was thinking of having Kelly’s room turned into a nursery,” I stopped eating, waiting for my father’s answer.

“I think that’s a good idea,” my father replied and then turned to face me, “We could convert the attic into the room of your dreams, Kelly. At the same time, Merry would have easier access to the nursery.”

Why do I feel like I am getting thrown out of my own home? 

And why is it always me who makes the necessary adjustment?

Merry looked at me with a smirk on her face, but when I looked again, the smirk was gone, and that innocent-looking face was back. For a moment, I wasn’t sure if I’d imagined it. 

Still, this is just absurd. Merry isn’t even pregnant, and yet the world of my family revolves around a baby that doesn’t even exist. It took everything I had to go and talk to my father, holding on to that last thread of hope that he might believe me. 

“Dad, Merry isn’t pregnant.” 

“What nonsense are you talking about?” 

“It’s the truth,” I said as my heart pounded against my chest. “She’s still on her period. How can she be pregnant?”

He slammed his hand on the table loud enough to silence every sound. “Shut up!” 

His voice thundered, “How could your innocent sister lie the way you do? Your only purpose now is to protect her. Now get out of my sight!” 

I walked out of the room, not even shocked at the outcome. It’s been like this for years now; it felt like the real daughter is Merry, and I am the only one who always gets in the way.

Later that day, Merry and I went to the mall. 

But the conversation I had with my father still lingers in my head. Why does Merry have to lie?

While Merry was picking out clothes for her so-called baby, she kept showing the diamond ring that Leo had given her. She continued blabbing about her upcoming grand wedding as I continued to pretend that I did not hear what she was saying. While checking out some baby clothes for my baby, I felt a jolting pain on my head as Merry pulled my head down so I would look at her. 

“Everything you have — your man, your life — it will all be mine. It's all because of your bitch of a mother who stole my dad. So now it’s only fair you pay for it." She sneered as she continued to pull a fistful of my hair.

In that moment, I didn’t recognize her. The way she looked and spoke to me was so different from the Merry I know. She’s soft spoken and always gentle with her words. But the Merry I am looking at right now has that twisted, scary look of a serial killer that I don’t even recognize her. Is this really Merry? Suddenly, I became afraid of her. Afraid of what she might do next. 

She let go of me as she walked towards the cashier to pay. She handed me the bags of baby clothes that she had bought, but took them back once we were about to go down the stairs. 

I was standing behind her when Merry suddenly fell down the stairs. 

Leo appeared at the entrance of the store and rushed towards Merry in panic as he saw Merry on the floor. Then I saw blood running down Merry’s legs. I  rushed towards her, panicked and worried. I may be angry at her, but I would never wish for something bad to happen to her. 

“What happened?” Leo asked worriedly. 

“Kelly,” she said, pointing at me as she started to cry. “Kelly pushed me down the stairs.”

What the hell is she saying? 

I looked at her in disbelief. How could she blame me for something I didn’t do?

Pain filled my heart with the way Leo looked at me. I wanted to tell him that it wasn’t my fault. That I wouldn’t do anything to hurt an innocent baby. But the anger in his eyes cuts me like a knife. This isn’t the same brown eyes that looked at me with so much love. 

Because these cold eyes that are staring through me now want me dead.