Chapter 2

I remained standing at the entrance, unable to tell them the truth.

With Mom, Dad, and Kent looking at me with thinly-veiled irritation, I couldn't help but feel like I was the one ruining their perfect little family.

Natali was even more irritated. She was seemingly displeased that my return had stolen even a sliver of my family's attention.

She threw the dress away and ran over to me, blocking me from their view. "Where have you been, Emma? Mom and Dad are so worried about you! Do you know how jealous an orphan like me is of you? Even if you're angry, you shouldn't have run away from home—it's breaking your family's heart!"

Natali's choked sobs caught the attention of my family. Kent even pulled her into his arms out of sympathy.

I looked at her calmly. She looked just like Anna when she cried.

Natali came to our house three months after Anna died. Having grown up in an orphanage, she quickly figured out our family's background—and its unspoken rules.

She mimicked Anna's way of speaking, acted cutely just like how Anna would to Mom and Dad, and wore all the colors Anna used to love.

She would sweetly call for Mom whenever Mom was looking at her in a daze.

However, Natali's personality was nothing like Anna's.

She would take my room, books, and clothes. Before I could even feel upset, she was already choking back tears and playing the victim.

Natali looked so much like Anna when she cried. Whenever that happened, my family, who were usually fair, would hold back their anger and turn to me, whose eyes were red with tears. "Emma, be more understanding and let Natali have it."

I could only swallow my tears and nod in obedience.

I was naive back then. I had no idea my family had resented me because of Anna's death.

I was even fooled by Natali—I believed she was a gift from the Moon Goddess, sent to take Anna's place as the older sister that I'd lost.

That was until she set her eyes on the pearl necklace Anna had given me before she'd died.

Ever since Anna's death, I'd been wearing it daily—clinging to it like a lifeline as I held onto her memory.

However, Natali waited until we were both alone at home before yanking the necklace from my neck.

Her tone was sharp and cruel when she said, "I'm the older sister in this family! Everything that dead woman left behind belongs to me! I can take back the things she gave you anytime I want!"

The necklace snapped in Natali's hands. Tears immediately filled my eyes, and I fought back for the first time, shoving her away.

She stumbled backward, stepping on the scattered pearls, and landed hard on the ground.

That was the exact moment my family walked in. They were just in time to see it happening.

Natali started crying before I could even explain myself. She said, "I'm scared, Mom… I only wanted to have a closer look at the necklace Anna left behind, but Emma suddenly attacked me. Does she see me as Anna's replacement? Like I'm here to steal away the love and attention you once showered on her?"

Mom hugged Natali and shot me a wary glare. Kent pulled me back by my shoulders forcefully, shielding them both behind himself.

Meanwhile, Dad slapped me with a trembling hand. "What are you doing, Emma? Why are you bullying Natali? Anna is already dead because of you—do you really want our family to land in misfortune?"

I was taken aback, all the words I wanted to say caught in my throat.

It was only then that I'd realized—though my family never said it out loud, deep down, they blamed me for it, despite their love for me.

They blamed me for picking mushrooms in the mountains. If I hadn't gone, I wouldn't have slipped near the cliff—and Anna, who rushed over, wouldn't have fallen trying to save me.

Even though my family knew the reason I liked picking mushrooms was because Anna loved drinking mushroom soup…

As such, they thought I should give in to Natali—because it should have been me who died, not Anna. I have failed her.

And Natali—who had only been with us for a month—completely took over my place as their daughter.

I was misunderstood and pushed away by my family after the necklace incident.

One day, I suddenly received an anonymous text—someone had seen signs of Anna in the forbidden forest.

Clinging to the hope that she might still be alive, I left home that very night and made my way to the forbidden forest. But as soon as I stepped into the forest, a strange curse took hold of me, and I collapsed to the ground from pain.

My life was saved by Anna. Yet now, I was about to die.

Anna loved me so much that she sacrificed herself to save me from the cliff—all just to ensure I lived.

Right before she fell, she told me to live well, and to take good care of our parents together with Kent.

I truly had failed Anna.