Fading Starlight

The wedding of Autumn Westwood and Franklin Cordon was the event of the year. The place was packed with guests, all dressed to the nines.Down in the front row, my parents were wiping away tears while quietly sobbing, “Our little Autumn’s finally getting married. She’s our everything.”Up above, my soul floated in the air, watching, feeling an ache deep inside. Once, they used to cry over me like that, too.Just then, someone shouted from the crowd, “What a perfect match! Master Franklin and Miss Autumn sure are made for each other!”“Yeah," someone else chimed in. "Not like that fake, Ginger Westwood. She stole the real daughter’s life for over twenty years. Even six feet under, she’s nothing but bad luck.”Autumn seemed to hear my name as well. Her hand paused for a second, and then she smiled—a small, mocking curve of her lips.I laughed bitterly to myself. Of course, she would. I had lived the life that was supposed to be hers for over two decades. She had every reason to sne

Immediately after that, she flipped to the next page.May 20, 2024.Today is my birthday... and Autumn's too. But Mom and Dad seemed to have forgotten about me as they only bought her a cake.Still, I wasn't even mad. It’s just cake, and I don’t even like sweets anyway.Autumn seemed to notice me hiding in the corner. She brought me a slice and said, "Happy birthday, sis."I acted like I didn’t care, pushing the cake away. But inside, my heart was pounding like crazy. I wanted so badly to tell her happy birthday too.Even when I was cold, she just smiled and said it was okay. She really did seem like an angel. No wonder everyone loved her.Later that night, I saw Franklin put something into her drink. I didn’t have time to think. Just as Autumn was about to sip it, I lunged forward, grabbed the glass, and gulped it down myself. I barely had time to breathe when Mom came rushing over and slapped me across the face.I hit the ground hard, and all she cared about was checking if A

Mom lowered her head at the question.I also wondered how come Mom never noticed.Someone from the Cordons couldn’t stand it anymore. He pointed at Autumn on stage and yelled, "Are you getting married or not? If not, we’re leaving!"Nevertheless, Autumn showed no fear. She simply chuckled. "You won’t even let me finish reading a simple wedding gift. If I marry into your family, what kind of life will that be?"Hearing this, Mom grew angry. "If the Cordons don’t want to have Autumn as their daughter-in-law, then we don’t want it either! Cancel the wedding—I’d like to see if the Cordons can still get that funding!"That one sentence shut the Cordons right up. That was Autumn for you—loved so dearly by her mother. Must be nice.Franklin started to panic. He stammered, "She’s the one who didn’t want to speak! That means she gave up!"Autumn let out a cold laugh and flipped to the next page. "Really? Then, let’s see. What exactly did she give up?"December 24, 2024.It’s Christmas

I saw Mr. and Mrs. Cordon slump into their chairs, their faces ashen with despair. My parents' expressions shifted. My mom suddenly shot to her feet and pointed at Franklin's nose, yelling, "What is the meaning of this? Is this how the Cordon family treats my daughter?!"My dad was even more furious. Veins bulged on his forehead as he stormed up to Mr. Cordon, looking like he was about to punch him. "How dare you treat my daughter like that?!"However, Autumn raised a hand to signal everyone to quiet down. She was determined to finish reading my diary.He threatened me. I didn’t dare speak. Then, one of the men beside him looked me up and down with disgusting eyes and said he’d never tried a bald girl before.That animal, Franklin, actually pulled out the video he had secretly taken that night and laughed as he said, "It felt great."Hearing that, I froze. The memories of that night came rushing back, a dam bursting. I was on the verge of breaking down.The video showed me being