Chapter Seventeen

Nothing could prepare my brain for what Jennifer just said. Even now, sitting in the hallway, watching my parents argue for the first time in my life while Jennifer is being questioned by the vice principal about her claims, I only have one prayer—Jennifer White cannot be my half-sister.

“Then why, Fred! You cheated on me, and instead of apologizing, you’re telling me I’m being dramatic? Have you ever seen dramatic, Fred?” Mom yells, probably scaring half the hospital.

I rise from the bench, walking past them and out of the hospital. My chest feels heavy—partly from the noise in there, partly from the thought that Dominic left school with me, only for me to badmouth him afterward.

I flag down a taxi. My mind won’t rest until I talk to Dominic. My parents can deal with their own problems because mine has only one answer—Jennifer White is not my sister and will never be.

When the taxi stops, I march up to Alice’s house and ring the bell. I take a few steps back, holding my breath. Alice swings the door open, grinning.

“Catherine! I thought the police arrested you when Dominic refused to say a word to me after coming back from your place,” she says, opening the door wider. “I guess he’s mad about something else.”

“Where is he?” I ask, already walking toward his room. He must have locked himself inside.

“He came home, grabbed his stuff, and left—said he’s going to Grandma’s house.”

I pause and turn with a huff. Must he always run away? “When is he coming back?”

Alice shrugs, her eyes glued to her phone. Of course she doesn’t know. And just like that, Dominic manages to make me feel worse.

“Grab popcorn and let’s watch this series, I heard it’s lit,” Alice says, but I’m already reaching for the door handle and slamming it behind me.

Dominic makes everything so hard. So impossibly hard. Great—now I’m the girl chasing a guy who won’t even act like one. Who the hell runs off because of a few words?

Maybe not such little words.

I don’t bother taking a cab. I just walk. Everything feels bottled up, tight, suffocating. All I want is to crash into a warm hug, to breathe in that faint vanilla scent, to see those eyes half-hidden beneath curly hair.

I exhale long and hard. Maybe Dad’s right. I shouldn’t do this to Dominic. I shouldn’t make him think we could ever be something when there’s nothing here.

Nothing indeed, my mind mocks.

Yeah. Nothing.

But the awful, suffocating stone in my chest won’t go away. The evening air brushes across my face, cool and sharp. It’s better to leave him alone. All my life, I’ve never imagined being with someone like Dominic. It never even crossed my mind—someone younger, someone not flashy. Asher was my ideal type.

Your ideal type cheated on you, my mind reminds me.

Still, even though I’ll never admit it to him, Dominic is a great person—a really great person. Unlike Asher. Looking back now, what Asher and I had wasn’t real. It was too staged. I always had to be perfect—something he never let me forget. I had to be the prettiest girl in school for him, and whenever we were alone, his hands always wandered. Every date was just an excuse to get into my pants, and I let him, thinking we’d end up together anyway.

But we didn’t.

Everyone seemed to take my new “relationship” better than I thought they would, but outside, when people compare our faces side by side, I’m just the girl who couldn’t find anyone her age. As long as what Dominic and I have isn’t love, it shouldn’t hurt anyone. But why does it hurt me so much?

Left with no choice, I head back to the hospital, hoping my parents haven’t destroyed each other yet. Mom must be in so much pain dealing with Dad’s supposed affair, but Dad doesn’t seem like the kind of man who would do something like that—especially not when Mom’s always on his back.

But it doesn’t make sense. Jennifer is the vice principal’s niece. That means Dad supposedly slept with the vice principal’s sister. That’s disgusting. Isn’t she about the same age as the vice principal? God, he’s so shameless.

When the taxi drops me off, it takes everything in me not to turn back and just keep walking. What if Jennifer really is my sister? How am I supposed to live with that? As if my life wasn’t dramatic enough already.

The hallway leading to Jennifer’s room is surprisingly quiet. Mom must have stopped tearing into Dad. Maybe she’s already ready to accept Jennifer. No. They can’t do that without my consent.

I hasten my steps and push open the door. All eyes turn to me.

Mom and Dad are hugging, teary-eyed. Jennifer is crying on the bed, being comforted by the vice principal, another woman who looks like her, and one other stranger in the room.

“What’s going on?” I ask, already dreading the answer. Mom and Dad accepting the girl who stabbed herself as my sister? “You’ve already accepted her? I’ll never take her as my sister, so you can’t—”

“She’s not my daughter,” Dad cuts in. “It was all a big misunderstanding.”

I blink, making sure I heard him right. “A big misunderstanding?”

“Yeah. We should go home, dear,” Mom says, turning to Dad. “I really need a good rest.”

I stand there, completely lost. Just hours ago, Jennifer was acting like some tough villain ready to destroy my family, and now she’s whimpering on the bed like a wounded cat.

Mom bids farewell to everyone before taking Dad’s hand, and they leave the ward.

“What’s going on?” I ask again, shutting the door behind us. “I don’t understand.”

“Let’s get home first,” Mom says.

Outside, we get into the car. Uncle Zachary drives us home, my thoughts spinning in circles. Mom keeps apologizing to Dad for overreacting and then shamelessly kissing him in the car. I bite my tongue to stop myself from yelling for them to get a room.

I slump into the couch first thing and let out a long breath. Uncle Zachary has already left, leaving just my parents and me.

"I'm so hungry! Did that pasta remain?" Mom asks, turning to Dad.

Dad gets up from the couch, already heading to the kitchen. “Let me get you some, but you’ll have to wait a bit — I’ll warm it up first.”

“Hurry up, Fred. I used all my energy yelling at you in the hospital. Now I’m totally exhausted.”

Dad chuckles, disappearing into the kitchen. These two are made for each other. They might fight and scream like the world’s ending, but they’d never do anything to hurt each other. It’s the kind of love I’ve always wanted — the kind of love I thought I had with Asher. But that didn’t exactly turn out well.

“Catherine…” Mom calls, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Yeah, Mom?”

“Are you okay?” she asks softly.

“Yeah,” I say, but my voice cracks.

“You’re crying,” she says gently.

Only then do I feel the wetness on my cheeks. I touch my face, surprised. I really am crying.

“If it’s about Jennifer,” Mom continues, “she’s not your sister. Her mother lied to her.”

“Her mother lied?” I repeat, still processing.

Mom nods. “Yeah. Jennifer’s actually the adopted daughter of the vice principal’s sister. Apparently, she found out the truth and started looking for her biological mom — and found her.” Mom leans in like she’s spilling gossip. “Turns out, that woman was your dad’s first love.”

“What—” I gasp. “Really?”

“I know! I was just as shocked when she showed up at the hospital. So apparently, when Jennifer asked who her real father was, her mom panicked and said your dad’s name. Poor girl believed it and thought I stole him from her mother. She transferred schools just to get revenge.”

“OMG, that’s literally straight out of a K-drama.”

“Swear down, girl,” Mom says, rolling her eyes.

“So what actually happened between her and Dad?” I ask.

“She cheated on him and got pregnant for another man. Your dad found out in the worst way possible — when the guy showed up during antenatal visits. They broke up before I came into the picture, so your mama isn’t a man-snatcher.” Mom grins proudly. “And guess what? Jennifer’s already done with high school.” She fans herself dramatically.

“What?” I breathe out. Jennifer must have been so furious to go that far — even stabbing herself — just to meet the man she thought was her father, only to find out he wasn’t. “I feel for her.”

“Me too. Fred, bring my food!” Mom yells suddenly.

“Coming, babe!” Dad replies from the kitchen.