Growing Brain Tumor

“Sister, we were just talking about you.” Elle stood up from her chair and strode toward Anna. “I tried to convince them that it wasn’t your fault.”

“You did?” Anna’s brows raised.

“Anna Cooper!” Mr. Cooper rounded the table, gliding across the room, his scorching gaze piercing her soul. “What nonsense did you do at the party yesterday? How dare you try to ruin our family’s image?”

“Father…”

“I don’t want to hear any excuses. You’ll fix your mess.” His voice raised. “Go back to Jason, grovel at his feet if you must but make it right. You brought this upon yourself and you’ll fix it.”

“Father, I’m no longer interested. I’d appreciate it if you understood that. You can go ahead and marry him if you want.”

Rolling her eyes, she took steps, heading to the stairs that led to her room but before she could take more than a few steps, Sylvia blocked her path, her red hair tied in a tight bun as she glared at her. Before Anna could say a word, Sylvia’s palm cracked against her cheek, reverberating through the dining hall.

Her head whipped to the side, her hair shrouding her features as she stared at the floor, expressionless.

“Where were you last night?” Sylvia dropped the question Anna had been waiting for all day.

In one swift move, Anna’s eyes snapped back to meet Sylvia’s, her hands trembling in anger.

“I was busy, you should know that already.”

Sylvia seized her arm, her nails sinking into her tender flesh painfully.

“How dare you hook up with your sister’s man? Don't you have any shame? What would the world say when they hear about this.”

Anna chuckled. “I like him and guess what mother, he likes me too.”

“Have some dignity! You love Jason, stick to him. Goodness, this is embarrassing. Two sisters throwing themselves on a man.”

“I and Caspian are a perfect match. Our bodies entangled perfectly on the sheets an...”

Sylvia’s hands whipped up to hit her a second time but, Elle swiftly rushed to her and held her wrist, tears streaming down her cheek.

“Mother, it’s fine. We shouldn't fight with sister over this.”

“She stole your man and you're still defending her?” Sylvia patted her daughter’s hair as the rest of the family members stared at her in pity. “A heart of gold, that’s what you have.” She turned her wrathful gaze upon Anna. “You can never be like Elle so stop trying. You’re a stain on this family.”

In tears, Elle lightly pushed her mother aside and fled up the stairs, her sobs breaking out.

“Fix your mess, Anna.”

“Whatever.”

Without another word, Anna made her way up the stairs to her room. She pushed the door open, gasping in shock as her eyes fell on Elle perched comfortably on her bed, like a porcelain doll, her eyes glistening in tears.

“What are you doing here? You want to reprimand me too?” Anna looked her over from her head down to her toes. Like always, she was dressed like a Disney princess, in a pink gown that clung to her curves with regal elegance and a pink hair band that pushed her hair backward.

Immediately, Elle rose from the bed, her doe-like-eyes innocently staring at the floor. If it were Anna’s past life, Elle’s acting would have seemed effortless to her, her pitiful acting. “No, I…I just want us to talk. We're sisters, we shouldn't be fighting over a man.”

“Right.”

Elle rushed to her side, encasing her hands, looking at her desperately.

“Sister, you know that I love Caspian. I've loved him since we were kids and he was going to propose to me yesterday.” Voice quavering like a fragile twig, she continued. “Did… did you really sleep with him?”

“I told you I did. What are we going to do now? Since you love him so much,” feigning a pitiful look just like Elle, she spoke, her voice dripping with so much sweetness as Elle put on hers.

Elle wiped her tears. “You’ll let me marry him, won’t you? It didn’t matter that you slept together. Just let me get married to him, okay?”

“Is sleeping with someone a small deal to you, Elle? I said we slept together.” She leaned closer to her ears. “I might be carrying his child now, you know what that means.” Smiling, Anna broke away from her sister and strode to her dressing table. She unhooked her diamond necklace and bracelets, placing them on the table. “But since you're my dear sister so I’ll think about it, okay?”

Elle’s eyes sparkled in excitement. She hurried to her and embraced her from behind, her tears cascading onto the rich fabric of Anna’s dress. “Thank you, thank you so much.”

Spinning Anna around to face her, she slipped a small pill into her palm and smiled cutely at her. “Mother asked me to give you this, you ran out of it already. It's for your amnesia, you know that. You're going to be alright soon.”

“Thanks for this.”

“I’ll take my leave now. I will also come for my reply in the morning. I love you, sis.” Elle chirped as she placed a chaste kiss on Anna’s cheek before departing, closing the door with a subtle click.

Just as she left, Anna’s gaze swept from the pill in her palm to the now-closed door. “Pretentious bitch,” she growled. The act of Elle, she fell for it totally in her past life. She’d seemed like the best sister in the world but Anna knew better than to trust her a second time.

Staring at the pill in her hand, she frowned, images swirling through her mind. The same pill was a daily ritual in her past life, and just like a moment ago, Elle or her mother were the presenters.

Her eyes caught sight of the phone perched at the top of the table. Realizing it was hers, she grabbed it, turned on the camera, and took a picture of the pill.

“Good thing there's technology.”

She searched online for the name of the pill with the picture, her heart pounding in time with the endless scrolling, each passing second an eternity of anxiety.

At last, the words stood on her screen.

“Negative, a path to a growing brain tumor.”