It Was Never Fair

I listened to the entire conversation behind the door as tears streamed down my face.

Fanny Duncan, my manager, persistently persuaded me over the phone. "If you take leave again at this critical moment, you'll lose your chance of being promoted. Will your family truly collapse without you?"

I always thought that was the case, but I finally realized that it was not the case. I was trapped in my own dream for a long time.

"I'll be back to work tomorrow. Thank you for not giving up on me, Fanny," I replied cautiously.

I then kicked the door open and walked in. I stared at my parents despite my reddened eyes.

Mother's hands were shaking, trying to close the blue notebook.

"Celine! W-when did you arrive? I… was just telling your father how sensible you are. You're my dear sweetheart," she said, complimenting me skillfully to portray the fake image of her loving me.

I sneered, "Oh, I've been here for a while, early enough to hear you saying you were going to leave with Belle, but I'll still take care of you at your old age later?"

Mother's face looked horrible after hearing what I said.

"You… You're sounding selfish! Since you were a child, everything I did was fair to Belle and you. I have to go with her as she needs me now. We'll be back at our older age."

I shook my head vigorously and snatched the blue notebook with both hands. "Selfish, am I? Let me see what you wrote here.

"On the fifteenth of March, you were hospitalized and I owed you four hundred fifty dollars for food allowance, huh?

"I risked being fired from my job to take care of you. I didn't even shut my eyes for three days, and all you can write is that I owed you money?"

My tears were like a downpour as I roared, "Belle didn't show up even for a day. Does she owe you any money then?"

Father suddenly kicked the side of the bed, eyes burning with anger and blame.

"That's enough! I'm still alive. You are my daughter! What's wrong with me asking you to take care of me in my old age?

"Look how selfish you're behaving. I was just testing how you'd react. Look at you, trying to pick a fight with your parents!"

Everything that he said sounded reasonable. The truth was, he felt guilty.

Right then and there, I burst into laughter, my body trembling.

"I'll leave tomorrow. I'll let your dear Belle take care of you.

"By the way, Mother, didn't you say you have always been fair to the both of us? Where's that little notebook about my favorite things then, like the one you have for Belle?"

My mother looked down, hugging herself as she sobbed, "You ungrateful wretch! I have nothing to say to you. I'll kill you if you cause any delay at your sister's wedding."

My sister's husband-to-be happened to be my ex-boyfriend.

"The man she's marrying happened to be my ex-boyfriend, the same one she stole from me. What were you thinking when you drugged and threw me to her creditors?"

Mother was stunned, fear clouding her gaze. "How did you remember that? Why would you remember that?"

I had never forgotten about that.

…

My parents arranged for me to attend a school where I could bring my sister with me.

When I first brought my boyfriend home to meet my parents, my mother looked at us uncomfortably. "The two of you aren't a good match. You're a lot bland, Celine. How can you be so ambitious?"

She shook her head. "Why don't you let your sister be with this young man instead? Your father and I would like you to stay with us and get married here."

I looked at her with horror. Later, I found myself paralyzed and was carried into a room. My sister Belle, on the other hand, was brought into my boyfriend's room.