Sorrowful Heart.

Ali dragged her feet on the floor as she tiredly made her way into the mansion, her dull eyes drooping slightly as sleepyness settled in.

 Today was the worst day of her life, the presentation her team had painstakingly put together was sabotaged and her direct supervisor had lashed out at her for it. And now she has to create a new presentation on her own.

 She felt her eyes sting, there were visible dark circles under her eyes, and her makeup had smudged, giving her the appearance of a ghost from a horror film. 

 When she walked into the house, she discovered her stepmother and father sitting on the sofa, watching a romantic drama. On the table is a bowl of popcorn and a bottle of juice. 

 Ali averted her gaze, her mood darkening even further. She moved slowly and walked past them, hoping she was invisible enough that no one would notice her, but the woman did.

 “Ali is here!" Mary exclaimed, her voice full of excitement. Ali caught her father's brief glance at her before returning his attention to the television.

 Mary stood up and approached her, and when she saw her face, she exclaimed, "Ali, what happened to you? Your eyes are swollen with dark circles, and you look terrible," she said, putting her hands over her mouth.

 Ali lacked the strength to deal with the cunning woman; she was exhausted from work and did not want Mary to show false concern for her. A person can be misled into thinking she is the sweetest stepmother in the world, when in reality she is a venomous serpent.

 Ali turned to leave, but Mary stopped her and tried to grab her jaw, "I told you to quit working and marry Jared, but you will not listen; look what you are doing to your beautiful face. Do you want to end up as ugly as your mother?" 

 Ali's glare became sharper as she gave Mary a threatening look. She repeatedly warned the woman not to talk about her mother in a disrespectful manner.

 When Mary saw her glare, she scoffed and returned to her seat. She picked a strawberry from the table and fed it to her husband, smiling coquettishly at him.

 Ali shook her head; it appeared the woman had made it her daily mission to provoke her. She walked away from there, towards her brother's room. 

 Since her mother's death three years ago, her father has changed dramatically. He unexpectedly returned home one day with Mary and a girl and introduced them as family.

 Ali was furious; her mother had just been laid to rest, and her father had taken a second wife. It was almost as if he was waiting for his wife's death before marrying again.

 Her mother died as a result of a fire at a party. A portion of her face was burned, which contributed to her ugly appearance. She had no idea what caused the fire because the case had been closed and her spineless father had failed to investigate.

 A few months after her death, her brother developed a brain tumor; her father refused to help raise funds for his treatment and instead spent his money on his new wife and daughter.

 He went bankrupt last year, and the family has been living off her mother's remaining insurance money, while she has had to use her salary to pay for her brother's medications.

 The only reason she has not moved out is that she has a lot of factors to consider, including the high cost of her brother's treatment, as well as the need to pay for rent and a caregiver, food, and bills.

However, she motivates herself to wait a few months until her loan is approved and the properties her mother has listed for sale are sold. She will pay for her brother's surgery and then move out.

 She walked into the room, only to find it empty. The bed was scattered, and the life support machine was turned off. 

 Her heart dropped, and as fear set in, she bolted from the room and returned to the sitting room where her father was.

 "Dad,...where..is...Joe?" The urgency in her voice, combined with the way she ran, rendered her speech incoherent.

 Lucas, who had been disturbed, frowned at her and shouted, "What is it?"

 "I asked, where is..."

 "Oh! I forgot to tell you that your aunt took him to the hospital earlier today. I believe he had a seizure; he was trembling like a person who had been electrocuted," Mary said. Her response came out nonchalantly as if the boy having a seizure was a joke.

 "Why did not you tell me?" Ali demanded, her body stiffening and her heart clenching. "Do you even know that Ali needs urgent surgery, Dad? Why are you wicked towards your blood?" Ali's voice came out in a whisper as the news drained her last ounce of strength. Her knees buckled and she knelt on the floor, her brown eyes filled with pain and betrayal for her father.

 Lucas was offended by her question and roared at her, "You are the one being wicked here, Alice; if only you had married Jared, your brother would have been fine by now, and I would have had my company back."

 "You have yourself to blame for your company's predicament; if you had not married this b**ch, none of this would have happened." Ali's voice became louder as if she had regained her lost strength at the mention of her marriage.

 SLAP

  Ali's face turned to the side when Mary slapped her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she fought the urge to jump on the woman and give her the beating of her life.

 She glared at the woman, hatred in her eyes, her fist clenched at her side. The area Mary slapped turned red, leaving a few lines on her fingers.