Chapter 01

Lauren was peacefully sleeping when she woke up from the loud knock on the door. She drowsily opens her eyes, then looks at the clock on her bedside table. It's already eight in the morning. It means that she overslept.

All she could do was blame herself for not being able to wake up from the alarm clock. She was exhausted last night from work because there are many people who need to be accommodated in her workplace. In the end all of them work overtime because of that.

“Lauren!  You bitch, open this damn door!"

Hazel continues to knock and shout in front of her room. Hearing this, Lauren quickly got up.

Her hair that almost reached her waist, was in a mess as she doesn’t have the time to comb it. Wearing her old pajamas, she lazily opens the door. "What do you want?" Lauren nonchalantly asks her sister.

She had no idea what Hazel’s problem was again, right now. Besides, she also doesn’t have time to accommodate whatever it is. It must be another scheme to make her life more difficult than it already has.

Hazel accusingly looked at her…. a dangerous smile was plastered on her face.

Hazel has this gentle face that it would never cross your mind that she could do something bad. That she’s able to harm… even her sister. Well, maybe it’s because Lauren was just a half-sister and on top of that, she never accepted Lauren into their family.

Lauren wants to laugh at herself. She looks so pathetic. Every day through their words and actions, they reminded her that she doesn't belong in this ‘family’, but what exactly is she doing? She simply let it all go.

Dreaming that one day, they would accept her. What an impossible dream, right?

Besides… It's free to dream like that, right? 

Let’s back to reality… looking at her sister right now, she already knows her dream won’t happen. Not now and not in the near future.

“Great! Do you think you can avoid what you've done to me?"

Listening to what her sister said, Lauren  frowned, not understanding what she meant.

Stella caught that scene while walking downstairs. In her get-up, Lauren already knows that Stella has an important appointment to go to. 

Stella hastily walks towards her daughter. 

Hazel shifted her gaze to her Mother, looking pitifully and on the verge of crying.

Stella gently touched her daughter's face. In a worried tone of voice she asked Hazel. “Baby, what's the matter? Why are you shouting?"

Even though Stella didn't know the whole story yet, she angrily turned her attention to Lauren.

“What did you do to Hazel?" She’s already accusing her of what’s happening to her daughter.

Lauren shook her head repeatedly to deny the accusation against her. “I did nothing! She came here, then all of a sudden accused me of something I did not do."

"You're lying! You stole my bracelet!" Hazel turned her gaze to her mother. She grabbed Stella's hand, silently asking to take action against Lauren. Her hands were trembling.

Tears were rolling down her face. Her voice cracked when she said, “M-mom! She stole it! Believe me. She stole it... my bracelet... that... that was Theo's gift for me." Hazel almost fell to the floor, fortunately, Stella was holding her arms. Stella embraced her daughter and caressed her back. She’s suppressing her emotions, whose mother wants to see their child like that?

Lauren just stared at them, and the nervousness in her chest didn't go away even though she knew she hadn't done anything wrong.

She wants to fight back, but her position in their family won’t let her do that. She doesn’t have the power to do something like that.

Is there someone who will believe her and won’t doubt what she’s going to say? A person that can trust her and her words alone without proving herself. For sure, the people around her would contradict her statement. There’s no one she can trust. And she doesn’t have any hopes for that kind of person to come.

“So you're saying that Hazel made-up all of this? I don’t think my daughter is capable of doing that. She’s kind and well-behaved… unlike you.” Stella said emphasizing something about her.

In the midst of the commotion they heard footsteps from the second floor. It seems that her father already heard their arguments.

“What's happening here? I can hear your voices up to my study room." Fernand was annoyed by the sudden commotion downstairs.

He can't focus on the paperwork, especially those papers that need his attention because it was related to their company’s project. Since he can't focus, he decided to see what's happening to them.

He saw Stella and Hazel outside Lauren’s room.

Hearing Fernand's voice, Stella was in a rage. She looked sharply at her husband. The way she looked had some accusation with it. “Look at how you raised this bastard! After what I've done to her. I accepted her, but what do I get in return? She always bullies Hazel and now, she's even stealing Hazel's things."

She would not have let Lauren into their home if it hadn't been for Fernand's pleading. Whose wife will genuinely embrace her husband's child from her mistress?  No one will be happy with that arrangement. Especially it reminds her of the sin he committed.

Upon hearing Stella’s sentiment, Fernand disappointedly look at Lauren. However, he still gave Lauren a chance to explain and prove herself innocent. 

“Lauren? Tell me the truth, did you steal something from Hazel?"

He knows that Lauren is a good girl. She always obeys him no matter what. She even contributes greatly to their company.

Lauren shook her head. Why would she admit the thing she did not do? They would always point out that she is the one to blame.

“N-no father. You know that I would not dare to do that. I would never do that."

Lauren felt that after this, her world might turn upside down. The only hope she holds out to this ‘family’ is likely to disappear.

Hazel wiped her tears, and shouted angrily. “You still refuse to tell the truth! Let me search for it in your room." 

Hazel pushes Lauren aside and storms inside the room. The couple also followed their daughter.

Lauren couldn’t do anything, but stand in the corner and just watch her sister search and mess up her room. Hazel searches in every corner of Lauren's room.

The room became messy. Her clothes were thrown on the floor. Her bed was crumpled but all she could do was watch the whole scene unfold in front of her. Her sister went to her bedside table. She opens every drawer and searches for it. On the final drawer, she gets something there.

Hazel secretly smiled after retrieving it. ‘Poor Lauren, this time no one would believe you.’

Hazel turned and looked at her parents. She raised her hand to show the bracelet.

“See?! Here's my bracelet! Now tell us… tell us that you did not steal this and how it ends up in your drawer."

Lauren staggers for a bit. She shook her head and then looked at her father.

“No... No, I didn't!  You deliberately put that in my drawer!" Lauren is now accusing Hazel instead.

‘Father, believe in me please! Just this time, can you believe in me?’

Fernand was shocked because this was the first time Lauren acted like that. How could she accuse her older sister when it clearly shows that Hazel’s bracelet was in her room?

“Daddy you know that I’m not that kind of person. She’s my sister how could... how could I do that to her. As her older sister, you all know that I can give what she wants.” Hazel was teary-eyed while explaining, she turns her gaze to Lauren. “But Lauren, Theo gave me this bracelet and it’s precious to me. If you had just told me that you wanted accessories, then I... I would have given you my other bracelet or I would have bought a new one for you.”

Fernand shook his head and sighed. “Lauren, I... I'm really disappointed in you. These days you are always in trouble. At first, I ignored it and just let you do what you wanted to do. I was worried that I might be restricting you so much, that’s why I let you do what you want first. I thought it might help you.”

Fernand paused for a bit. Thinking about his company, it’s stable now after Lauren made several projects. And after the project he’s currently working on, they will surely hit big time. Thus, he didn’t need Lauren’s help anymore. He no longer needs her.

His chest felt heavy at that moment and he needed time to breathe. This is the time he will let her go. His face was serious, which made Lauren feel so nervous.

“Lately, you keep on disappointing me. From now on, I will let your mother handle everything about you. I will no longer interfere with what you do, just don't drag this family in your mess. Because the time you’ll be in trouble again and even drag our family’s reputation down. I will no longer recognize you as my daughter and officially cut ties with my relationship with you as your father.”

Bitterness filled Fernand's voice and made Lauren’s hope shatter into pieces.

It’s over. It’s finally over, all her hope was gone in just a snap. This happens because they framed her, but how can she prove her innocence if the evidence was presented before their eyes? Even though it was a piece of fabricated evidence.