The Jealousy That Silenced Me

How could I ever hate Emma?I just didn't get it. Why, when we were both our mother's daughters, was I the one she didn't love?I didn't understand until I turned eighteen. She'd wanted a son, and my birth had been her last try. But when I came out a girl, her disappointment ran so deep, she let it turn to resentment.From then on, my life was nothing but neglect and hurt. All because I wasn't the child she wanted. In her eyes, I'd ruined everything.Emma got everything. I wore her hand-me-downs, used her leftovers. My allowance was half of hers, even in school.I thought for years I just wasn't good enough. Then I came in first on a major exam.That night, she burned my award certificate. "Are you trying to make Emma feel bad? Flaunting your grades when she didn't do well? How could I have raised such a selfish child?"Emma had bombed that test, yet I was the one being punished.It wasn't that I wasn't good enough—I'd never been the daughter my mother wanted.And Emma? She ju

Hector sighed. "Emma, you're just... too forgiving. She ruined your leg, almost burned you alive, and yet you still defend her."Emma melted into his arms, her face soft and sympathetic. "I was always the better sister," she murmured, voice thick with emotion. "She was jealous, but I never thought she'd hate me this much."Her voice quivered, and Hector's eyes darkened as he deepened his grip on her."I won't let her hurt you again. She crippled you, Emma—I can't forgive her for that. I'll divorce her. I'll protect you, no matter what."As I heard his vow, a hollow ache filled my chest.Turns out, even souls feel pain when there's regret.No one had even bothered to question the fire Emma set. I was labeled a fugitive, accused of arson and hurting my "poor, innocent" sister.Hector didn't ask the police to look for me. He didn't even return to our abandoned house, where weeds grew wild, hiding secrets.My cold, lifeless body would stay hidden forever.After Emma healed, Hector

Hector scoffed. "Missing? Please. She's hiding to avoid justice. She nearly got Emma killed in that fire and now she's too scared to face the consequences. But let's be real—she'll come crawling back for money sooner or later. Just watch."Yuna clenched her fists, furious. She couldn't see how far Hector and I had fallen apart. Nothing she said would make him look for me; he was convinced I'd show up eventually, desperate and helpless.Turning to Emma, he promised, "Don't worry, Emma. When Sienna comes back, I'll make her apologize, and then I'll divorce her."He sounded so sure of himself that he didn't notice the slight panic in Emma's eyes. She knew I'd never come back—one day, I'd just be declared missing. And if I stayed gone, Hector would be all hers.Yuna had her doubts, though. She remembered my text the day I went to meet Emma: [Yuna, promises only last in the moment they're made. I'm done with him. I'm exhausted.]Before I could say more, Emma had coaxed me up to that vi

"Sienna's dead? Yeah, right." Hector scoffed, barely giving it a thought before turning back to Emma's birthday celebration."Good riddance. I don't ever want to see her again," he muttered, hanging up.The hatred in his voice was hard, like he believed I'd gotten exactly what I deserved. Then his gaze softened, shifting back to Emma, unbothered—until the police called again.Hector didn't trust Yuna, but he couldn't ignore the police. Their words made his eyes narrow. "Officer, you're saying Sienna's been dead for three months? That's impossible. I got a text from her two months ago. What, am I supposed to believe it was a ghost?"Watching from above, I almost wished I could message him, just to mess with his head."She was a menace," Hector sneered. "Dead or alive, the world's better off without her."The officer hesitated, but Hector hung up, annoyance bubbling over as he stepped onto the balcony for a smoke."What a joke. How long is she planning to haunt me?" he muttered, s

So my mother came for Emma after all. To her, I'd always been expendable; even my death couldn't bring her a flicker of grief. I'd spent years wondering why she never loved me, and even longer accepting I didn't need her love.Every ounce of her concern had always been for Emma. Even now, her only worry was how Emma might suffer from my death.Hector's eyes darkened as he looked at her. "Get out. Sienna is dead, and you don't feel a damn thing, do you?"Her face froze; she was shocked into silence.I wanted to say to Hector, 'Hector, you're only now realizing I had no family to turn to? That I never truly had a home? I once thought you'd be my shelter, but in the end, you were the one who left me exposed. Now, any remorse you feel is just a hollow gesture.'My mother tried to plead with him again, but he shoved her aside and walked out, regaining a strange, fleeting calm.When Emma saw him, she thought her salvation had arrived. "Hector! You came to see me. I'm so scared—get me o