chapter two

There’s a saying that blood is thicker than water.

I think I was wrong.

In bed with James was none other than Sheila—my own blood sister.

At least, that’s what I believed.

My lips trembled, and I didn’t know what to say.

She grabbed the sheet and covered herself, while James wore a look of satisfaction.

“Did you get that from me?” he said shamelessly, not caring how I felt.

I was still in shock.

How could she do this to me?

Did our parents know about all this?

How long had she been sleeping with him? How long had she been riding him?

I had always kept calm, even when he brought other women home.

But this time, I lost control.

I rushed toward the bed and grabbed Sheila by the hair.

She screamed in pain and fought back, scratching my face.

“You shouldn’t be fighting—there’s enough of me to go around,” James said with a laugh as he got out of bed.

I wasn’t thinking anymore—or at least, not yet.

I glanced at the table and grabbed the vase.

The bottle shattered on Sheila’s head, and she collapsed, unconscious.

At first, James didn’t care.

But when he saw the blood, he shoved me violently and immediately had Sheila taken out of the house in a panic.

Maybe I had gone too far?

Maybe I wasn’t thinking straight anymore?

But that night, I wasn’t worried.

I had only tried to defend what was rightfully mine.

I looked at the floor where a red stain formed a pattern on the white marble, then at my reflection in the mirror.

I didn’t recognize myself anymore.

I looked more like a madwoman.

[ Three Weeks Later ]

Do I regret it?

I wanted to say “no,” but the truth was “yes.”

My father wouldn’t stop shouting and swore he would have me arrested for murder if Sheila died.

And my mother… she was the exact opposite of a good mother.

She encouraged my father to disown me, to cast me out of the family.

I still couldn’t believe a mother could say that about her own child.

We were all at the hospital when the doctor came back to tell us Sheila had woken up.

“Thank God! Can we see her?” I said, standing up immediately.

But my mother’s glare was enough to make me sit back down.

“How is she?” my father asked.

The doctor let out a long sigh.

“May I speak with you in private, Mr. Johnson? I’d like to talk to you alone.”

“No!” James shouted. “I want to hear what you have to say.”

As grateful as I was for his words, they tore me apart inside.

Here was a man who had never shown me a single sign of love, yet now he was fighting for my sister.

“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but… she lost it.

The damage to her stomach was severe.

She lost the baby.”

My mother stepped forward and slapped me hard across the face.

The world started spinning, and I wasn’t even sure I had heard the doctor correctly.