All Chapters of I was more than pretty: Chapter 41 - Chapter 45

I baked the cookies myself.Not because I wanted to.But because I had to.They were simple — dark chocolate chunk, slightly underbaked, the kind Serena used to steal from my lunch in high school. I remembered how she’d say, “You make the best ones, Ev. You’re like a sister to me,” while already reaching for a second.Now, I placed the box on her desk with a smile.“I made these,” I said. “Thought you might like them.”She looked up, surprised.Then beamed.“Evelyn! You didn’t have to!”“I wanted to,” I said. “You’re my sister from another mother, after all.”The words tasted like ash.But she swallowed them like honey.She opened the box, inhaled. “Oh my God, they smell amazing.”“I’m glad,” I said. “And… I was thinking — Julian had this idea for a picnic. By the lake. Just the three of us. I told him it was a beautiful idea… but I said, ‘Serena has to come. She’s my sister.’”Her eyes lit up — not with joy.With opportunity.“A picnic? Just us?”“Yes,” I said. “No staff. No meetings

I thought it was over.After he said I wasn’t perfect, after he claimed not to remember my refusal, I thought he’d stop.But Julian never stops.He escalates.And just as the wind shifted, carrying the last of the lemonade scent away, Serena spoke.Not loudly.Not angrily.With a voice so soft, so kind, it made my skin crawl.“Julian,” she said, setting her phone down, her eyes wide with concern. “Maybe you should respect her.”I didn’t look at her.I didn’t react.But inside, I laughed.Because I knew.This wasn’t support.This was performance.She turned to me — gentle, sisterly — and said, “You know, Ev, he fell in love with you like this. With your face, your style, your heart. Why change now?”Oh, how sweet it sounded.How right.But I remembered.I remembered her saying the same thing to a mutual friend: “She’s so brave for not changing. But can you imagine Julian introducing her to his mother? It’ll be a disaster.”And now?Now she played the hero.“His parents will love her,”

The city outside was silent, heavy with a kind of darkness that pressed against the windows. Serena sat cross-legged on her bed, the strap of her dress slipping carelessly down her shoulder. She didn’t bother with lights. Shadows suited her. The phone was warm in her hand, the screen glowing like a secret only she was allowed to hold.When Julian’s voice finally came through, it slid into her ear like smoke.“You called.”Not surprised. Not angry. Just certain.Serena leaned back against the headboard, her lips curling. “I couldn’t sleep. I keep thinking about that bitch’s face… the way she actually looked hopeful when you told her about the lesson. Like she mattered.”“It doesn’t mean anything,” Julian said flatly.“Then why do it?”“To give her hope. And then break it. Slowly. People like her never see it coming.”Serena laughed under her breath. “She really thinks she’s preparing to meet your family. Can you imagine? That bitch walking into your mother’s house like she belongs ther