“The one I brought back was for you to wear
tonight Mine is custom–made It was just
Lonynt. Mine is custom–maue. It was just finished yesterday. I’m going to pick it up
later!”
Hearing that the dress she had ruined was
meant for her, Ashley was furious.
I went back to my room, delivered the dress
to hers, and bumped into her as she was
about to enter her room.
“You should have heard the saying…”
Ashley looked at me, wondering what I was
going to say.
“Like cutting off your nose to spite your
face!” I finished before walking away.
Hearing my mockery, Ashley shoved me from
behind
L
I fell down the stairs.
“What happened? How did she sprain her
ankle?”
Dad had just finished a meeting at the
company and came back to find me lying on
the couch with my ankle swollen.
Before I could say anything, Mom, afraid that
I would say something unfavorable to Ashley,
said, “She was playing on her phone while
walking and fell down the stairs. I’ve told her
so many times to pay attention when she’s
walking.”
Dad looked at me, clearly not believing Mom’s
words.
I shrugged at Dad, signaling that today was a
happy day and he shouldn’t make a big deal
out of it.
Anyway, I just sprained my ankle. Some
people were going to lose face tonight.
“Can you walk with your ankle like this?”
Dad took the ice pack from Mom and started icing my ankle.
“Tiffany twisted her ankle and can’t cut the cake. How about letting Ashley cut the cake
on stage at the birthday party?”
My ankle was twisted, and Mom was already
thinking of having Ashley replace me. She
was incorrigibly biased.
“Tiffany’s injured, and you’re thinking about
く
cutting the cake at the birthday party. Are you
even her mother?”
Dad was amused by her. I patted Dad’s
shoulder, signaling that he didn’t need to argue with Mom.
I couldn’t go get the dress with my twisted leg. I had Dad drive me to the store to get it.
In the car, Dad complained about Mom’s favoritism towards Ashley over the years.
Dad and Mom often argued over Ashley’s
affairs.
I realized that there was little love left
between them.
They were only staying together for my sake.
<
“If…”
Dad started to say, looking at me, but he
didn’t finish his sentence.
“If you and Mom want to get a divorce, don’t worry about my feelings.”
Dad didn’t expect me to say that so bluntly.
I might only be a fifteen–year–old girl, but I had lived to be in my twenties in my past life. I understood the relationships between adults.
There was no love between them. They were
just pretending for my sake.
I didn’t want Dad to suffer. Mom and Ashley
were like vampires sucking Dad dry.
Ashley’s grades weren’t good. Her high school entrance exam scores were only enough to get her into a vocational school.
Ashley cried to Mom, saying she wanted to
go to the same high school as me.
I had good grades and got into a top high school.
Ashley refused to be outdone and insisted on
going too.
