Chapter 3

Even though I'd prepared myself for this, I couldn't help it. My eyes started to well up.

I kept my eyes on Lily, hoping she'd say something to stand up for me. After all, we both knew she was just making things up.

However, she didn't.

I could see the guilt on Lily's face slowly disappearing as our parents comforted her, and she started looking all smug.

I knew the Lily who used to cling to my sleeve and beg for attention was gone for good.

Pain often sharpened courage in strange ways.

I shoved the door open, slammed the lunch box down on the table, and finally looked up at the shocked faces staring back at me.

"Aren't you going to keep talking?" I said.

My parents' faces darkened, but before they could say anything, Ryan jumped up and stepped in front of Lily. "What are you doing here?"

Maybe realizing how ridiculous he sounded, Ryan quickly added, "This is between me and you. Lily has nothing to do with it. Stop picking on her."

I couldn't be bothered to talk to him. I just shoved Ryan aside and looked straight at Lily, who was lying in bed. "Tell them, is everything you wrote in your diary true?"

Lily's face went ghostly pale, her eyes darting everywhere. I bet if she could move, she would have bolted out of there in a heartbeat.

She stared at me, terrified, her lips pursed so tightly it was like she was begging me not to say anything more, or maybe just scared out of her mind.

"Come on, say it. You had so much to say when I wasn't here. Now that I'm standing right in front of you, why are you suddenly silent?" I pressed.

"Emma, stop." My dad couldn't stand it anymore. He grabbed my hand and started dragging me out of the ward. "Lily is still weak. Don't make things worse for her."

"You're making things worse for me," I said.

I ripped my arm out of his grip, screaming before I could stop myself. "I'm the one who's been falling apart these past months. Because of those lies, my friends and teachers all treat me like I'm disgusting.

"My job and my tour got mocked nonstop. Even my fiancé wants to dump me now. Tell me, who the hell is actually the one getting hurt here?"

I grabbed the stack of printed papers from my bag and threw them across the room, letting them flutter everywhere.

I said, "I've been living on edge every single day, terrified that some stranger will show up just to trash me online or in real life. It's not even my fault. Why do you all keep making me the scapegoat?

"I've always been right here with you. You know exactly what I did and didn't do. How can you just condemn me because of what she wrote in her diary?"

After days of falling apart, I couldn't hold back anymore. I screamed, my voice shaking with rage and heartbreak, but all I got was everyone looking at me with indifference.

"Emma, you're the elder one. You should learn to be more tolerant," my dad said.

Her words hit me like a bucket of ice water, freezing me to the core.

"So, you do know—" I whispered, my voice barely audible.

My dad let out a heavy sigh, let go of my hand, and walked over to my mom, steadying her. Then, sounding defeated, he said, "We get it, Emma. We raised you, and of course, we know what kind of person you are.

"After those first few days, we knew we'd gotten it wrong, but what else could we do? Lily was in a coma then, and we didn't even know if she would survive.

"She's already suffered a lot. Do you really want us, as her parents, to stand up and say she framed you? Wouldn't that be too cruel to her?

"You have everything. Even if you fall, you can always get back up, but Lily is different. She's got nothing to lose."

I walked out of the hospital in a daze.

I always knew my parents neglected Lily, so I did everything I could to make it up to her. Most of the time, I was the one begging them to treat her better.

However, I never imagined that loving one daughter meant sacrificing the other.

If that was the case, why did they have two children at all?