Chapter 6

As soon as I finished speaking, the living room fell into a deathly silence.

My dad's face went from livid to ghostly pale, and my mom stared at me, looking like her soul had been sucked out.

Camille's crying stopped. She stared at me with wide, terrified eyes, like I was a demon about to end the world.

I ignored their reactions.

Right now, my heart was so calm that it felt strange, even to me.

It was like I'd stepped out of my own body, watching everything with a cold, detached gaze.

I watched my parents' faces twist in shock and despair, and Camille looked pitiful, but there was a trace of smugness in her eyes.

I walked over to the front door and grabbed my suitcase.

This suitcase had traveled with me to so many places, carrying all my dreams and homesickness.

And now, it was going to help me leave this place behind for good.

"Jessica!" My dad shot to his feet, his voice rough with anger. "Are you threatening us?"

I didn't turn around.

"I was not threatening you." My voice was cold and emotionless. "I was stating a fact. And the fact is, my room's been taken, and my parents have already found my replacement. So, there's no reason for me to stay here anymore."

I pulled open the front door. The cold air rushed in, sending a chill through me.

In the hallway outside, Camille's clothes and textbooks were strewn across the floor.

My mom rushed over and grabbed my arm, tears streaming down her face like a broken string of pearls. "Jess, don't do this. You can't leave. What are we supposed to do if you go?"

I stared at her worn-out face, but my heart stayed cold and empty.

"Isn't Camille enough for you?" I said, my voice flat. "She's really sweet and smart. She's very good at saying things that please you. She'll replace me as your daughter."

"No, that's not true. Jess, you're our own daughter," my mom cried out, her voice thick with desperation.

"Your own daughter?" I sneered. "Then why did you give my room to your adoptive daughter whenever you feel like it? Your own daughter busts her ass making money, so your adoptive daughter can spend it, right?

"Your own daughter comes home for the holidays, but you don't give a warm welcome, and you treat me like I'm a stranger."

Every word I said cut straight to the heart.

My mom was trembling all over. She opened her mouth, trying to speak, but couldn't get a single word out.

My dad came over too, his eyes burning with anger and disappointment, and something else, maybe regret, but I couldn't really tell.

"Are you really going to be this heartless, Jessica?" my dad rasped.

I laughed, but the tears came anyway. "I'm not being heartless.

"Ever since you decided to adopt Camille and hid it from me for a whole year, since you gave away my room, and started treating me like a total stranger, you are the ones who are really being heartless."

I took a deep breath and, with everything I had, tore my mom's hand off me. "From now on, I was no longer your daughter. And you aren't my parents anymore."

Without another word, I walked out, never looking back.

I didn't bother picking up Camille's clothes and textbooks scattered on the floor, and I ignored my parents' gut-wrenching cries behind me.

I just kept walking, kept putting one foot in front of the other.

One step, two steps, three steps. Every step felt like I was walking on knife blades, the pain stabbing deep into my heart.

But I didn't dare stop.

I was scared that if I stopped, I'd fall apart and regret it.

I walked down the stairs, leaving the orange glow of the hallway behind me.

Downstairs, the streets of this small town were decorated with lights, screaming holiday vibes everywhere.

But to me, it was way too bright, almost painful to look at.

I felt like those Christmas trees, and all that festive color, were mocking my naivety and how stupid I'd been.