Chapter 2
The moon was half-hidden behind dark clouds.
The wind outside the hospital room swept down the hallway, carrying a biting chill.
The young doctor walked over and patted my shoulder gently.
The doctor said softly, "You're still young. Don't give up on treatment. There's still hope for you."
I thanked the doctor.
I headed back to my room and buried myself under the covers.
My phone screen lit up in the dark.
Andy texted me. [Emily, Mom's death anniversary is in five days.]
I stared at those words and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
But the more I laughed, the more my eyes filled with tears, until everything was a blur.
*****
Andrew Rivers has hated me for more than twenty years.
He always repeated the same words, his tone icy and cutting."You're not my sister. You're a murderer."
From the moment I was born, I carried the weight of a life on my shoulders.
I was the reason his mother died.
I went on living.
I was obedient and sensible.
In the Rivers household, I tried to make myself invisible.
I made sure never to upset them.
But when I turned seventeen, everything changed.
That summer, Vivian Sommers, our country cousin, came to stay with us for the holidays.
For the first time, the house was filled with lively laughter and cheerful voices.
My dad stopped chain-smoking.
He claimed secondhand smoke was bad for a young girl's health.
Andy stopped acting so aloof and emotionless.
He didn't want to frighten that quiet, gentle girl with the serene smile.
Vivian had inherited her grandmother's eyes and brows.
The shape of her eyes and brows somewhat resembled my mother's.
She slipped into my place so effortlessly, like it was always meant for her.
Only then did I realize Andy wasn't always cold and distant.
He could smile, and when he did, there was a softness and a doting warmth in it.
He'd hold an umbrella for her on rainy days.
He always knew exactly what she liked to eat.
He'd personally make her favorite dishes.
He never forgot her birthday.
That was despite Vivian's birthday being only five days away from mine.
But for me, that day was nothing more than the anniversary of my mother's death.
For Dad and Andy, year after year, it was simply the day Mom left us.
On that day, I was made to kneel before my mother's grave.
No matter if it rained or snowed, I stayed there from morning till night.
They called me a sinner.
*****
I checked myself out of the hospital against the nurse's advice.
Andrew sent me an email.
He wanted me to rush out a proposal overnight.
He was the client.
I was the contractor.
Half a year ago, I joined Stonehill Technologies.
Not long after, Andrew gave the green light to the deal with us, and made sure I was the one in charge of the project.
The person in charge on their side was Vivian, fresh from studying abroad.
Andrew said this project was to let her try her hand.
After all, we were just a small company.
So, of course she ended up as the client lead.
She was a wannabe marketing manager and barely knew what she was doing.
She always managed to find some excuse to trash my proposals.
Whenever we had meetings, she'd call me out by name and throw me under the bus every chance she got.
After I spent countless nights revising the proposal, she insisted on using the very first draft.
I had finally managed to cut expenses.
Vivian posted a snide message in the group chat:
Vivian: [Not bad.]
Vivian: [But next time, don't make decisions on your own, okay?]
She was full of sarcasm.
She couldn't care less.
She was mocking me.
And she always flashed that fake sugary smile.
Like when she was seventeen, so fake it made me want to gag.
The project entered its first phase.
Yet she gave all the credit to another intern.