Chapter 4

When we got to my family's house, the living room was already full of relatives.

Sophie was clinging to her mom, and the moment she spotted Ethan, the tears started flowing.

Grandma banged her cane on the floor.

"Ethan, apologize to Sophie," she demanded.

Ethan shot back, "Apologize for what, exactly?"

Grandma snapped, "You know exactly what you did."

Ethan pulled out his phone and started casting the photos from last night up on the TV, one after another.

First up: the slap mark on my face.

Next, a shot of Sophie sneaking up to the couch, wearing my coat.

Then, a close-up of her hand, gripping the medicine bottle before anything even happened.

The living room went dead silent.

My aunt snapped, "What do those photos prove? You set this up to hurt Sophie."

Ethan nodded. "Then let's watch the video."

Sophie sat up straight.

She had no idea Ethan left his car keys on the coffee table last night.

Inside the keychain, there was a tiny dashcam built in.

On the screen, Sophie had my jacket draped over her shoulders, leaning in close to Ethan.

She said, "Mr. Miller, Lily's asleep. Do you want to hear what I really think?"

The relatives' expressions grew more dramatic by the moment.

Sophie lunged toward the TV, trying to turn it off.

Ethan stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

"Isn't this what you wanted? Justice, right on screen," Ethan said.

Sophie's hand froze mid-air.

Her voice kept playing on the TV.

"She's stubborn and doesn't know how to take care of anyone. If you stay with her, you'll just end up suffering sooner or later.

"I'm different. I've always known how to treat people right.

"I might not be the healthiest, but I won't hold you back."

As soon as those three lines played, my aunt's face changed instantly.

The relatives exchanged looks, and the ones who'd been trash-talking me just moments ago suddenly went quiet.

Ethan turned off the video.

Instead of taking the chance to call Sophie out, he just looked at my grandma and asked, "Is this what you call looking after someone, or is it just trying to steal someone else's boyfriend?"

Grandma's lips moved a few times before she finally said, "Sophie's still young. She doesn't really think before she speaks."

I couldn't help but laugh.

Sophie was twenty-three, only a year younger than me.

She was eighteen when she went after Emily's boyfriend.

Every time she screwed up, she was always 'just too young.'

I walked up to the TV and projected a text message from Emily onto the screen, one she sent me years ago.

I'd found it last night while digging through my old phone.

It was from Emily to me.

[Lily, don't give away what's yours. The first time, they'll call you mature. The second time, they'll say it's what you should do. Keep giving in, and eventually, you won't even have the right to complain.]

My mom's face went pale when she saw the message.

She asked, "Why do you still have this?"

I said, "Because when Emily left, I was the only one who took her to the station."

The living room fell completely silent.

Ethan took my hand.

For the first time, I stood my ground in front of my relatives.

Sophie still wouldn't admit she did anything wrong.

She was sobbing so hard she could barely catch her breath, and my aunt clung to her, acting like we were bullying her to death.

Grandma still expected me to give in.

I shot back, "How much further do you want me to back down? Should I just hand Ethan over to her too?"

Grandma snapped, "How could you say something like that?"

I replied, "It's the truth."

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Standing at the door was Emily, I hadn't seen in three years.

She was dressed in a long black dress, holding a document case. She looked slimmer than before, but her eyes were steadier than ever.

My mom's voice trembled when she saw her.

"Emily?"

Emily didn't respond.

She walked into the living room and set the document case down on the coffee table.

"I'm here to get my things back," she said.

All the color drained from Sophie's face when she saw her.

My aunt stepped in front of Sophie. "What are you doing back here? You left on your own back then, so you've got no one to blame but yourself."

Emily said, "Why wouldn't I come back? If I hadn't, how else would I have found out that my design was used as Sophie's competition entry?"

Her words were like a bomb going off in the living room.

My dad stood up. "What design are you talking about?"

Emily opened the document case.

Inside were several sketches for dresses.

I recognized them immediately.

Emily had drawn them before she left, then hid them in the hidden compartment of my desk.

Just a few days ago, Sophie brought one of them to a local fashion show and the relatives couldn't stop raving about her 'talent.'

Sophie sobbed, shaking her head. "I swear, I didn't steal it, Lily gave it to me!"

Everyone turned to look at me again.

I was so pissed off I actually laughed.

Ethan pulled me behind him.

Emily looked at Sophie. "If I came back, I'm not just here with some papers."

The second thing she pulled out was an old recording.

In the recording, Sophie's voice sounded much younger than it did now.

"Emily, your boyfriend came with me to the hospital. You don't mind, do you? He said you were too busy, and I needed him more."

Emily asked, "What do you really want?"

Sophie laughed, her voice full of confidence. "Whatever you have, I want to try it too. Grandma and Aunt will always cover for me anyway."

Someone in the living room audibly gasped.

Mom covered her mouth, and for once, she stayed silent instead of defending Sophie.

My aunt lunged forward, trying to snatch the phone.

Emily handed the phone to Ethan.

Ethan stepped back, keeping his voice steady. "Still the same old habit, always trying to snatch whatever you want, huh?"

Paul couldn't help but say, "That recording could've been doctored."

Emily shot him a look. "You helped Sophie take my laptop before. Should I dig up the footage from the front door too?"

Paul instantly shut up.

Sophie suddenly dropped to her knees, sobbing.

"Emily, I was really scared. I thought you'd all leave me behind. I just wanted to prove that someone liked me too."

Emily didn't help her up.

She said, "If you want to be loved, then go find someone who truly wants to love you. Why do you have to use me and Lily as stepping stones just to get what you want?"

Grandma finally spoke up. "Emily, let's just let bygones be bygones. What matters most now is that we don't let our family fall apart."

Emily looked at her.

"This family broke apart a long time ago. It happened the first time you made me give up my scholarship for her," she said.

Grandma's tough exterior finally cracked.

My dad slumped back onto the couch, looking like he'd aged several years in an instant.

Sophie collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

Listening to her cry, I didn't feel any satisfaction at all.

All I felt was how ridiculous it all was.

Emily and I had been held hostage by her tears for years, but it turned out our own family were the ones pulling the strings all along.

Everyone left in a huff, the whole family gathering falling apart.

I figured the house would finally be peaceful for a few days.

But that night, Sophie posted a video online.

She was sitting in a hospital hallway, looking pale, with a bandage on her wrist.

She claimed she'd always been the outsider in someone else's home, treated like an outcast by her cousins, and never even allowed to like someone.

She never mentioned names, but painted Emily and me as privileged bullies tormenting a sick girl.

The video got shared everywhere in no time.

Ethan's small restaurant got dragged into the mess online.

The next day at noon, a bunch of strangers showed up outside the restaurant.

They were all holding up their phones, recording everything.

"Is this the place? The owner's been picking on a sick girl."

"His girlfriend's family is loaded, and he's still running this tiny shop, acting all pitiful."

One woman threw her takeout bag onto the ground.

"Refund me! This is disgusting."

Half the customers in the shop got scared off.

I tried to rush out and explain, but Ethan held me back.

He picked up the takeout bag from the ground and put it back together.

"If you want a refund, use the app. If you're just here to make trouble, I'll call the cops," he said.

The woman shoved her phone right in his face.

"Are you seriously threatening me right now?"

Ethan looked straight at the camera. "I'm not threatening you. I'm just making sure I've got it all on record."

I stood behind him, my phone buzzing nonstop.

Mom texted me.

[With Sophie like this, can you get Ethan to say something gentle? Don't let this blow up any further.]

I replied: [She's the one who made this mess.]

She texted back: [Her health can't take it.]

I stared at those words and suddenly didn't feel like explaining myself anymore.

Ethan turned to me. "Are you tired?"

I shook my head.

He said, "Then let's fight back."

When Ethan said "fight back," he didn't mean just firing back with words.

He put together a file with all the evidence, the kitchen security footage from the restaurant, the video from last night at my family's place, and a timeline showing when Sophie posted her video online.

Emily contacted the fashion show organizers and submitted her original designs along with proof of her work.

Meanwhile, I went to the hospital Sophie always went to.

I didn't look into her condition.

I just tracked down the caregiver who used to take care of her.

When the caregiver heard Sophie's name, her expression became complicated.

She said, "That girl isn't completely healthy, but it's nowhere near as serious as your family makes it sound. She's usually lively and energetic, she only acts really sick right before her checkups."

I asked, "How do you know that?"

The caregiver dug out an old photo from the cabinet.

In the photo, Sophie was wearing a tracksuit, running in a school race, with a number pinned to her chest.

The date on the photo was the same year she claimed she was seriously ill.

My hand trembled for a moment as I held the photo.

The caregiver said, "Whenever your family visits, everyone circles around her. If she so much as coughs, everyone panics. Even people who aren't part of your family can tell, she really enjoys being the center of attention."

I snapped a picture of the photo and thanked her.

When I walked out of the hospital, Emily was waiting for me at the entrance.

She asked, "Does it hurt?"

I said, "It hurts. But it also feels like a weight's been lifted."

Emily nodded. "That's how it always is when you finally learn the truth."

I looked at her. "Emily, why didn't you show the evidence back then?"