The family has a party at home, but his own
く
wife isn’t allowed to go? That’s a huge
shame.
But I didn’t care.
The party ended late at night, and I heard
laughter outside.
I opened the door and saw Michael and Billy
holding hands with Lisa, heading for the
master bedroom.
It had been seven years. The family’s little girl
had finally grown up, and she was looking
more and more like Sarah.
That was the bedroom for Michael and Sarah
only.
I accidentally walked in one time, and he
made me kneel in the snow for three days. !
almost lost my legs.
I was lying in bed at the time, my knees
infected and in pain.
Michael came to see me, and I thought he’d
softened up. But he just said coldly, “Good.
Now you know how it feels to be in pain. You
won’t go where you don’t belong.”
Now, Lisa was moving in, just because she
looked like Sarah.
The maids looked at me with disgust,
gossiping.
“Some people can’t steal a man’s heart, even
if they try everything. Michael and his son
hate her. She can’t even go into her own
bedroom. People are laughing about it.”
“Of course. Michael only loves his ex–wife.
That one was just hired to take care of the
kid. Now that Lisa’s grown up and looks just
like her, he’s getting interested. Looks like
we’ll be changing the ‘lady of the house‘
again.”
I ignored them, and as I turned around, a
metal dart flew past my face.
The sharp edge cut my skin, and blood
trickled down.
Billy held the remaining darts, smirking.
“I hate that face. Someday I’m gonna ruin it.
My aunt told me, bad women deserve to be
ugly!”
<
I remembered something. When Billy was
three, he had a fever, and I took care of him.
for two days and nights. I didn’t eat or sleep.
He finally started to feel better, and I looked
like a mess.
But he hugged me and said, “Auntie’s the
prettiest! Prettier than a princess!”
Later, Lisa came to see Billy often, and that’s
when he started to hate me.
I picked up the dart, pointing it at Billy.
“Did I ever teach you what happens when you
hurt people?”
Billy knew I was a good shot. I’d spent my
childhood in the countryside picking up rocks.
L
childhood in the countryside, picking up rocks
and aiming at birds.
He looked scared, but he still yelled, “Don’t
scare me! You were the one who got with my
dad and killed my mom! You took her place!
I’m gonna get revenge on you! I’m not
scared!”
“You wanna kill me, do it now! If you don’t,
I’m
gonna throw acid on you!”
He ran into the master bedroom and slammed
the door.
My hand stayed in the air for a long time.
Finally, I tossed the dart in the trash can.
I’d made it for his birthday, and now it had
come back to hurt me.
Г
I went back to my room and packed my
things.
All night, laughter came from the bedroom.
The next day, as soon as I stepped outside, I
saw Lisa and Billy playing with a hacky sack.
Billy hugged Lisa, pouting.
“Aunt Lisa, I love you! You look like my mom,
and you play the piano like she did. You’re
better than that phony piece of garbage!”
“When I see you, it’s like my mom’s still alive. Will you marry my dad? I want him to divorce
that home–wrecker. I want you to be my
mom!”
Dill!
Lisa wiped the sweat off Billy’s face.
“Billy, you shouldn’t say that. If your dad
wants to, of course I’ll be your mom. Your
mom in Heaven would love that!”
She pretended to notice me. “Eve, Billy’s still
young. He speaks his mind. Don’t take it
personally.”
Even though we shared the same mother,
Lisa never called me ‘sister.‘
Billy glared at me and dragged Lisa toward
the study. He was probably telling Michael to
divorce me. That’s what I wanted.
As I was about to leave, someone grabbed my
arm.
Г
My brother, Jack, said, “How are you letting
Lisa and Michael hang out alone like that?
Good thing Billy was around last night.”
“Michael only loves his ex–wife. What if it
gets him interested in Lisa? She looks just
like the ex–wife. I don’t want my sister to be
a replacement for someone else.”
“I’m your sister, too. Why would you let me
stay with a man who doesn’t love me?”
Jack frowned. “That’s different. Even if Lisa
never gets married, I can make sure she’s
taken care of. If you leave, you’re nothing.”
I knew it.
