Chapter 5

I asked defensively, "What do you want me to do?"

"I found someone for you... a nice guy..."

"No way!"

Vicky was silent for a few seconds. Then, she pulled up her Snapchat messages.

"Tell Ethan that you were the one who sent these."

I looked at the screen, shocked by how unrecognizable my sister had become.

The messages were from an unknown number.

They were filled with vicious insults.

Written in my tone, they cursed Vicky, saying she would never be happy.

I let out a bitter, angry laugh.

"Vicky, you want me to take the blame for something I didn't do? You're insane!"

Vicky flinched at my words.

"I'll give you money. Whatever you want, just name your price."

"I just need him to move on from you completely."

"I just want a real, complete family."

My heart felt like it was being squeezed by a fist. Looking at her desperate, tearful face, my own eyes burned.

A complete family.

That concept had been an obsession for both of Vicky and me our entire lives.

Our mother had walked out on us.

Our father told me that the family fell apart because of me, that I should have never been born.

Our childhood was a chaotic nightmare. If it wasn't for Vicky, I wouldn't have survived.

But in the end, she was the one who stole my home.

I pushed her away, my voice colder than ever. "Why should my life be sacrificed for your happiness?"

Vicky shrieked, "Chloe! How much have I sacrificed for you since we were kids?!"

Ethan burst back into the shop.

Seeing the messages on Vicky's phone, he slammed me hard against the wall.

"Chloe, how did you become so vicious?"

"She's your sister!"

My head spun from the impact. I gasped out, "She wrote those herself!"

But Ethan's eyes were filled with absolute disappointment.

"You're completely remorseless!"

He pulled out his phone and made a call. Within minutes, my shop was reported for using toxic chemicals in the floral arrangements and shut down.

To protect Vicky, he was willing to drive me into a corner.

Furious, I grabbed a wet piece of floral foam and threw it at his face.

A crowd began to gather outside the glass doors. Ethan's loud voice pushed me straight into the spotlight.

"You're just a crazy, jealous brat who wants to steal her sister's husband!"

Instantly, the whispers from the crowd turned against me.

"I'm the crazy one? He was the one who cheated on me with Vicky first!" I screamed back, pointing at him.

The crowd's judgmental glares shifted toward Vicky.

Ethan, furious, shoved me back hard. The sharp metal of the floral shears on the counter sliced deep into my lower back.

A cold chill washed over me. I reached for my clotting pills, but Ethan grabbed my arm, pinning me.

His fingers brushed against the thick needle marks on my skin, but he only frowned.

"Chloe, Vicky is the only one I love. Stop dreaming!"

He snatched my phone from my hand. "I'm deleting your accounts myself. You won't get another chance to harass Vicky!"

I clutched my lower back. Every vein in my body was pulsing with agonizing pain. I went completely pale, shivering from the cold spreading through my limbs.

I could only watch as Ethan carried a shaken Vicky out of the shop and into his car.

The car door shut, blocking out the noise of the street.

And blocking out my last cry for help.

My consciousness sank into a dark, endless ocean.

In the car, Vicky panicked, clutching her stomach. "My baby..."

They had lost two pregnancies over the last seven years.

Vicky had always believed it was karma.

Now, a familiar, dull ache spread through her abdomen.

Ethan slammed on the gas, racing toward the hospital.

Only after the ER doctor assured them that the baby was fine and that the pain was just from extreme stress did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Ethan, I think... I think I saw Chloe bleeding back there."

Her eyes held genuine worry, but there was also a hint of suspicion.

Ethan avoided her gaze. "She's manipulative. She was definitely faking it."

As they walked toward the exit of the lobby, my phone in Ethan's pocket began to ring.

The caller ID read: Nephrology / Dialysis Clinic.

Ethan's brow furrowed. He picked up.

A frantic voice came through the speaker:

"Chloe, why aren't you here for your dialysis session?"