Chapter 3

As soon as Mom walked out of the school, she ran straight into Sarah waiting at the entrance.

“Sarah, what are you doing here?”

Mom was about to ask, but before she could finish, Sarah had already thrown herself into her arms.

Her eyes were red, and her body trembled slightly. “Mom, I heard something happened at school. I... I’m a little scared.”

Mom patted her back reassuringly. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here. I’ll protect you, Sarah.”

Looking at Sarah like that, I suddenly understood where I had lost.

I had lost from the very beginning.

Even the slightest bit of fear from Sarah would be treated like a huge deal by Mom.

But no matter how I bled in front of Mom and showed her my wounds, she remained unmoved.

We had never been the same.

Mom hugged Sarah and took her to the only spaghetti shop near the school.

“I’ll buy you your favorite spaghetti, so don’t be scared, Sarah.”

Sarah was still trembling nonstop, her eyes red like a pitiful little rabbit.

And yet this harmless-looking girl had personally slashed my face to pieces.

She had pressed a curling iron against my skin and rolled it over me inch by inch, making me wish I were dead.

Mom was a regular customer, so the owner had already packed everything up by the time she arrived.

Mom paid as usual, but when she reached out to take the box, he kept holding it and didn’t hand it over right away.

“Have you seen Jennifer lately? She hasn’t come by to help me in a long time.”

He turned his head and looked at Sarah, who was shrinking behind Mom. “Sarah, have you seen Jennifer?”

Sarah covered her mouth exaggeratedly.

“I don’t know either. The last time I saw Jennifer, she seemed really close with some guy...”

The moment Jennifer was mentioned, Mom’s expression turned cold. She forced out, stiffly, “We don’t know.”

Then she grabbed Sarah’s hand and left.

When they got home, Sarah blinked innocently, her face full of innocence.

“Mom, why wouldn’t you let me talk? I feel like that guy was weird, and between him and Jennifer...”

Mom stood up and knocked over the fruit tray on the table. “Enough. Don’t bring her up to me!”

Seeing Sarah flinch in fear, her heart softened and she lowered her eyes, asking after her with concern.

“Sarah, you’re just too kind. From now on, stay far away from Jennifer.”

“You’re going to be a top student in the future. How could you let someone like her, a total scumbag, ruin you?”

She shoved the box of still-warm spaghetti into Sarah’s hands.

“You’ve already finished your exam, so you should be resting. Whether Jennifer lives or dies has nothing to do with you. It’d be best if she died out there!”

Sarah took the spaghetti from Mom’s hands, a smile lifting her lips, mixed with smugness.

And she should be smug. She had pulled this trick many times before and had never lost.

Even when she made up lies about me out of nowhere, even when she framed me for causing her injuries, no matter how absurd it sounded.

Mom believed it all.

I had knelt outside the door in the freezing snow, watching Sarah make faces at me through the glass with that same smile.

I had tried to fight back, but nothing worked.

“You’re the older sister. What’s wrong with letting Sarah have her way?”

“You only think about competing with Sarah. Can’t you have some ambition?”

“So what if I celebrate your birthday and Sarah’s together?”

“Birthday cakes are expensive to buy two of. Can’t you save me some money?”

Mom was always angry because I was a disobedient bad child.

But obedience came at a price.