Chapter 2

Today would have been Lily's tenth birthday. It was also the third anniversary of her death.

The living room was decorated like a fairytale kingdom. There were streamers, balloons, and a custom eight-tier fondant cake. Standing on top of the cake was a delicate sugar figurine in a princess dress, looking seventy percent like Lily.

David had invited many guests. They were all his business partners, and they had brought their children along.

Victoria wore an elegant evening gown. Holding a champagne glass, she mingled effortlessly among the guests, a polite but distant smile plastered on her face.

None of the guests knew that beneath that perfect smile lay a heart shattered and filled with venomous hatred.

As for me, I was like a mismatched ghost at this grand party. I had been ordered to stay in my bedroom and not make a single sound.

I pressed my face against the crack of the door, greedily sniffing the sweet, rich scent of buttercream drifting from the living room.

I hadn't eaten a single thing all day.

Ever since I was seven, when I handed Lily my favorite nut chocolate—unknowingly triggering her severe nut allergy, which led to fatal anaphylactic shock—all "sweetness" had been stripped from my life.

Victoria said Lily loved sweets. She said a murderer like me didn’t deserve to taste anything sweet ever again.

All my allowance was confiscated. The housekeeper was strictly instructed never to give me any food containing sugar. My plate always held nothing but bland, unseasoned pasta and boiled broccoli.

Sometimes, when the hunger became unbearable, I would sneakily pick up candy wrappers David had thrown in the trash can, licking the residual sweetness left on the plastic over and over again.

Tonight, that sweet aroma was like an invisible hand, clawing at my empty stomach.

I heard the guests singing the birthday song in the living room. Children giggled, crowding around Victoria as she cut the beautiful cake.

Possessed by hunger, I turned the doorknob.

The waves of laughter and music instantly drowned me. Everyone was immersed in the joy. No one noticed the extremely skinny girl standing in the corner in a faded, oversized pajama set.

My eyes were glued to the cake.

Victoria was cutting the largest slice, carefully placing it onto a delicate pink porcelain plate. She carried it over and set it gently in front of Lily's portrait.

"Happy birthday, Lily. Look, I made your favorite strawberry cake," Victoria’s voice was so soft it could melt.

Watching her back, my throat tightened. My feet moved on their own, drawing me closer.

Perhaps my gaze was too intense. Victoria suddenly turned around.

The moment she saw me, the warmth and tenderness on her face froze. It was instantly replaced by a bone-chilling disgust and hatred.

"What are you doing out here? Get back to your room!" she hissed through her teeth, keeping her voice low.

The noise of the party seemed to fade into a mute background. My entire world shrank down to her freezing glare.

I clutched the hem of my shirt. My lips trembled for a long time before I finally managed a tiny, pathetic whisper. "Victoria... can I... can I please have a small piece of cake? Just a tiny bite..."

"SLAP!"

A sharp, resounding slap echoed through the room.

The pink porcelain plate slipped from her hand, shattering on the hardwood floor.

The perfect slice of cake fell into the dirt and ruins, becoming a messy, ruined heap.

My cheek burned with a stinging pain. My ears rang violently.