- 5.
Everyone always said Lily was my sister.
But that wasn’t the whole truth.
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Lily was adopted by my parents from a foster
home.
Back then, she wore faded clothes. She was
scrawny from malnutrition.
She didn’t fit in at all. But she was trying so
hard to please everyone.
Ben thought she was ugly and made fun of
her.
Mark would whisper that my stepsister wasn’t
as pretty as me and cried all the time, which
was super annoying.
“Lily can’t hold a candle to Sarah.”
I smiled, thinking about how earnest Mark
sounded back then.
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He really thought I was the best thing since
sliced bread.
But then what happened?
I saw Lily crying by herself, and I couldn’t help
but feel bad for her. So, I introduced her to
my friends.
Everyone thought she was dumb and didn’t
want to hang out with her.
So, I helped Lily, telling her what everyone
liked, so they would accept her.
Lily was smart.
Slowly, everyone started to care about her.
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Even Mark and Ben.
I was happy for her.
The year of my SATS, I got into a college in
another city.
Mark wasn’t happy. He’d already been
accepted into a local university and didn’t
want to do long distance.
I spent ages talking him around, promising I’d
come back every break. Finally, he agreed.
During summer break, I was supposed to go
to Yosemite with Mark. But something came
up at school, so I couldn’t go.
Mark didn’t answer my calls for a week.
Г
During winter break, I secretly bought a plane
ticket to Yosemite, thinking I’d surprise Mark.
But Mark said he was too busy.
I was bummed, but I didn’t think much of it.
When I got home, my parents were still
traveling for work. Ben was upstairs.
Mark and Lily were out together.
I hadn’t seen Mark in ages, and I was looking
forward to spending time with him during the
break. But my professor called, saying there
was a problem with my research data.
I abruptly hung up the phone, handed out the
gifts I’d brought back, and went back to
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school the next day.
After that, we all started working, and we saw
each other less and less.
Later, the families got together and asked us
when we were going to get married.
As glasses clinked, I heard Mark’s voice, all
casual.
“Sarah’s still young. She’s focusing on her
career. No rush.”
His words didn’t feel right, and I felt like I had
ignored Mark.
But I didn’t know that Mark glanced at a
corner.
Г
Lily was sitting there.
I couldn’t sleep that night.
The next day, I put on a full face of makeup
to cover the dark circles under my eyes.
All morning, I forgot about Mark and Lily and
threw myself into piles of files.
Someone knocked on the door and opened it.
Ben walked in, followed by Mark and Lily.
Ben casually walked in, sat on the couch, and
poured himself a glass of water.
“Lily’s joining the company today. I brought
her over.”
Г
I glanced at Lily, who was hiding behind Mark.
Lily always said she was jealous of my job.
Ben thought work was too tiring, and our
family was rich enough already.
I wondered if she’d changed her mind.
Mark didn’t look at me. He sat down on the
