Emily's POV
I never meant to slap Rachel. The moment unfolded like a slow-motion nightmare, and yet I felt trapped within it, my heart pounding against my ribcage. Rachel's incessant nagging about family and their expectations, something inside me snapped.
"Emily! What's going on?" My husband, Nathan, rushed into the living room, his voice booming, eyes wide with shock.
The attention of everyone around us shifted to my face, a mixture of curiosity and concern mingling in the air.
"Why did you slap her?" he barked, his face a mask of disappointment. I felt the heat rise in my face, but I was too embarrassed to respond.
"I didn't mean to—" I stammered, my voice quiet against the chaos.
Rachel, ever the dramatist, let her mouth run wild. "What did I ever do to you? I only asked you to come see Mom and Dad! How can you abandon this family after all they've done for you?" Her words were sharp, like daggers aimed at the heart.
Nathan turned to me, his brow furrowed in disapproval. "What did Rachel ever do to deserve this?!"
Rachel seized the moment, pretending to spring her ankle as she dramatically collapsed onto the floor."Oh, my ankle!" she wailed. I rolled my eyes, but inside I felt a twist of frustration.
"Go get the first aid box!" Nathan commanded. "I will take Rachel to her room"
"I don't know where it is!" I replied, my tone more defensive than I intended. But truly I don't know where it's been kept.
"Check your room!" Rachel whispered, a smug smile playing on her lips.
My heart sank at the mention of my room. I hadn't been back in three years, not since I cut ties with this family—a family that had treated me like an outsider. I reluctantly trudged down the hallway, memories flooding back as I approached the door.
When I finally opened it, I was met with a sight that shattered whatever remnants of love I had for this place. My room, once a sanctuary, had been converted into a storage space, filled to the brim with trash and forgotten items.
The realization hit me hard: they didn't love me. I was just a burden they had shoved into a corner. I grabbed the first aid box, my heart heavy with sorrow and anger as I walked up to Rachel's too
And then I saw it, Rachel sprawled across Nathan's chest, feigning tears, and he was comforting her. The sight twisted my gut.
"What took you so long?" Nathan barked as I entered. I handed him the box, my hands trembling.
"Why don't you bring out the cream and rub her ankle?" I shot back, anger igniting a fire inside me.
Surprisingly he did as I said, he began to massage her ankle, and he turned to me, disappointment etched across his features. "Emily, you're being senseless. Rachel only cares about you. You should be grateful."
"Grateful?" I spat. "I'm not ungrateful! She's not my sister! She was adopted!"
"Shut your mouth!" he roared, his voice like thunder. Before I could respond, his hand flew out, landing hard against my cheek.
The world spun as I fell to the ground, blood spilling from my lips, my hands instinctively went to my stomach to protect my baby. The shock of his actions left me breathless. He was about to touch me but shifted with shock and fear.
I can't believe Nathan hit me because of my sister, after how much I sacrificed for him when he was ill. Fought so hard for him, even donating a kidney when he needed it.
I had sacrificed my happiness for this man, and now he stood over me, the embodiment of betrayal.
"Why did you do that?" Rachel whined, feigning innocence. "Emily didn't do anything wrong!"
He looked at me with a hint of guilt but he didn't apologize, instead, he said"You caused this, Emily. You should never have come here."
I didn't even get the time to process what he said before my pretender of a sister chipped in "I'm truly sorry for everything, Emily."
With that, she leaped up, running from the room in tears, and Nathan contemplated on whether to go after her or stay with me.
"Go back home, Emily. We'll talk later," he muttered and dashed after her.
The cause of shock in all this was that my husband had not shown me this indifference for the last three years, and this was the first time I saw the pretense. I now realize that the signs have been there all alone, I was just too on love to notice.
I stood from the floor, took the first aid box, and cleaned the blood on my lip.
Then I walked out of the house about to stop a taxi when I remembered I had forgotten my phone so I went running back into Rachel's room to collect it. I was about to pull the door open when I heard weird sounds, the door was slightly ajar, and so I peeped through it only to discover that it was my husband and sister having sex.
I stumbled backward In shock, I already knew my husband was cheating on me with my sister, but witnessing it firsthand was more heartbreaking.
I pulled out my wedding ring and threw it away before dashing out of my family house. I just had only one thought in my mind, my marriage was over.
