When I woke up, the world felt heavy — my bones, my chest, even the air pressing down on me like punishment. I was still lying on the cold tile floor, my clothes damp and clinging to my skin, the ache in my joints sharp and raw.
I tried to push myself up but my arms gave out. My head spun. I felt heat prickling along my back and my throat burned when I tried to swallow. I’m sick, my mind whispered, but the word seemed too small for how broken I felt.
“J-Johann…” My voice cracked as I called out. It came out more like a croak. “Help me. Please…”
I couldn’t hear anything, so I called out even more until there were footsteps. Light and practiced. Then Kate’s voice.
“Oh, she’s woken up,” she said lightly, like she was enjoying my misery. “Maybe we should bring her to the hospital. She’s burning up, you know how the rain can be…”
But then I heard him. Johann’s voice, cold and disgusted. “No. Let her be. She’s just being dramatic. That’s her punishment for screwing up yesterday, leaving Leon behind so you had to fix it for her.”
A dry laugh. The scrape of his shoe against the floor. Then a sharp kick against my ribs. I choked on a sob as pain radiated through my side.
“Wake up,” he growled. “Get up and clean this mess. The floor’s wet because of you. Leon might slip. And where the hell is our lunch, huh?”
I tried to push myself up again but my arms trembled and buckled. “I can’t,” I gasped. “I’m sick, I can’t—”
“Pathetic,” Johann hissed. “Why did you even exist? You were supposed to make our life easier, but here you are!”
Kate stepped closer, her perfume sharp and lingering in my nose. “Maybe I should do it,” she said sweetly, voice dripping with false concern. “She’s not well, Johann. She might need help—”
He snapped, “No. You don’t lift a finger. It’s her job, not yours. She wants to be the wife, then she acts like one.”
I heard footsteps behind them. Samuel’s voice, his tone as cutting as his father’s. “Can we just eat? I’m starving. She’s useless. Can’t even cook for us. What good is she?”
And then it was followed by laughter again, most especially Kate’s fake, tinkling laugh. Then the sound of them retreating, ignoring me like I was the dirt beneath their feet.
When I thought they were gone, Kate crouched beside me, her nails grazing my shoulder like a snake’s caress. “Don’t worry,” she whispered close to my ear, her breath warm. “I’ll bring you some food. Rest up, okay?”
Then, soft enough that only I could hear: “Look at you. So pathetic. You really don’t belong here, so why not vanish?”
My lips parted but no words came out. She straightened, brushing imaginary lint off her skirt. “Bye,” she chirped, before she swept away to rejoin my family—now hers.
I lay there for what felt like forever. Like I was already dead.
And, it took everything I had to crawl back to my bedroom. My arms trembled. My knees scraped raw on the floor. When I finally reached my bed, I collapsed on top of it, soaking the blanket with my damp clothes. My eyelids fluttered shut, exhaustion swallowing me whole.
When I woke up, the house was silent. My throat was dry and every bone in my body ached. I forced myself up and checked my phone on the bedside table. The screen flickered to life — bright and cruel.
A new post from Samuel.
A photo: Johann, Samuel, Kate, little Leon all together — arms around each other in front of a spinning Ferris wheel. All smiles. All warmth. My family.
My son’s caption: “Family day with the best people. Nothing better than this.”
My fingers trembled around the phone. Nothing better. Except I wasn’t there. I wasn’t wanted. I’d been left behind, forgotten, replaced.
A knock at the door snapped me out of my fog. I dragged my legs to the front hall. The delivery man didn’t even look me in the eye as he handed over a slim envelope and left.
It was delivered under my name but I wasn’t expecting a package. I sat down on the cold tile floor and opened it with numb fingers.
A travel itinerary. First class tickets. Hotel reservations at a five-star resort. A printed list of cherry blossom spots in Japan.
For Johann. For Samuel. For Kate. For Leon.
My name wasn’t there. Not even as an afterthought.
So, why am I receiving this? Are they really mocking me… making me realize how I had been replaced by my half-sister Kate?
I don’t remember how long I sat there staring at that paper, my dream turned to acid in my hands. I only remember when my tears finally dried on my cheeks and a stillness settled into my bones. A strange calm. A knowing.
I picked up my phone and scrolled until I found the number I hadn’t called in years.
When the line clicked, my voice didn’t shake. It didn’t crack.
“Hello? It’s me. Samantha Villaruel. I want to file for divorce. Immediately.”
