3: 3
I stared at my phone screen, my nose stinging.
I flagged down a cab and headed straight home.
The second my hand touched the keypad lock, the door opened from the inside.
It was Simon.
"Angela."
His eyes moved over the bandage on my forehead.
I made a small sound of acknowledgment and walked past him into the living room.
The table was covered with dishes, all of them meat. Braised pork trotters, fried ribs, cola chicken wings.
Vera took my hand and led me to the table, watching me carefully.
"Angie, I thought about it all night. It really is my fault you couldn't eat meat all these years, and I don't know how to make it up to you."
"I had Simon go out with me first thing this morning to buy everything, and Mom and I cooked it all together."
Our parents' tone softened too.
"Angie, you must be hungry. Come eat."
"Your mom and Vera spent the whole morning on this table of food."
Looking at the scene in front of me, something in me softened.
Maybe I should give this family one more chance.
Simon pushed a pair of chopsticks into my hand.
"Try some."
I sat down on the stool and picked up a piece of rib, put it in my mouth.
The greasiness burst across my tongue, and I forced down my discomfort and swallowed the chewed meat.
The next second, I rushed into the bathroom and threw up over the toilet.
I only came back to myself after I'd brought up sour bile and emptied my whole stomach.
I lifted my head and found myself facing a phone camera.
Vera was smiling a nasty little smile.
"See? You just can't eat meat. Not only did you wrongly blame Mom and Dad, you pinned the whole thing on me."
"I haven't touched meat in twenty years. It's normal for my body not to handle it right away—"
"Angela, stop making excuses."
Simon cut off my explanation, his eyes going cold.
"You've been jealous since you were little that Vera was prettier than you, that our aunt and uncle doted on her more. If you talk her down to me, I can put up with it."
"But the one thing you should never have done was slander her in front of that many people."
The corner of my mouth twitched, but no smile came out, only a thread of exhaustion.
Simon and I were college classmates. We got together over shared interests, and I poured out to him all the hurt I'd suffered at home.
Back then he was so angry he wanted to help me cut ties with them, and he swore he would always favor me.
But after I brought him home, he told me, "Is there some misunderstanding between you and your sister? I think she's a nice person."
Now he even called what I'd suffered jealousy, and called the truth slander.
The phone screen lit up.
Messages kept popping up in the big family group chat.
I tapped in.
One minute ago, the video of me throwing up in the bathroom after eating meat had been posted to the group.
With a line of text below it.
【Yesterday Angela lied and framed my mom and dad and ruined my birthday dinner. Watch the video, she just can't eat meat.】
Below that was a voice message from Mom.
【See? We made her a whole table of meat and she still couldn't eat it.】
【She was just born to suffer, can't handle nice things, and holds a grudge against her own sister. Serves her right.】
Then Dad.
【Ah, we made everyone laugh at us yesterday. Let me apologize for that here.】
【If Angela had even half the sense Vera does, her mother and I wouldn't have had it this hard.】
I looked at my phone and just found it absurd.
I'd thought their conscience had finally caught up with them. Instead it was a trap they'd carefully set for me.
Vera clung to Simon's hand, cooing.
"Simon, you're amazing, teaching us how to expose my sister's lies!"
I looked at Simon.
His gaze darted away, but it went cold again quickly.
"Angela, whose fault is it for framing Vera."
I didn't answer.
I got up, washed my face, went back to my room and started packing.
Once I was done and about to leave, I found the door had been locked from the outside.
Mom's voice came from behind it.
"Angela, tonight we're throwing Vera a makeup birthday party. You stay put at home and don't go making trouble."
