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I shrugged and left.
Derek played the gentleman before marriage.
I played the doting girlfriend,calling him“babe.”
He ate it up.
Halfway through our date,my phone buzzed repeatedly in my bag.
Derek asked why I didn’t answer.
I pouted.“It’s our first date,babe.No distractions.I told everyone to leave us alone.”
He beamed,pulling me close for a kiss.
I pushed him away.“I’m not that easy.First date,and you want a kiss?Dream on.Take me home.”
He agreed instantly.
With creeps like him,kindness makes them think you’re weak.
A push and pull keeps them in line.
He dropped me off.A neighbor rushed over.“Sarah,trouble!Chloe got hurt—electrocuted!”
I nearly clapped.
Without me as her scapegoat,Chloe paid the price.
In my past life,Chloe botched the heater,and Mom made me handle it.
Chloe wanted the new one,saw it bubbling,and forced me to touch it with a metal hanger.
I refused;she hit me until I obeyed.
The result? I was electrocuted, my arm charred black.
Two days in the hospital,my parents pulled me out,saying it was too costly.
My arm rotted,stinking,until my forearm fell off during a beating.
I survived, but lost the arm.
Derek and I rushed to the hospital.
Chloe’s injury was worse than expected—her hand to elbow was blackened,like burned chicken bones.
The doctor said,“The tissue’s necrotic.Amputation’s the only option.”
Mom collapsed,sobbing.
Seeing me,she lunged.“You jinx!This is your fault!”
I hid behind Derek,who took hits before shoving her down.
I cried,“Mom,you told me to give her the new heater.I warned her to be careful,but you didn’t listen.”
Mom choked,then wailed.
Chloe lost her right forearm.
My parents caused a scene,landing in jail for five days.
Chloe,now disabled,grew sullen,trying to guilt-trip me,blaming me.
I didn’t bite.
She complained about the shared ward.
Mom suggested a VIP room.
I snapped.“VIP costs hundreds a day!Are we rich?You’ve got no savings,Chloe crashed a Ferrari,now this—my dowry’s paying for it all,isn’t it?I’m skipping college to marry for this family,and you waste my sacrifice?”
I grabbed Chloe’s new iPhone,yelling,“Latest model,$30 coffees,and you’re bleeding me dry?Or is our family secretly loaded?”
My outburst silenced them.
The VIP room was never mentioned again.
