Chapter 7
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Unfortunately, Mom found my diary. She took a picture of it and tagged Aunt Abigail and Uncle Arthur. She angrily accused them of not keeping an eye on Louis.
Erin had cursed me right then and there, calling me shameless for seducing Louis.
As things exploded, Aunt Abigail and Uncle Arthur decided to send Louis abroad. He never returned to the country for years after that.
Erin had written me off right after that.
Ever since that day, I was never able to have a normal romantic relationship. Erin had sneered and said that this was my punishment for harboring "sinful thoughts" about Louis.
I was 17 back then, and now, I was already 29.
It had gone on for 12 whole years.
I had been stuck living under her shadow for 12 years, all because I had a crush on a brother she wasn't even related to by blood.
It sounded both hilarious and insane.
I had apologized to her profusely after the fact. I even tried to look for Louis in an attempt to fix the situation. Unfortunately, my efforts were futile.
I could swear off dating, but my dating wasn't the issue. Erin couldn't seem to stand hearing me praise any men. Even a throwaway comment about a guy could trigger her into turning the whole thing into a competition.
She made my life utterly miserable. It got so bad that I had to go to therapy for five years. Unfortunately, the therapy didn't really work.
My therapist later suggested that I distance myself from the situation. I need to physically remove myself from the toxic environment to escape from my current predicament.
I tried. But Mom kept tricking me into returning over and over again.
She was my mother, and she had raised me all by herself. Those facts had turned into unbreakable shackles, forcing me to do whatever she wanted even though it hurt me.
Toward the end, I started hurting myself. When my therapist said he wanted to speak with me, Mom turned them away.
She had told my therapist that I should just kill myself. According to her, she had endured all sorts of indignity and unfairness when she raised me. Yet, I was killing myself all because of a boy?
I gave up on asking Mom for help after that.
That was when I realized that if I wanted to survive, I had to rely on myself.
…
Dean bought Erin an island as a gift.
Everyone in the family was shocked by the extravagance, except for me. I couldn't help the cold snort falling from my lips.
Mom snapped at me, "Why didn't he give you an island when you guys were dating? Even the apartment you live in is a rental!"
A sharp retort was right at the edge of my lips, but I bit my tongue and said nothing.
I figured that I should just let Erin bask in her victory for now.
She constantly posted about the island when she arrived there. She would keep tagging me in the family group chat and texting me in private.
As days passed, her updates started to slow. On her 10th day on the island, she didn't even post a single update.
My relatives jealously commented that she was probably having the time of her life, completely forgetting about everything else.
Even Aunt Abigail asked me whether I've gotten any news from Erin.
I replied, "She's out having fun with her boyfriend, yet you're asking me about their whereabouts?"
Aunt Abigail shot back, "Isn't Dean your ex-boyfriend? Why don't you call him?"
I snarkily retorted, "Oh, so you do know that he's my ex? And here I thought you were completely oblivious when you never once made a peep about Erin's actions.
"Anyway, I don't have his number. I usually delete all the numbers of my cheating exes. Why would I keep trash like that around? Do I look like a sucker to you?"
Erin finally resurfaced on the 15th day.
She had returned with her arms filled with souvenirs. Aunt Abigail wasted no time hosting a party to celebrate Erin's return.
I didn't want to go, but Mom dragged me there anyway. Apparently, she thought seeing Erin would motivate me into achieving financial freedom. She claimed that she wouldn't be able to rest until I did.
I had no idea why she was being so overzealous about this. However, I already knew I wasn't going to be able to give her what she wanted.
Then again, it also wouldn't hurt for me to watch Erin squirm.
…
When we arrived at Erin's place, I found her at the center of everyone's attention.
Meanwhile, Aunt Abigail passed her phone around, showing off all the pictures Erin had taken of the island.
