Second Life, First Time I Chose Me Chapter 08
On my way home, my phone kept buzzing.
First, Mom: they were at the hospital, and she told me to take
care of myself, to be careful on the way back, to come home
for a meal in a couple days–she’d make my favorites.
Then two impatient voice messages from Soren: “Why do you
care about that leech? She deserves a miscarriage, trying to
hurt Simone. She’s probably already angling for beef
tomorrow–she’s a bottomless pit.”
I didn’t bother replying. I glanced at the messages, left the
group chat, and put my phone away.
At the hospital, after Soren had run around paying fees and
was about to take Simone for her exam, she suddenly perked
up and stood on her own.
“Mom, Dad, Soren, I’m fine. No need for an exam. I probably
just ate too much.”
Soren was skeptical. “Let’s check anyway. You said Jinx put
something in your soup. What if it hurt the baby?”
But Mom’s expression had cooled. “She’s not like that.”
“Mom, why are you defending that-
Even Dad cut in: “Soren Holloway! That’s your sister. What
kind of way is that to talk about her? From now on, no one
calls her Jinx.”
Soren wanted to argue, but Mom turned to Simone. “You said
Grace slipped you something. But I cooked every dish today,
and your dad poured your soup. How could she have drugged
you right in front of all of us?”
“She’s been stubborn, sure, but she’s never once done
anything underhanded. You, Simone–how about you explain
my gold jewelry first?”
Simone went pale, stammering as she reached for Mom’s
sleeve. “Mom, are you going to believe her lies over me? I’ve
been with you since I was little–you know my character.”
Her face was all tears and grievance.
Soren jumped in. “Yeah, Mom, how could you suspect Simone
because of her-”
Mom cut him off calmly. “Why not? She’s my daughter–born
of my body, sharing your blood. Why shouldn’t I trust her?
And you–you’re ready to blame Grace just from a few words
Simone said, before any proof?”
Soren froze. He turned to look at the sister he’d protected all
these years, his eyes suddenly complicated.
Simone tried to speak, but he pushed her into the exam
chair. “We’re checking. If it’s true, I’ll get justice. But if you lied
-if you framed her–I won’t let it slide.”
Reluctant as she was, she had no choice. Blood drawn,
ultrasound done.
Two hours later, the results were in.
Not only had she not ingested anything harmful-
She wasn’t even pregnant.
Soren’s head dropped. “Why did you lie to us? We’re your
family. We’d love you whether you were pregnant or not. Why
fake it? Why forge the exam?”
Simone clenched her teeth. “Because all of you are so biased!
I’m the only one not related by blood. If I hadn’t faked it to
fight for my rights, that apartment would’ve gone to Jinx. Not
a share for me. You say you love me, but you’ve never treated
me like a real daughter.”
Slap.
Dad struck her across the face. “How can you say that? We’ve
treated you better than her in every way. Even when we were
broke, we sent you abroad. We planned your wedding for
months, prepared your dowry. If anyone’s been biased, it’s
been in your favor. And you twist the truth like this?”
Soren finally caught on. “So everything Grace said the gold,
the gambling, the threats against Grandma and Grandpa–it
was all true. And this pregnancy wasn’t just about attention-
you were after that house. That was your goal all along.”
“From start to finish, you never treated us like real family. We
were just ATMs to you.”
Exposed, Simone dropped the act. “So what? I wanted the
house. Don’t forget–you signed that paper. That penthouse is
mine now. And Soren, I want that two hundred thousand
tomorrow. Before your little restaurant goes belly–up and I
have to take you to court.”