Chapter3: A SISTER UNDER HER ROOF
679 Words
Lisa stood at the entrance of Amara’s beautiful home with tears in her eyes.
Behind her was a single suitcase.
Amara immediately pulled her into a hug.
“What happened?”
Lisa buried her face against her shoulder.
“Can I just stay here for a while?”
Amara looked at her.
“Of course.”
Daniel appeared behind them.
He was wearing grey sweatpants and a black T-shirt.
His expression changed when he saw Lisa.
For a brief moment, something passed across his face.
Surprise.
Or perhaps something else.
Then it disappeared.
“Lisa,” he said warmly. “Come inside.”
Lisa looked at him.
“Thank you.”
Amara didn’t notice the strange silence between them.
She was too focused on her sister.
Lisa had recently broken up with her boyfriend, Marcus.
According to Lisa, Marcus had become controlling.
They argued constantly.
Eventually, Lisa discovered he had been cheating.
Amara was furious.
“I knew I didn’t like him.”
“You didn’t even know him,” Lisa said.
“I knew enough.”
Lisa laughed for the first time that night.
Amara felt relieved.
For the next few weeks, Lisa stayed in their guest room.
At first, everything seemed normal.
Amara enjoyed having her sister around again.
They cooked together.
They watched movies.
They talked late into the night.
Daniel was kind to Lisa.
Sometimes he drove her to interviews.
Sometimes he bought groceries when Amara was too busy.
Everything seemed perfect.
Too perfect.
One evening, Amara returned home from work earlier than expected.
She heard laughter coming from the kitchen.
When she entered, she found Daniel and Lisa standing close together.
Daniel was teaching Lisa how to cook.
Lisa was laughing.
Daniel had flour on his face.
Amara smiled.
“What is happening here?”
They both jumped slightly.
Amara paused.
“Did I interrupt something?”
“No!” Lisa answered quickly.
Daniel laughed.
“We’re making dinner.”
“Apparently unsuccessfully.”
Lisa picked up a spoon.
“Don’t listen to him. I’m doing all the work.”
Amara watched them.
Then smiled.
She had no reason to be suspicious.
Daniel was family.
Lisa was family.
And family was supposed to be safe.
But slowly…
Small things began to change.
Daniel started coming home later.
Lisa began spending more time dressing up.
She started wearing perfume even when she claimed she was staying home.
Sometimes Amara would call Daniel at work, only to discover that he had already left.
“Where are you?” she would ask.
“Still in traffic.”
But occasionally, something in his voice made Amara uncomfortable.
One night, Amara woke up thirsty.
It was 2:13 a.m.
She walked downstairs.
The kitchen light was on.
She stopped.
She could hear whispering.
Amara slowly walked closer.
Then the voices stopped.
When she entered the kitchen, Daniel was standing near the counter.
Lisa was sitting at the table.
They both looked at her.
“Why are you awake?” Daniel asked.
Amara looked between them.
“I could ask you both the same question.”
Lisa smiled.
“We couldn’t sleep.”
Amara nodded slowly.
“Both of you?”
There was an awkward silence.
Then Daniel laughed.
“Lisa was telling me about one of her university disasters.”
Amara looked at her sister.
Lisa was smiling.
But something about her expression felt forced.
Amara suddenly felt cold.
Only for a second.
A strange feeling.
An instinct.
But she ignored it.
Because suspicion against strangers was understandable.
Suspicion against your husband and sister?
That was madness.
Wasn’t it?
Amara poured herself a glass of water.
Then she walked upstairs.
But as she lay beside Daniel later that night, sleep refused to come.
A question kept repeating itself in her mind.
Why had they both gone silent when she entered the kitchen?
She tried to push the thought away.
She told herself she was imagining things.
She trusted Daniel.
She trusted Lisa.
And that was exactly why she never saw the betrayal coming.
Not until it was already too late.
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