Chapter 1
1685 Words
“Marry my fiancé, Yulia.”
Elena begged, her face twisted into a pitiful pout as she shook me, causing the oatmeal to pour from the wooden spoon.
“I can’t marry him, Elena. Life doesn’t work like that. He came for you, not me.”
I placed the spoon on the kitchen counter and walked to the fridge to grab the jam.
I quietly placed the jam on the table and turned to her just to wipe my hands with my apron.
“I told you I couldn’t marry him,” I added. “He came for you, Elena. He needed you, girl.”
Elena frowned. Her lower lip trembled as she looked at her manicured nails.
“But I love someone else,” her voice cracked.
I looked at the pot of boiling water.
The spoon slipped from my fingers and I pressed my palm against the counter to steady myself.
“Why can't you just do as you are told for once?” She turned away.
I ignored her, and lifted the heavy pot to the table, gently placing it down.
My muscles strained, and I felt her presence behind me, then turned towards her.
“Face your fear, girl.” I walked away from her to reach for the stack of plates.
A crash echoed behind me. I quickly turned to her.
“Ahh, Mom!” she cried out.
I ran towards her. Elena lay on the floor. The pot rolled beside her, spilling water across the floor.
Ivan pushed past me as Mom and Dad got up and stumbled into the kitchen.
“Yulia, what have you done?”
Ivan gripped my shoulder and allowed his fingers to dig into my skin.
I looked at my empty hands, stared at Elena as she curled into a ball.
“Dad, it hurts.”
Dad pulled her into his chest, scanning her body. He looked at the red skin on her arm.
“Yulia, what happened?”
I stood still, pressing my lips together.
My face went still. I wanted to tell him she tripped herself, but I kept blinking and stayed quiet.
Elena sobbed into Dad's chest and her voice became small.
“Dad, I tried to talk to Yulia about the wedding but I guess she didn't want me to, that's why she pushed me.”
“Wha…what?”
My cheek burned as if he'd pressed a hot iron to my skin. I covered my face with my hand, staring at the floor.
“I knew it, Dad. Yulia has been rude to Elena ever since she came into this house. I knew she didn't want Elena to stay with us.”
Ivan stepped on the spilled food. His smile disappeared.
“The food we were supposed to eat that morning was wasted.” He stepped back.
“I'm sorry.”
I looked at everyone, maybe I was wrong, maybe I went too far.
“We didn't train you like this, Yulia. We always loved you and we cared for you.”
Ivan paused and shook his head.
“I'm disappointed in you, Yulia.
I'm sure big brother Dominic will be disappointed in you also. Elena had been missing for a long time.”
“Now that she had met her parents, you didn’t want her to experience parental love. Listen, I'm your brother and I love you both.”
Elena looked at Ivan through her wet lashes.
“Ivan, don't talk like that. Yulia must have been stressed out, that's why she reacted like that.”
She squeezed Ivan's hand, then continued.
“Help me talk to her, she should accept the marriage. I gave her my reasons, she should understand that I love someone else and not Nikolai.” She pressed her lips together as she stared at him.
“I knew you wouldn’t want me to marry someone I didn't love, right?”
She touched dad’s hand.
“Dad?”
Dad cleared his throat while he looked at Mom.
“Mom?”
Mom swallowed hard, she looked at my red face and turned away. She turned to Elena.
“Don't worry, darling, you won't marry someone else.”
She looked at me like she had already made up her mind.
“Yulia, did you want your sister to marry someone else?”
“No Ma'am,” I stared at the tiles, tears rolled down my cheek, as I sniffed in and swallowed the lump in my throat.
I remembered three days ago, she blocked me on my way to the kitchen.
“Why are you so calm, Yulia?”
“You stole my peace, you stole my life, and you think you can just act like nothing happened?”
She pushed me down the stairs and immediately ran to help me up.
“Yulia, next time please watch your steps,” she added.
“Why is she in a hurry?” Mom asked.
I stared too long and I hated myself for that. I stood up slowly, placing my other hand on my wrist.
No one stood up, they kept talking. I looked at them and headed outside.
Yesterday she broke into my room, claiming I stole her perfume. She searched everywhere but couldn't find it, then she threw my bag on the floor.
My silver bracelet fell on the floor. It was the only thing I had from my birth parents.
She claimed it was hers, I fought back but she invited our parents so they could identify whether the bracelet had been with me since they adopted me. They accused me of stealing my sister's bracelet.
I kept replaying it in my head. Honestly, I didn't hear them call my name.
Mom snapped her fingers.
“What are you looking at?” She stared at me for a while and continued.
“Listen, Yulia, you will marry Nikolai, and that's final.”
“What?”
I looked at the people I called family and realized I wasn't their daughter. I was just their replacement.
"And if I refuse, what will happen?" I whispered.
- Writer
