My father slammed his glass down.
“You selfish little—”
“Careful,” I said.
He stopped.
Maybe it was my voice.
Maybe it was the police report.
Maybe, for once, he saw that the daughter in front of him was not the daughter he was used to cornering.
Chloe pointed at me.
“Get out.”
“In a minute.”
“I said get out!”
I looked at her in the mirror.
“You knew.”
She looked away.
“You knew Mom was going to cut my hair.”
“Don’t be dramatic.”
“You said, ‘At least now they’ll actually look at me.’”
My mother whispered, “Harper.”
I ignored her.
“I paid sixty thousand dollars to keep this wedding from collapsing,” I said. “I negotiated your contracts. I saved your venue after you missed the second deposit. I covered your flowers when Nathaniel’s office delayed payment. I did everything you asked, and when that wasn’t enough, you let them take scissors to me in my sleep.”
Chloe’s lips trembled, but her eyes stayed mean.
“You always do this.”
I almost laughed.
“Do what?”
“Make everything about you without even trying.”
There it was again.
The disease at the center of my family.
They thought my existence was theft.
If I was praised, I had stolen from Chloe.
If I was loved, I had stolen from Chloe.
If I looked beautiful without permission, I had stolen from Chloe.
I walked closer until I stood just behind her, both of us reflected in the mirror.
The bride in white.
The sister in green.
The golden child and the problem.
“You have spent your whole life trying to become someone people envy,” I said softly. “And today you finally did it. Everyone downstairs envies you. The dress. The flowers. The billionaire groom. The cameras. The Sterling name.”
Her chin lifted.
“So leave me alone and let me have it.”
I looked at her reflection.
“That’s the problem, Chloe.”
I leaned closer.
“You never asked what it would cost.”
A knock came at the door.
One of Nathaniel’s groomsmen opened it without waiting.
“Chloe, they need you downstairs. Nate says we’re moving up the processional by ten minutes.”
Chloe stiffened.
“Why?”
The groomsman glanced at me, then at my parents.
“I don’t know. He just said now.”
My father muttered, “Finally. Let’s get this done.”
I stepped aside.
Chloe lifted her bouquet with shaking hands.
As she passed me, she whispered, “After today, you are nothing to this family.”
I looked at her calmly.
“After today, Chloe, you may want to worry about whether this family is anything to you.”
