Chapter 17 - The Severed Sisterhood
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With my father in handcuffs and my mother crying hysterically on the floor, the remaining guests began to quietly slip out the doors, desperate to distance themselves from the radioactive fallout of the Harrington family.
Only a few people remained in the ruined ballroom.
Claire, who had been sitting in a state of catatonic shock amidst the wreckage of her dream wedding, finally moved.
She crawled across the floor, the heavy tulle and lace of her dress dragging through spilled wine and broken glass. She stopped at my feet, looking up at me with mascara-stained tears streaming down her face.
“Meredith,” Claire sobbed, reaching out to grab the hem of my ruined silk gown. “Please. Daniel left me. Dad is going to prison. We have no money. Please, you have to help us. You're rich. You can fix this.”
I looked down at the sister who had spent her entire life stealing my accomplishments, mocking my struggles, and reveling in my failures. Even now, she wasn't apologizing. She just wanted my money.
I gently but firmly stepped backward, pulling my dress out of her grasp.
“You made your choices, Claire,” I said, my voice completely devoid of pity. “You chose to sleep with your fiancé's father. You chose to laugh when I was humiliated. You chose this life.”
“But we’re sisters!” she cried out.
“No,” I replied. “We just shared a last name. And as of eleven months ago, I don't even share that with you anymore.”
I turned my back on her.
May you like
Adrian wrapped his arm securely around my waist, pulling me close against his side. The warmth of his body grounded me, pulling me out of the nightmare of my past and firmly into my present.
But as we turned to leave, Adrian stopped.
