Second in Silence

"You think you don't owe Charles?

"You owe him your life!"

Charles's mom, Margaret Harris, came at me with her cane, her eyes sharp as daggers.

Before I knew it, her hand cracked across my face.

"If he hadn't been rushing home for your silly birthday party, I wouldn't have lost my son!"

My cheek stung, and my ears rang.

However, that slap did not matter.

What got me was what she had said.

What did she mean Charles had rushed home for my birthday?

I touched my cheek, looking at Emily.

She was wide-eyed, clinging to Charles's arm, hiding behind him like he was some kind of shield.

Charles was all about keeping Emily safe.

Right then, it clicked.

Three years back, Emily was ready to dump Jeffrey because he was off sealing deals abroad instead of celebrating her birthday. She even made that big plan to camp out at the beach with a bunch of guy friends for a whole three-day weekend.

After that, Emily blasted the news all over her socials.

Jeffrey snagged the quickest flight home, and Charles tagged along.

I knew it, Charles knew it, and Emily knew it.

However, somehow, they had pinned the whole mess on me from the get-go.

"Mom, Alicia didn't mean anything by it. If she wanted to bail, she would've done so three years ago.

"She's family. We shouldn't be pointing fingers. We must have each other's backs, and that's what counts."

Charles tried to cool things down.

However, Margaret was still shooting daggers my way.

"She and Charles had only signed the papers. They never had a real wedding. That means she's not truly part of the family, or so everyone says.

"She's nothing but bad luck!

The cruel words echoed in my ears.

I flashed Margaret a bright, defiant smile. "So, I'm bad luck? I don't belong in the Wallace family, right? Fine, I'll leave."

Margaret clutched her chest all of a sudden, pretending to be short of breath.

Charles glared at me, his grip on my hand tight.

"Alicia, Mom's just upset. You're not going to hold it against her, are you?"

Emily stood by Margaret, rolling her eyes. "Come on, Alicia. You can't get mad at Mom like that."

I let go of my hand, showing the angry red marks from where he had grabbed me.

"What am I supposed to do, then? Just stand here and take the insults, wait for her to hit me again?

"Both of you know the truth. Why don't we get it all out in the open now!?"

"Alicia!" Charles yelled, his voice sharp.

I turned to him, my eyes red and watery. He looked back at me, his face flickering with what seemed like genuine care.

For a moment, I was filled with a desperate hope. 'Could Charles have a good reason for all this?'

"Alicia, you know how frail Mom is. Why stir things up? Just apologize, and let's not talk about leaving anymore."

Any warmth I felt in my heart evaporated in an instant.

Was my memory that bad? Could I really have believed a liar would change his ways?

"Apologize?"

I nodded slowly, my voice steady as I said, "Yeah, your mom should apologize to me."