ARIELLE
All of a sudden, the memories of my death came flooding in, filling me with a sickening blend of terror and disgust.
For Serena, this life was her first – a life full of open doors and endless possibilities she had yet to discover. For me, however, this was the life where I could no longer look at her fake expressions of kindness and warmth, while her forced, saccharine smiles made my organs twist in repulsion.
And as she started walking toward me, her arms stretched out to embrace me in a greeting hug, a cold ripple shook me to the core, and I could barely hold myself back from falling apart.
"Don't be rude, Arielle," my father's voice cut through my frozen state, and I finally realized that I had made it all awkward by not accepting Serena's hug. "Say hello to your sister!"
Sister...
The word felt venomous against my tongue, especially since I no longer saw her as a cute little sister who shone brighter than the evening stars.
Right now, the arms she held out to me looked like two poisonous snakes ready to wrap me in their deadly grip and squeeze the life out of me.
"Don't be shy," Serena purred, pulling me closer as I finally relented and accepted her welcoming gesture. "We are family now. Right, sister?"
"Thank you for saying that," I pulled back, faking a smile equally sweet. "Sister."
I emphasized that word so much, it sounded like a bullet shot through the still air. For a long moment, the room was charged with tension, but then, Richard clapped his hands together, his lips spread into a satisfied grin.
"How wonderful – the family is finally whole! But we shouldn't keep Arielle up for so long, after all, she has just spent several long hours on the road. Angela," he then turned to his wife, "show the girl to her room. She needs to rest."
Once the three of us left the room, it didn't take Angela too long to suddenly halt in her steps and turn to face me, her makeup flaking as her face contorted with an ugly grimace of disdain.
"Let me make this clear – I don't like you, and I want to see as little of you as possible. So keep a low profile and don't you ever cause me any trouble, understood?"
Although her tone was incredibly cold, I couldn't help but feel a strange sense of relief. It was good that Angela was sticking to the same nasty character she had in my previous life – it made things easy for me.
Still, it hurt to realize how little she thought of me, even though today was the first time she had ever seen me.
"Understood," I replied briefly, offering her a small bow.
Angela left right away, and Serena took the lead instead. "Come, I'll show you to your room."
But we didn't even round the corner of the second floor, when a sudden loud shriek snapped our heads to the right. I didn't have to see who it belonged to, because I already knew it – it was Melena Dunn, the youngest daughter of the Dunn family.
"I cannot believe it!" She yelped, running toward us, her big green eyes burning with animosity. "He wouldn't! He wouldn't allow this trash into our pack!"
My lips twitched the second I saw Melena's face. She was only ten years old, yet her heart was already as bitter as her mother's. She bore the features of our father, almost mirroring his face, yet for some reason, even that didn't make him love her just as much as he loved Serena.
"How dare you set foot in our house? You're nothing but a dirty rogue born from a lowly prostitute! We can't have such garbage here!"
I wanted to laugh. In my previous life, she greeted me with the same level of hatred, and I cowered, berating myself internally because I thought Melena was right about me.
Now, however, she looked like a tiny bug, flapping her arms and legs as it awaits to be squished under someone's dirty shoe.
"Oh my," I said, leaning down to take a better look at her. That little fuming face of hers was almost impossible not to laugh at. "How sad! You are so young, yet already so bitter! I feel bad for you, though. Children become angry and bitter not because they are inherently bad, but because they are lonely and jealous."
"What?!" Melena's face turned beetroot red, her little hands clenched into tight fists. "How dare you speak to me like that?! You are nothing! No! You are less than nothing, you... trash!"
I wanted to retort once again, but there was no time for words anymore. Gathering all her strength, Melena lunged madly at me, ready to push me down the stairs.
And somehow, I knew she was about to do it, because before she could even reach me, I took a wide step to the side, dodging her attack, without realizing that there was another person standing behind me.
And that person was Serena.
"Ah!" She gasped, losing her balance as Melena's little hands pushed her down the stairs. She tumbled down, stopping in the middle of the staircase, her hand desperately grasping the railing.
"You..!" Melena shirked, but she didn't get to say anything else as both Richard and Angela came running forward, their eyes widening in shock once they saw Serena sprawled on the stairs.
"What the hell happened here?!" Father demanded, his eyes darting between Melena and me.
The girl was still speechless, but I already knew exactly what to say. "I'm sorry, Father," I pouted, faking a guilty expression. "You see, Melena wanted to play, but I didn't know that. She was about to push me, but since I was already walking away, she missed and pushed Serena instead. It was just an honest mistake."
"What..?" Melena gaped at me, fear and confusion etched in her face.
"Is that true, Melena?" Richard asked, his brows furrowing in disapproval.
While Melena hesitated, my lips couldn't help but twitch as a smirk threatened to appear on my expressionless face. I threw a perfect lifeline to both of them, and now, it was time to see who would be the first one to take it and leave the other one to drown.
"Father," Serena finally broke the tension, and this time, I couldn't hold back anymore. "Don't get angry. Melena didn't know better. It was my fault for not being a good sister. It didn't even hurt that much – I'll be alright!"
"Ugh, what a nuisance!" Father growled, irritated. "Angela! Take Serena to the pack's doctor and make sure she is okay. And you," he pointed at Melena, his eyes darkening with authority. "Go to your room and don't leave until I say so. You are grounded for the rest of the month!"
Melena protested, wailing like a wounded beast, but I no longer cared about the commotion. My eyes were glued to Serena, who leaned against her mother, her face a perfect image of fake distress.
Such amazing acting skill, I thought to myself, grinning with satisfaction. I'm glad you are the same, Serena. This is going to be... easy.