ELLEN POV
Night bled into the house, quiet and heavy, leaving me alone with only one maid for company. The others, including Nely, had vanished with Mom into whatever secret world they shared.
I ate an early dinner, shut myself in my room, and, on impulse, tried calling Mildred. Her voice flickered through the screen before she apologized—her brother was dragging her somewhere else. And just like that, I was alone again.
Restless, I opened one of my old Facebook accounts. A notification blinked.
A message.
From "Mathew"—not his real name.
"E, when are you joining the meet-up? David's been asking for you."
I sent back a lone question mark, logged out, and lay down, hoping sleep would quiet the unease crawling under my skin.
By morning, life wore its usual mask. I made breakfast, slipped into my uniform, and walked to school as though nothing had changed. But the moment I stepped through the gates, I felt it—whispers, sidelong glances, a ripple of rumor cutting through the air.
"Couz!" Benjie's voice broke through the noise. He waved me over.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Alaiza. Another scandal." He shook his head, already moving toward his class. "Don't get involved. Just… be careful."
But I didn't have the luxury of choice. Minutes later, Alaiza found me and dragged me to the rooftop. Her eyes, swollen and frantic, darted around as though the sky itself might judge her.
"El, help me. Please. Tell them the pictures and videos are edited. Just once—cover for me." Her voice broke. "If Arkin finds out… he'll kill me. Please, Ellen. I swear I'll make it up to you."
Her tears were hot on my shoulder as I rubbed her back. I wanted to say no. I wanted to scream that it wasn't fair. But instead, I whispered, "Fine. Just this once."
She left lighter, though her eyes still carried storms. I went back to class, my teacher's words dissolving into meaningless sounds as my promise sat like lead in my chest.
At lunch, alone again, I was yanked into a corner. Arkin. His eyes burned like fire set loose.
"Is it true?" he demanded. "Did you edit those pictures of Alaiza?"
"Ah—"
"Is it true?" His voice shook the air.
"Yes!" The lie tore out of me before I could stop it.
"Why?" His voice was too calm now, sharp as a blade. "Why would you do that to your own sister?"
"Because I wanted to humiliate her. To ruin her." My mouth tasted of ash. "Happy now? You know the truth. Can I go?"
His silence pressed heavier than any fist. I turned away, each step dragging the weight of my own words.
By the time I reached home, whispers still clung to me like shadows. Mom and Dad were waiting in the living room, their faces carved from stone.
"Good—"
"So the shameless girl comes home," Justin sneered from the stairs.
"Brother—"
"Ellen." Dad's voice was low, trembling with fury. "How could you be so reckless?"
"Dad, I don't—"
"Don't you dare deny it!" Mom's hand tangled in my hair, the sting of her slap ringing louder than my heartbeat.
I staggered back, reaching for her, but Dad's palm struck next. One, two, three blows that thundered through the room.
"Dad…" My vision blurred with tears.
"Clean this up, Ellen. From now on, you have no family." His words were colder than steel.
"Dad, please—"
"Listen? To the girl who ruined her sister's name?" Mom's shriek split the air.
Then Brett appeared, phone glowing in his hand. On the screen: my conversation with Arkin, twisted into proof of guilt. Photos spilled onto the floor—images of me with a stranger, staged, fabricated, damning.
"Mom, that's not me, it's—"
"Enough." Her voice cracked with finality. "Get out. Leave this house, and don't you dare come back."
I shook my head, choking. "Why me? Why can't I be happy, just once?"
But no one listened. The verdict was already written.
Mom returned with the maids, dragging my things behind her. She seized my hair again, pulling me toward the door.
"I regret the day we took you in," she spat. "If I could turn back time to when Edmundo and I found you on the street, I would've left you there."
She threw my belongings into the yard. Then she turned her back.
I sank to the ground beside my scattered belongings. Alone. Empty. Exiled.
I had no place to go, no one to run to. Only the certainty that I was leaving behind the house that had never truly been a home—and the people who had never truly been my family.
The night air pressed cold against my skin as I sat on the curb, my things strewn around me like pieces of a broken life. The gate slammed shut behind me, sealing their world off from mine.
For a long while, I just stared at the pile—uniforms folded too neatly by a maid who hadn't met my eyes, notebooks frayed with doodles and half-finished dreams, a teddy bear I hadn't touched in years. All of it meant nothing now.
My phone buzzed weakly in my pocket, its battery clinging to life. A single message blinked on the screen.
From "Mathew."
"Still awake? Need a place to crash?"
I swallowed hard, the words blurring as fresh tears welled. I thought of Mildred, but calling her felt like pressing a wound. She had her own life, her own brother. She didn't need my chaos spilling into her home.
The street was empty, quiet except for the distant hum of tricycles and the barking of a dog somewhere in the dark. Every shadow seemed to lean closer, whispering the same truth: I had nowhere to go.
I hugged my knees to my chest, rocking slightly as I tried to breathe through the ache. My mind clawed for memories—Mom's rare laugh when I'd surprised her with breakfast, Dad's proud smile the day I got top marks in class. Were those moments ever real, or just illusions I'd clung to, hoping they meant I belonged?