Chapter 5 - The Silent Sister
Three hundred miles away, Alyssa lay curled in a fetal position on her childhood bed, staring blankly at the floral wallpaper. Her designer wedding gown hung limply on the back of the bedroom door, an expensive, ruined shroud of a future that would never happen.
Her phone chimed. It wasn't Helen. It was a group chat with her four closest bridesmaids—women she had known since private school.
Bridesmaid 1: Hey Alyssa, are you alive?
Bridesmaid 2: Have you seen the local blog post this morning? Someone recorded Julian’s speech. It has half a million views.
Bridesmaid 3: Lyssa, I'm so sorry, but... I don't think I can come to the brunch tomorrow. My mom said we shouldn't be associated with the scandal.
Alyssa watched the messages appear on her screen, one by one, like tiny nails being driven into her coffin. She tried to type a reply, defending herself, claiming Nora had tricked everyone, but her fingers froze over the keyboard.
For the first time, the realization crept into her mind: nobody believed her anymore.
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She had spent her entire life riding the coattails of her older sister's quiet sacrifices while pretending she was the star of the family. She had taken Nora’s money, eaten Nora’s food, worn Nora-funded clothes, and then spit in her face in front of three hundred witnesses just to get a cheap laugh.
She rolled over, burying her face in the pillows, and screamed—a muffled, desperate sound of pure, unadulterated regret. But there was no one in the house to comfort her, no older sister to rush into the room and fix things. Nora was gone. And she was never coming back.
