Chapter 2

2

I floated upstairs and saw Chloe in the dressing room, the makeup artist touching up her slightly smudged eye makeup.

She clutched Dad's hand, her eyes glistening with tears. "Dad, is Ashley really not coming? She’s my sister. I really wanted her blessing on my most important day."

My dad, always stern and distant with me, patted her shoulder and softly reassured her, "She’ll be here. I've got Zach contacting her. I won’t let you have any regrets."

He found Zach in the hallway, his face grim. "Tell Ashley if she doesn't come today, we're disowning her."

"Dad, she's not answering my texts, not even Mom’s calls." Zach said through gritted teeth. "I knew it. Someone like her, she’s just heartless. She probably only agreed to come at first to mess with us, to ruin Chloe's big day."

Today was Chloe's big day. She was about to marry the man she'd been dating for two years �C Finn.

Two years ago, I brought Finn home, and Chloe fell for him instantly.

I still remember how her eyes lit up when she saw him. That night, she made up an excuse to go for a walk with me.

She bought me a latte and linked her arm through mine.

"Ashley," she said, her voice sweet, "I really like Finn. You're so amazing, you can definitely find someone better. Why don't you just let me have him?"

I refused.

But back at school, not long after, Finn dumped me.

When I pressed him for a reason, he finally snapped, pushing me away. I landed hard on the ground, scraping my palms. He didn't even flinch, just looked at me with disgust. "Still trying to hide it? Even your family couldn't stand it anymore. They told me everything."

One morning, Mom had suddenly asked me to go grocery shopping with her. My brother, Zach, had taken the opportunity to pull Finn aside and tell him some "truths" about me: I was a terrible person, I stole money from our family, I bullied classmates, I’d slept around and had an abortion in college. Zach finished with a sigh, "Ashley’s my sister, and I want to defend her, but… I can't just watch you fall into this trap."

My scraped palms still stinging, I sat on the ground, looking up at Finn as he repeated everything Zach had told him. When he finished, I started to laugh.

He frowned. "What is there to laugh about?"

I shook my head, still laughing. "They're right."

Finn hadn't been that serious about me anyway. And it was my own family who’d told him how awful I was. My own flesh and blood.

When I was alive, they didn't care about me. So of course, they didn't know I was dead.

As we were talking, Finn arrived, looking handsome in his suit and styled hair. He kissed Chloe's cheek and asked softly, "Ashley still not here?"

Chloe nodded tearfully. "It's okay. Forget about her." Finn's face hardened. "Someone like her would only taint our wedding. Chloe, you're the bride today. Don't waste your tears on someone who doesn't deserve them."

Chloe leaned into his embrace, her face full of sadness. "No matter what, Ashley is still my sister."

She always seemed so sincere.