Chapter 2

2.

Lily’s dorm was a quad. The other two roommates and their parents were already there, busy assembling storage shelves. When Richard's decorating team entered, everyone stared in shock.

A professional designer with color swatches and sample books began planning the layout around Lily's bed. Workers skillfully installed a custom bedding set, a desktop organization system, and a string of warm yellow fairy lights.

Throughout the process, Richard stood at the door, occasionally handling work emails on his phone, glancing up to check the progress.

One of the roommate’s mothers said admiringly, "Young lady, your dad is so good to you. He even hired a team to decorate."

Lily smiled shyly, neither confirming nor denying it. Richard’s face beamed with pride.

I stood in the doorway, a ghost without a seat.

It wasn't until the decorating team finished and was about to leave that Richard finally noticed me.

His expression froze instantly, as if he’d seen someone who shouldn't be there.

"Harper?" he asked tentatively.

Then came that conversation.

"Harper? You came to register by yourself?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Where's your mother? Eleanor just let you come all alone?" His tone wasn't one of concern for me, but of annoyance at my mother's "negligence."

I smiled. It must have been an ugly smile.

"Because I'm an orphan."

The air instantly froze.

The noise in the dorm room died as if someone had hit a mute button. Everyone’s eyes were on me―surprised, curious, pitying…

The color drained from Richard’s face. He stood there, his mouth half-open, as if he’d been slapped hard across the face.

And the one who ran to comfort him first was Lily, wearing that dress.

The dress that should have been mine. I remembered it. I remembered it perfectly.

It was the only birthday present my mother, Eleanor, had ever bought for me during one of her rare sober moments.

Now it was on another girl, a girl who was looking at me with innocent, hurt eyes, as if I were the cruel one.

Richard's shock turned to fury in three seconds. But he was obsessed with his public image. He lowered his voice, forcing the words through his teeth.

"Harper, are you insane? What the hell are you talking about in here!"

Lily immediately grabbed his sleeve, her eyes instantly welling up. Her voice, choked with tears, was just loud enough for the whole room to hear.

"Uncle, please don't be angry. Harper probably isn't in a good mood coming to school by herself… She didn't mean it…"

The more understanding she acted, the more the whispers around us stung.

"Is that her sister? Her actual sister? Why is she so cruel…"

"Yeah, she seems to have no manners. Her dad is so nice to the other sister."

I stared at the dress on Lily.

I remember my twelfth birthday. For the first time ever, my mother took me downtown, just the two of us. She said, "Harper, pick whatever you like best. It's my gift to you."

I chose that dress. I twirled in front of the mirror, and my mother's face held a gentle smile I had never seen before.

But that happiness lasted less than a day.

When we got home, Richard saw it and flew into a rage.

"What do you look like, dressed up all flashy like that! You're going to school, not a beauty pageant! So vain!"

Without another word, he had someone take the dress away and toss it to Brenda.

"Get rid of it! And don't buy any more of this inappropriate stuff!"

I cried and begged him to give it back. He pushed me away in disgust. "Crying over a stupid dress. Pathetic!"

I looked at my mother, but she just stood there, a wine glass in her hand, her eyes empty, saying nothing. A porcelain doll with its soul ripped out.

From that day on, she never bought me anything by herself again. And that dress, the one he had called "vain," was now being worn by his most precious girl.

The strange looks from everyone around us were like needles pricking Richard's fragile pride.

He finally lost it, pointing at me. "You come here and apologize! Apologize to Lily!"

Apologize? Why the hell should I apologize?

I didn't look at him, nor at the pitiful Lily in his arms. I turned, dragging my heavy, noisy suitcase, and walked toward my own dorm room down the hall.

My back was like a drawn sword, cold and resolute.

I heard Richard's furious roar behind me. "Harper! You stop right there!"

I didn't stop. I knew he wouldn't follow.

Because he had his fragile, needy Lily to take care of.

Sure enough, Lily's "thoughtful" voice chimed in again. "Uncle, let's just get my room settled. Don't worry about Harper. She'll probably come to her senses after a while."