Claudia POV
"Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday, dear Aurora. Happy birthday to you!"
The cheerful atmosphere on the second floor of our home was ideal for my daughter—Aurora's sixth birthday. She was wearing a beautiful pink dress similar to her favorite princess character, Aurora from Sleeping Beauty.
Her bright blonde hair swayed left and right as she blew the candle and then clapped her hands with some of her friends from kindergarten.
Everything was picture perfect, because I made sure that nothing could ruin my daughter's dream birthday party. It should have been a happy occasion for me too, but my smiles grew more forced as the party went on.
It was hard to feel happy when my 'amazing' husband Miles brought my abusive half-sister Clarissa and her daughter Lara to my daughter's birthday party without any warning.
Seeing my wooden expression, Miles looked concerned. "What's wrong, honey? You don't seem happy."
I gritted my teeth. He couldn't be that oblivious. "Miles, why did you bring—"
"Your little girl looks just like you, sister."
My body stiffened as I heard that gratingly sweet voice. I turned my head and tried to force a smile toward my half-sister.
But I couldn't.
Because the moment our eyes met, the ugly memories I had forcefully buried clawed their way back to the surface.
The bullying.
The torment.
The way everyone in my family deliberately refused to acknowledge my suffering.
In my father's eyes, Clarissa was always the golden child, while I was nothing more than unwanted baggage after my mother's death.
My father turned a blind eye to all my abuse. He and my stepmother allowed Clarissa to commit unspeakable acts of violence against me, but whenever I fought back, I was heavily punished.
Emboldened by their support, Clarissa's cruelty only grew more unrestrained—to the point where I thought I would die at her hands. In fact, there was a point in time when I wished I had died. I was so alone, with no one to rely on.
I had thought I'd finally left my past when I cut off all contact with them and escaped right after high school graduation, but Miles had to bring her back into my life.
It was like a slap in the face, because Miles clearly knew all the permanent scars caused by Clarissa.
He was my husband, so I naturally told him the story behind each scar, and he even promised to protect me from now on.
Then what was this? How could he bring my abuser into my daughter's birthday party? Did he not listen to my story, or did he think that my story was nothing but a joke?
"Aww, look at how well Lara and Aurora are playing together. I think they can build a sisterly bond, just like us back then," Clarissa said with a sweet smile. "Back when everything was nice, and you hadn't cut contact with us."
My body shuddered listening to Clarissa's words. I had a lot to say to rebuke her statement. But there were too many people at this birthday party, so all I could do was endure and ignore her.
Then, my eyes darted toward Aurora, who was playing with Clarissa's daughter—Lara.
Lara looked like a normal girl on the surface. Though, she seemed a little timid, which made me feel guilty because I couldn't help recalling how Clarissa often tried to act timid in front of the adults just so she wouldn't get punished.
"Yeah, Aurora and Lara look like sisters, don't you think, honey?" Miles added, and I couldn't help but give him a side eye. My heart ached, as I began to suspect he was having an affair with Clarissa.
Why?
Because the resemblance between Miles and Lara was uncanny.
Both of them had the same curly red hair, green eyes, and freckles. Unlike Aurora—who was practically a perfect copy of me—Lara was a perfect copy of Miles.
I didn't want to believe it. According to Clarissa, Lara was only one month older than Aurora. If Miles was Lara's father, then they would have been together for over seven years. It made me physically sick to think that my husband could have been potentially cheating on me within three years into my own marriage. I hoped it was just a coincidence, but my gut feeling as a woman, a wife, and a mother told me that there was something between Miles and Clarissa. I decided to wait until the party was over to confront them.
*
The party ended right after dusk. I made sure Aurora thanked her friends for their gifts, and after the last guest left. I escorted Aurora to her room on the second floor. I wanted her in bed before I confronted Miles.
But as I was climbing up the stairs, I realised Clarissa had not left my house. She was still following behind me, amusement in her eyes as she held Lara's hand. My eyebrow twitched in irritation as I wondered what trick she was playing.
We reached the top of the stairs, and I stopped sharply. I had enough. Surely she didn't think she was allowed up here - only family was, and she would never be my family. I turned around to glare at her.
"The party's over, Clarissa. Go home."
"Mm? Miles told me Lara and I could stay over," Clarissa tilted her head, her doe eyes the very expression of innocence. "We're having a sleepover!"
"Oh, a sleepover?" Aurora's eyes brightened. She looked at Lara excitedly. "Did you hear that, Lara? You can sleep in my room! I'll show you my Barbie collection!"
Lara also looked just as excited, but she still looked timid and blushed. "C-can I play with the dollhouse too?"
"Of course!"
I pulled my daughter closer to my side and then saw Miles walking right behind Clarissa. By now, Clarissa and Miles were facing me.
"What's the meaning of this, Miles? I never planned to invite her to sleep in my house." I put an emphasis on 'my' just to make sure that Miles knew he couldn't just invite anyone, let alone this witch to sleep in here.
I wouldn't feel safe with her around!
"Oh, honey, it's been so long, you shouldn't be holding a grudge. Clarissa has changed for the better! I mean - just look at what a sweet girl Lara is! If Clarissa was as bad as you said, Lara wouldn't have grown up well. You should give her a chance and mend your relationship."
I stood rooted to the ground, stunned at his words. I couldn't believe that my husband actually took Clarissa's side. He said it so lightly, as if he had forgotten all the permanent scars that Clarissa personally inflicted on my body!
"Besides, don't you see that Lara and Aurora clicked together? They really look like sisters, don't they?" Miles added. "Won't it be good for Aurora to have a sister, since you can't have another child?"
I bit my lip at the reminder of my infertility. I had multiple miscarriages before having Aurora, and the doctors said the chances of me conceiving again were practically nil. But Miles told me back then that Aurora was enough, and he'd only need her to love. So why was he going back on his word!?
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.
"Mommy, is the sleepover cancelled?" Aurora asked worriedly. Lara looked similarly upset. They were holding each other's hands, their eyes darting between me, Miles and Clarissa as though they were watching an exciting tennis match.
"Do Mummy and I have to go now?" Lara added sadly.
"No, of course not," Miles said quickly. "The both of you can stay as long as you want."
I choked. I turned my eyes back to Miles and Clarissa, who were still smiling at me.
By now, my gut feeling told me that Miles and Clarissa were definitely cheating, and Lara was the fruit of their love.
However, I didn't want to confront them right in front of these little girls. I had to wait until they were asleep to finally launch a nuclear attack on them.
Clarissa seemed to catch on to my anger, because her smile bloomed even bigger as she asked, "What's wrong, sis? Do you suspect there's something between Miles and me?"
"C-Clarissa—" Miles put his hand on Clarissa's shoulder, but didn't do anything to stop her. I saw his worried expression, and my body began to tremble as I held my rage.
I let go of my daughter's hand and walked toward her. I pointed my finger at her and poked her shoulder.
"I'm not done with you. But I refuse to involve innocent children in your sick schemes," I said with a snarl on my face. "Just wait, Clarissa. I will unleash hell on you."
Clarissa's smile widened until it reached ear to ear. "You've gotten smarter, Claudia. I do have a plan to make sure that you'll pay for running away from home. But you're very wrong if you think I won't involve Aurora and Lara."
"What… what do you mean?" My heart skipped anxiously.
A chilling premonition crept over me.
"For my plan to work," Clarissa said lightly, "I need to push them—like this!"
She lunged forward and grabbed both Lara's and Aurora's arms. In one swift motion, she shoved both girls down the spiral staircase. I shrieked in panic, reaching out to grab them, but I was a split second too late. The girls fell, screaming with fear.
"Mommy—!"
"AURORA!"