Chapter 2: The Truth Behind the Jealousy
I barely slept that night.
The ruined dress sat on my desk like evidence from a crime scene.
Every time I looked at it, I heard Mia’s voice.
You always need everything to be about you.
But what hurt the most wasn’t the dress.
It was Vanessa.
For years, I had tried to build a relationship with her.
When she married my father, I was fourteen. I had told myself that if I was patient enough, kind enough, maybe she would eventually see me as more than her husband’s daughter.
I helped her decorate the house.
I remembered her birthday.
I defended her when relatives criticized her.
But that night, standing in my room with my graduation dress destroyed, I finally understood something.
I had been trying to earn a place in a family that had already decided I didn’t belong.
At 6:30 the next morning, I walked into the kitchen.
Dad was already there.
Coffee in one hand.
My repaired dress in the other.
I stopped.
“Dad?””
He looked up.
“I stayed up.””
I walked closer.
He had carefully stitched the damaged areas together from the inside. It wasn’t perfect, but he had done everything he could.
“You fixed it.””
“I tried.””
I touched the fabric.
“Thank you.””
He looked at me.
“I’m sorry.””
Those two words almost broke me.
Because I hadn’t realized how badly I needed to hear them.
“You didn’t do it.””
“No,” he said quietly.
“But I should have seen what was happening.””
Before I could respond, footsteps came from the hallway.
Vanessa entered the kitchen.
She looked exhausted.
“Are we really doing this today?””
Dad placed his coffee down.
“Yes.””
“Mia made a mistake.””
Dad stared at her.
“A mistake is spilling something. A mistake is breaking a plate.””
His voice hardened.
“She planned it.””
Vanessa looked away.
“She was emotional.””
“She was cruel.””
The room became silent.
Then Mia appeared.
She was dressed for the ceremony, wearing expensive makeup and a new outfit.
Not a single sign that she had ruined anything.
She looked at me.
“Are you happy now?””
I frowned.
“What?””
“Dad’s angry at me because of you.””
I almost laughed.
“Because of me?””
“Yes.””
Dad stood.
“Mia.””
“No, Dad. She always gets everything.””
I looked at her.
“You destroyed my dress because I was graduating.””
“You don’t understand.””
“Then explain it.””
She froze.
For the first time, she didn’t have an answer.
Dad stepped closer.
“Why did you do it?””
Mia’s eyes filled with tears.
But instead of apologizing, she pointed at me.
“Because she was leaving.””
Nobody moved.
“What?””
She wiped her face.
“Everyone leaves me.””
The anger in her voice cracked.
“Mom left. Dad got remarried. Then Aaliyah came along and suddenly everyone had someone to be proud of.””
I stared at her.
“Mia, I was fourteen when Dad married Vanessa.””
“You were perfect.””
“No, I wasn’t.””
“You got everything right!””
Her voice echoed through the kitchen.
“You never failed. You never embarrassed Dad. You never gave anyone a reason to worry.””
I shook my head.
“That doesn’t mean I stole anything from you.””
She looked away.
Vanessa immediately moved beside her.
“Mia, go upstairs.””
Dad noticed.
“Wait.””
Vanessa looked at him.
“What?””
“I want to know something.””
His eyes narrowed.
“How long have you known she was doing this?””
Vanessa became silent.
That silence answered everything.
My stomach dropped.
“Mom knew?””
Vanessa sighed.
“Don’t call me that.””
The words hurt more than I expected.
Dad looked shocked.
“Vanessa.””
“She was upset, David.””
“So you knew?””
“I knew she was angry.””
“And you did nothing?””
Vanessa crossed her arms.
“I didn’t think she would actually cut it.””
Dad laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
Because he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“You didn’t stop her because you thought she wouldn’t go that far?””
No one answered.
Then Dad walked out of the kitchen.
I followed him.
“Where are you going?””
He didn’t look back.
“To find out what else I don’t know.””
An hour later, he came back holding a brown folder.
My name was written across the front.
Aaliyah Johnson.
I recognized it immediately.
My college documents.
Scholarship papers.
Financial aid information.
But something was wrong.
Dad looked at me.
“Did you ever receive the email saying your scholarship paperwork had problems?””
I frowned.
“What email?””
His face changed.
“You didn’t receive anything?””
“No.””
He opened the folder.
Inside were printed emails.
Emails claiming I had ignored deadlines.
Emails saying my scholarship was in danger.
But I knew those emails were false.
Because I had never seen them.
Dad turned the page.
And there was a forwarding address.
An email account I didn’t recognize.
But I recognized the name attached to it.
Mia.
Dad looked up slowly.
“Aaliyah…”
My heart stopped.
“What?””
He held up the paper.
“She didn’t just destroy your dress.””
May you like
He swallowed.
“She tried to destroy your future.””
