Escaping

"Are you serious, Mother? Are you really going to let him marry my sister, even after knowing that he and I had a relationship and he got involved with my sister?!" cried Emma, tears streaming down her face as she looked at her mother.

"Emma, you need to listen to me. Things are not as you think. What happened between Mia and me was just a mistake. I love you," Jimmy pleaded, trying to take Emma's arm to make her look at him and listen.

"Don't you dare touch me, you hypocrite," Emma barely whispered.

"I said enough, Emma. We will discuss this later, understood? Now, I want you to calm down, go inside, put on your best face, and congratulate your sister. Have I made myself clear? If Mia gets upset or loses the baby, it will be your fault, both of you. And Jimmy, you should be inside with Mia, so please Monica, take your son inside and make him fulfill his responsibilities. I will take care of my daughter," Emma's mother said, without even considering Emma's feelings in that moment, as always, giving Mia more importance and sidelining Emma.

Since they were little girls, Emma and Mia, their mother, Charlotte, always made distinctions between them. New clothes and shoes were always for Mia, to make her look like a doll, while Emma always had to make do with hand-me-downs or things her grandmother bought her. Emma never said anything because she always thought it was okay, as Mia was the youngest and needed to be protected.

When they reached high school, their mother became even stricter with Emma and always demanded more from her. Emma worked in the afternoons after school to pay for her own studies, as their mother only had money to help Mia.

"I'm leaving. I won't play this game of Jimmy and you," Emma said angrily.

"I said, you come in and shut up. Wipe those tears, you can't play the victim. How could you think that Jimmy would really be interested in you? Come on, this is what you get for acting like a street girl. So, let's go inside and behave," her mother said, grabbing Emma's arm forcefully, angry and belittling her once again.

Her mother's words finally broke Emma. But now, her mother's words were nothing compared to the pain she felt about Jimmy's engagement to her sister. She was not willing to go inside the house and pretend that she didn't love Jimmy.

As soon as her mother let go of her and walked towards the house, Emma ran without a second thought, escaping from her reality. She couldn't see properly, as tears clouded her vision. She stumbled on everything in her path, her body trembling. She ran away, crying uncontrollably, not knowing where she was going or what she would do. All she knew was that she didn't want to be in that place.