The entire glass disappeared in a single gulp. Almost instantly, the cool liquid soothed the raw ache in my throat, bringing it back to life. I let out a slow breath, relieved.

“I suppose you feel better now?” he asked, watching me closely.

I tried speaking again.

" Yes," I said, glad that my voice was back to normal.

" Do you remember anything from two days ago?" he asked.

I strained my memory to think for a while.

And slowly it all started coming back to me.

The phone call, me crying my eyes out as I drove, the huge trailer that came out of nowhere and sent me driving straight into a tree.

That was the last thing I remembered until I showed up here. I had been in a fatal car accident and somehow, I had survived it.

My face paled at the thought of that.

What call? Who was I talking to on the phone that had me so distracted that I had let the wheels slip out of my hands?

I could not remember that little bit.

" Thankfully, you are okay and just gained a few scratches. You would be able to get around, and it would be dangerous when you were in a coma, but seeing that you are out now, I can tell you for a fact that you would be fit to leave here tomorrow." He said, beaming at me. A sick bile rose up in my belly at the question I was about to ask.

" And what about the person driving the truck?" I asked him.

His smile faltered a bit, and he sighed, taking off his glasses and wiping it before putting them back on.

The bile only grew.

" He was an old man in his seventies. He was bleeding extensively when they brought him in. We could have saved him if it was a younger person, but he was old and his heart was already giving up. I'm so sorry, but we lost him," he said, and i felt my heart break.

I had claimed the life of someone. Perhaps someone who all he wanted was to eat and provide for his family. I killed someone's husband.

He probably saw the look on my face because he turned to look at me, giving me a small pat on my hands.

" I know most of the time it's hard to hear about the death of someone. The police have already concluded that he was probably driving at high speed, and you were not able to swerve out of his way, you were not at fault," he said.

I appreciated his little effort at trying to comfort me, but the deed was already done. I could already feel the guilt crippling me as my mind made up different numbers of scenarios.

What if I had been more focused and not on my phone? What if I had been able to drive smartly and avoided him? He would still be alive.

There were so many things I wanted to tell the doctor, but somehow, I knew he wouldn’t understand the fears weighing heavily on my mind. So, I swallowed my concerns and forced a small smile. “Thank you so much for everything,” I said.

He gave me another reassuring smile before continuing.

" Well, we tried to reach your family members here in Los Angeles but unfortunately, none of them showed up. Your fiancé gave us the number of your friend in London, and she has been the one paying the bills. I'm sure she will be here very soon to check up on you," he said, and I felt my heart thump wildly.

What was that phone call that I received just before the world started spinning? Why could I not remember it?

" So none ...none of them came to visit? Including my mum?" I asked him, noticing the pain that dawned in his eyes as he slowly shook his head.

" None did," he said.

The room fell silent and he finally said again.

" I have to do a routine check with the rest of my patients. I hope your friend gets here soon enough, and I will be back again to check how you have progressed and see if you are fit to leave tomorrow," he said.

As the door shut behind him, the feeling of anger washed over me. None of them came to visit. After every single night I spent with them, after my childhood with all of them, no one came to visit.

" Oh my baby!" A voice cried out as the door banged open, my friend Tasha coming in.

She pulled me into a hug and I obliged, breathing in her earthy scent to comfort me.

" I'm so sorry about what happened. And also about your marriage. Louis is a real jerk," she said, her eyes sympathetic.

" What did he do?" I asked her and her face contorted in shock.

" You don't remember?" she asked.

And as though that was the only question I needed to hear, the bit of that accident that I missed came roaring back to me. I had called Louis to confront him, to ask him why he would want to marry my sister.

Arabella’s POV

" I'm so sorry, if I knew you had not remembered, I would not have said anything, at least till you left the hospital," Tasha said, her eyes holding remorse, but I shrugged it off.

" It's fine. Can I...can I see the post again?" I asked her.

She looked at me unsurely for a minute, as though contemplating if she could fulfill my request, but eventually, she handed me over her phone and the smiling faces of the couple attacked me, the two people who were supposed to be the closest to me, doing this to me three months before my formal marriage with my fiancé of five years.

I could see my parents in the background too, shining their perfect teeth as they looked so proud of their daughter. After all, I was just the adopted one.

I knew I was adopted from the moment I opened my eyes and that was because I was already nine when they adopted me.

They were the best parents I could ever wish for. The way they pampered and cared for me was like their own.

I was fourteen when I found out about their own daughter that went missing a few years before they adopted me. I could see the pain in their eyes every time someone called to say they had information, but it just led to another dead end.

And when she finally showed up, one day, with the health worker who claimed to have raised her up until she was a fit member of society, their joy knew no bounds.

When the results of the DNA test came back positive, I was sure they could have burst from excitement.

My mum could never get tired of comparing her with herself. Just how black her hair was, just like theirs.

But mine was a rich chestnut color.

I did not mind anyway. I was working, I had my whole life in front of me with a fiancé that could go to the moon and back for me. I had it all planned out.

So when she started stealing my spotlight with my parents, going to dinners that I was not included in, attending family functions with them forgetting about me, I did not feel all that bad.

After all, this was her time to enjoy her parent's love.

She could take everything I had with my parents and I would not care. But she took my man.

My callous fiancé could not find the balls to tell me that he was now engaged to my sister and I had to find out about it through a blog post.

My fiancé, who took my life and my dreams and shattered it in one go.

I did not realize fresh tears were already sliding down my face until Tasha pulled out a white napkin, carefully dabbing my face with it.

" You shouldn't let them see you down like this. I hated that girl from the moment I saw her. With her fake smile and her graceful demeanor. I know you don't feel like it now, but you will always be the star of the show, no matter how hard she tries," Tasha said.

My heart strings tugged as I sighed, nodding my head rapidly. It was comforting to know that I still had people who cared about me.

Even if my family didn't.

As I closed my eyes to go to bed that night, I could not help but reminisce about how I had met my fiancé.

It was a cliché meeting, one that was picture-perfect for books. It is at my favorite coffee spot.

" I would like to order an iced macchiato and also an Americano " he had said in front of me that day.

I was not paying any attention to what he did,, mostly because I had a major test coming up and I could already feel the heat of my failure dawning on me.

But then, he prodded me softly, handing me the cup.

I stared at him in surprise.

" Can I help you?" I remember asking vividly.

To answer my question, he had flashed me a million dollar watt smile that still had the effect it had on me four years ago.

" I have been coming to this cafe for a long time and I just thought to give you a little something as we have been bumping into each other for quite a good number of times now" he said.

I did not remember ever bumping into him.

I could tell from the label of the drink that he held up towards me that it was the exact same one I always ordered.

" Well today I was going to buy drinks for my friends as well" I said, giving an awkward laugh as his mouth shaped into an O, letting me step past him to place my order.

It was an awkward meeting, we felt awkward but it was nice. He had collected my number as I left the cafe and the rest was history.

Leaving the hospital was supposed to be the first moment I could finally breathe again. For days, guilt had sat heavily on my chest, convincing me that I was responsible for a death I could never undo. Walking through those hospital doors felt like leaving that pain behind, even if only for a moment.

Tasha dropped me off at the house, and I was more grateful than I could explain. Deep down, I already knew I wouldn't be staying. Not in a house where the man I loved was now spending his time with my own sister.

The moment I stepped inside, the silence felt strange, too quiet, almost like the house was hiding something.

I hurried to my room to collect a few clothes. As I opened his drawer, something slipped from the back and landed on the floor. A pack of condoms. I froze immediately and my fingers trembled as I stared at them.

*****

We had been together for so long, yet we had never slept together. I had always believed he respected my decision to wait. I had never imagined that while I was protecting our relationship, he might have been preparing for something or someone else. Then I heard the front door open.

My heart pounded as footsteps approached. He appeared in the doorway and stopped the moment he saw me.

“Arabella, what are you doing here? I heard you were involved in an accident. Honestly, I've just been so busy. I was going to come today.” he said but I knew it was all lies.

I slowly looked at him, then at the condoms still lying in my hand.

His face changed.

" Who are these for?" I asked him and watched him pale as I held up the pack of condoms.

Arabella’s POV

He seemed to stutter to find the right word, seemed to be waiting for a miracle that could free him out of the trap he had walked right into.

" It's for a friend, I was just helping him hold it" he finally managed to wheeze out.

I shook my head again at his pathetic attempt to lie.

" Liar! You think I don't see it? You think I don't see the blog posts? You are getting married to Celine? You are getting married to my own sister!" I yelled at him and he seemed to relax, as though he knew it was not worth lying about anyways.

" I did not want you to find out this way, we were going to talk about it with you over dinner tonight. I already talked to your parents and..." He was beginning to say it but I did not want to hear it.

" You talked to my parents and what? They allowed you to do the little switch between their daughters? Do you even think I'm a joke to you!" I yelled at him.

The tears were beginning to prick my eyes now and I felt like a weakling, trying to hold them from dropping onto my sunken face.

I could not let him see just how much he had broken me.

" It's not a big deal. I know I made the wrong choice with you ever since I saw Celine. She is the one I love and I don't want to let go of her. " He said.

My eyes were stinging, my heart pounding fast as I walked towards him, and with a swift motion, I hit him across the face, listening to the sound reverberate through the walls of the room.

He stared at me as though he was shocked I had actually hit him.

Then he placed his hands around my neck, choking me as his eyes blazed with anger.

" Never ever in your pathetic life raise your hands at me again, or I swear to the Lord that you won't live to tell the story" he said, letting go of my neck forcefully as my feet sank to the floor, dragging me along with them.

The door banged loudly and with that, he was gone. Just like that.

This was a new side of him that I was just discovering. This side of him that I never knew existed.

I had sat there, on the cold floor, And I willed all the tears to come out, to try and stop the ache that I felt in my heart.

When I got the call to attend the party that evening, it was the last thing I wanted to do.

It was a call from my parents, something about coming for our grandfather's memorial.

I contemplated calling in sick. I knew Celine and Louis would be there, and my parents too, it was the last thing I wanted.

But I put on a brave face, pulling out my most flattering gown as I stared at myself in the mirror.

I looked like I had gone through a lot, my eyes sunken in and my hair thin from the number of times I had yanked at them earlier that afternoon.

Nothing a little bit of make up could not fix. When I was done with my make up, I was satisfied. I did not look like the snivelling mess I was a few hours ago.

I looked like a woman who was ready to take the world at its feet and that was exactly what I wanted.

" I honestly don't even understand why you are thinking of this, you don't have to go to those bastard parties. All they would do is make you feel less" Tasha whined as she drove to the party but I smiled.

" That is why I'm taking you along, so you can remind me that they are all beneath me. Including the little perfect daughter of theirs" I said.

The set up was beautiful. A part of me wanted to ask why I did not have an idea what they were planning until now.

It was as though they did not even need my help planning it, and just decided to invite me to shoo away the negative questions that people might ask.

I took in a deep breath as I looked at the steady flow of people from the event center.

" You can do this girl. If you ever feel the need to leave, at any time at all, you just have to say the word and I would get us both out of there. I would be exploring the dinner setting just in case you need me" she said and with that, she was gone.

I knew her love for food always came before me.

I walked on, looking around as people stared at me, some pointing their fingers and giggling.

I guess the news of the marriage was no secret to most of them now.

" Why would you come wearing that? Are you trying to outshine poor Celine?" I heard a voice asking and I turned around to see my mother.

I tried to search her eyes, to see if I could find some hint of remorse for what she made me go through, to see if I could even get a bit of the motherly look I got from her when I was younger.

" But she is not supposed to be shining. It's our dead grandfather's memorial" I said.

She seemed to scowl.

"You know she is our biological child, and she needs to look immaculate more than you. And that gown is so revealing. Go change right this instant. You should find some old clothes from my closet and put them on. I did not raise you to be so open with your body" she said.