They Filled Her Suitcase And Emptied My Place In The Family Chapter 03

They Filled Her Suitcase And Emptied My Place In The Family Chapter 03

The next day was the graduation banquet. The private room was packed with relatives.

“Robert, your Lily has really made something of herself—she got into Northwestern!” My uncle raised his glass.

Dad waved, beaming. “She’s always been frail, so we’re happy she got into a decent school close to home.”

“Northwestern’s great—she can even come home for soup on weekends,” my aunt added, turning to me. “What about you, Vera?”

The room went quiet. I was picking at the food in my plate, not looking up.

Mom quickly said, “Vera applied to Northwestern too. She’ll stay here and help me take care of Lily.”

The relatives nodded approvingly. I kept picking at my food, breaking it into tiny pieces.

They didn’t know. On the day I filled out my applications, Ethan had stood behind me, watching me click on Northwestern’s page. Then he’d gone to get Lily water. I’d calmly pressed delete and typed “Harvard” into the firstchoice slot.

“Vera, what are you spacing out for? Go get some hot water from the waiter.” Marcus kicked my chair.

I set down my fork and stood.

As I stepped out, I heard Ethan’s gentle voice: “Mrs. Grant, don’t worry. Vera and I will take care of Lily at school. The three of us can still eat together every day.”

I walked to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and let cold water run over my hands. I looked in the mirror: heavy black frames, faded Tshirt, pale face from years of sleepless nights.

That’s who they saw. An accessory who didn’t need a life of her own.

When I returned, all the dishes were on the table. Ethan, in disposable gloves, was placing peeled shrimp into Lily’s small dish. “Dip it in vinegar—your stomach’s sensitive, so don’t eat too much.”

Lily gave him a playful glare. “I know, Ethan. You’re so bossy.”

He smiled, peeled another shrimp, and put it in my bowl. “Vera, you have some too.”

I looked at the shrimp. The vein still had a black line—he hadn’t cleaned it properly. Like the feelings he gave me: always mixed with favoritism for someone else, careless and cheap.

“I don’t eat seafood.” I picked it out with my fork and set it on the tablecloth.

Ethan’s expression dropped. Marcus slammed his hand on the table. “Ethan was nice enough to peel shrimp for you—who are you giving the cold shoulder to?”

Mom’s face hardened. “She’s always been like this. Whatever Lily has, she has to compete for. Now even a shrimp.”

Lily’s eyes reddened. “Vera, I won’t let Ethan peel shrimp for me anymore.”

I didn’t look at them. I took a wet wipe and cleaned the tablecloth where I’d placed the shrimp.

“I’m allergic to seafood.”

The room fell silent. Ethan’s hand froze. He turned to me, startled. “Allergic? But you’ve eaten it before.”

I looked into his confused eyes and almost laughed. When I was ten, he’d taken me and Lily to a seafood buffet with his New Year’s money. Lily kept asking for lobster, so he peeled a whole plate. To keep him from feeling it was wasted, I forced myself to eat a few bites. That night, I broke out in hives, burned with fever, and scratched myself raw on the hard bed in the storage room. The next day, he came to play with Lily, and Mom told him I was still asleep.

I never touched seafood again.

“Yeah, I ate it,” I said, tossing the wipe in the trash. “Then I almost died in the storage room.”

Mom’s hand, reaching for a dish, paused. She cleared her throat. “It’s such a small thing. Do you have to bring it up at a time like this?”

Ethan looked at the shrimp on the tablecloth, panic flickering across his face. “Vera, I didn’t know…”

I set down my fork. “I’m full.”

I sat upright through the rest of the meal, listening to relatives praise Lily’s future. Ethan sat beside me and didn’t speak again. He kept glancing at me, waiting for me to break the silence like I used to.

But I just looked at my phone—the digital acceptance letter from Harvard, the crimson emblem glowing on the screen.