They Pretended I Didn’t Exist for Twenty Years… So I Disappeared Chapter 07

They Pretended I Didn’t Exist for Twenty Years… So I Disappeared Chapter 07

Ethan opened his mouth, but no words came out.

I couldn’t be bothered to keep playing along with Ethan anymore.

Since everyone was here, I decided to say everything once and for all.

“Mason.”

I turned toward him.

His entire body stiffened.

“You’ve fought with me since we were kids, and I never held it against you. I thought of you as my friend. Friends argue. That’s normal. And I knew you liked Lily.”

“But you were the one who kept rubbing salt in my wounds. Well, you got your wish. I lost my baby, and I was sexually assaulted. Are you satisfied now?”

Mason’s lips moved.

Tears filled his eyes.

“I… I didn’t know it was really…”

“There’s a lot you don’t know.”

I gave him a faint smile.

“Because you never wanted to know.”

Then I looked at Ryan.

“Ryan.”

His shoulders jerked,

He took one step toward me, then retreated again like a lost child.

“Mom died saving Lily. I protected Lily for years after that. I shared my friends with her. I

shared my whole life with her. And back then, you accused me of choosing an outsider over my own family.”

I paused.

“Are you happy now? The sister you accused of always choosing outsiders finally walked right

out of your life.”

“Claire, please stop…”

Ryan’s voice shook.

A tear rolled down his face.

“I was wrong. I was really wrong.”

Finally, there was one person left.

“Lily.”

The air in the living room seemed to freeze.

Lily shrank behind Ethan, biting her lip as she looked at me with tearful eyes.

“Claire, I know you blame me… but I really didn’t know you were asking for help. Those were

the rules of the game.”

“The rules?”

I cut her off.

“You suggested the Invisible Game in the first place because you didn’t want me to get the principal dancer role.”

“That game nearly killed me when I had appendicitis. You took my dress. You took my career opportunities. And now, because of it, I lost my baby and was sexually assaulted.”

“Wasn’t Ethan what you wanted most? Fine. He’s yours now.”

I stood and looked down at her.

“So Lily, what exactly are you so upset about?”

Her face went white.

Her lips trembled, and then she burst into tears.

“I didn’t mean to! I really didn’t mean for any of this to happen!”

Ethan abruptly pressed a hand to the back of Lily’s head and forced her to bow toward me.

“I brought her here to apologize. I promise there will never be another Invisible Game. I’ll stay away from her from now on. I just need you to…”

“Need me to what?”

I looked at him calmly and pointed at my lower abdomen.

“Forgive you? Sure. Bring my baby back. Make it so the assault never happened. Then I’ll forgive you.”

Ethan looked like a trapped animal.

His head dropped.

Daniel spoke up then.

“All right. That’s enough. Leave, or I’ll call the police. Another trip to the police station won’t look good for any of you.”

By then, what had happened between us was already all over Westbridge.

Ethan’s company was in a steep decline, and people in his industry had given him a new

nickname.

Mr. Invisible.

He was putting out fires every day.

His company couldn’t afford another blow.

“Claire, I know you’re still angry,” Ethan said hoarsely.

“But I’m not giving up. I’ll give you time.”

Then he hurried the other three out with him.

I felt nothing as the door closed behind them.

After they were gone, Daniel sat beside me and brought me a fresh cup of warm water.

“You okay?”

“I’m okay.”

I held the cup and stared at the surface of the water.

“At least I know it can’t get worse than this.”