Faint Flames, Aching Hearts

To me, Karen was never the false heiress who stole my life. She was my baby sister, my closest friend.
When our parents refused to acknowledge me, she knelt in the chapel until her knees bled, just to get me into the family tree. When I was bullied at school, she slapped the ringleader Stanton so hard his face swelledtrembling with fear, yet forcing a smile to comfort me. Even the family fortune, she refused a cent, insisting it all be mine.
Then she brought Ethan into my life. Seen as the perfect match, he taught me etiquette, helped me into a top university, and shaped me into a true heiress. On my graduation day, he proposed, vowing to care for me forever.
They were two flames, warming what Id thought was a hopeless life.
Until the day I came home from the hospital and saw them through our half-open bedroom door. Ethan had her pressed against the wall, voice trembling. Why make me marry her? You know Ive always loved you.
Karen didnt struggle. She only wept. Please dont hurt Elara. Were all she has now.
Outside, tears and blood soaked the medical report in my hand:
PROGNOSIS: LESS THAN ONE MONTH TO LIVE.
And suddenly, I laughed.
How perfect.
It seemed even Death could grant a wish.
1
Thud!
A wave of dizziness from the blood loss sent me stumbling, and I slammed hard against the doorframe. The medical report I was clutching scattered across the floor. As I scrambled to pick up the pages, the door was yanked open from the inside.
Karens face, still streaked with fresh tears, went pale with shock when she saw the blood pouring from my nose.
"Elara! What happened? Why are you bleeding so much?"
I wiped my nose clumsily with the back of my hand, forcing my lips into what I hoped was a natural smile.
"It's nothing. I was staring at my phone and walked right into the door."
Karen knelt, using her own sleeve to gently clean my face, her voice a mix of concern and scolding. "How can you be so careless? Does it hurt?"
"Let me help you up. We'll have the family doctor take a look at you later, just to make sure it's not"
Her words caught in her throat. Behind her, Ethans gaze had fallen to the papers on the floor. His brow furrowed as he reached for one.
"What's this?"
My head whipped around. The medical report!
No!
Panic seized me. I practically dove forward, snatching the paper from his grasp. My voice was shrill, unrecognizable. "It's nothing!"
My outburst startled them both.
Ethans hand froze in mid-air, his eyes fixed on the paper I now held in a death grip. Luckily, the most damning information was blurred into an illegible red smudge.
I struggled to compose myself, stuffing the report into my pocket. "It's just the flu, and I'm a bit run down," I lied, my voice still shaky. "The doctor gave me some medicine."
"You know how it is, the air is so dry in the winter, it gives me nosebleeds. You two should be careful as well!"
Ethan studied me for a few seconds, the suspicion in his eyes slowly fading. But then he asked, his voice cautious, "Elara, you were just at the door You didn't happen to hear anything, did you?"
I could feel Karen's fingers tighten on my arm.
I knew what they were afraid of.
It didn't matter. Even knowing the truth, I could never blame them.
This life, this happiness it was all borrowed.
But my eyes still burned, and I had to fight back tears. I tilted my head back, trying my best to look innocent and confused.
"Hear what? I was too busy having a fight with the doorframe. It hurt so much I was seeing stars. What's going on?"
Ethan visibly relaxed.
Karens whole body seemed to sag with relief. She helped me inside. "Nothing. Ethan and I were just talking about your wedding."
"Come on, let's get that bleeding stopped."
Ethan nodded and moved to close the door. But just as it was about to click shut
Bang!
A hand, all sharp knuckles and lean fingers, shot through the gap, forcing the door open.
Stantons defiant face appeared in the opening.
He yelled right at me, "Elara, what the hell? Why'd you run when you saw me at the oncology department?"
My heart sank.
I'm screwed.
2
I had run into Stanton at the hospital, but I was wearing a mask. My first instinct upon seeing someone I knew was to bolt.
I never imagined he would recognize me, let alone follow me home.
Ethan moved to block him, but Stanton just shoved past him.
He strode right up to me, his eyes scanning my panicked face. He fumbled in his pocket and then roughly pressed a lipstick into my hand, his tone as sharp as gravel.
"Your stuff falls out of your pocket and you don't even notice? I was yelling your name, are you deaf?"
A lipstick?
I stared at it, confused.
I looked down at the tube in my palm.
I'd never owned this shade in my life.
But I grabbed the lifeline hed thrown me. I forced a laugh. "I'm so sorry, Stanton! I wasn't feeling well, so I was in a rush."
"I honestly didn't hear you. Thanks so much for bringing it all the way back."
For once, Stantons expression was serious. He looked me up and down, as if he wanted to say more.
But in the end, all he did was let out a derisive snort. With his usual arrogance, he drawled, "Funny, isn't it? The big sister goes to the hospital, and her fianc hangs out with the little sister all day"
With that, he turned on his heel and walked out.
The air crackled with a sudden, awkward tension.
I jumped in immediately, trying to smooth things over. "That idiot Stanton, hes had it in for me since we were kids. Every time he sees me, he just has to say something to stir up trouble between us. Don't listen to him."
"Next time I see his father, I'm definitely telling on him again."
Worried they'd dwell on it, I caught sight of the housekeeper, Mrs. Gable, bringing dishes to the dining room. I grabbed Ethan's sleeve with one hand and looped my other arm through Karens, physically breaking the suffocating silence.
"Oh, that smells amazing! Let's eat!"
"Looks like Mrs. Gable went all out today. Ive been so busy, Im absolutely starving!"
It was a lie.
At this stage of my illness, hunger was a distant memory. I couldn't even taste my food anymore.
But my little performance worked, and the atmosphere returned to something resembling normal.
At the dinner table, I mechanically moved food to my mouth.
It tasted like ash.
Across from me, Karens face lit up as if she'd just remembered something. She put down her fork excitedly. "Elara, I got a ton of fireworks for the backyard!"
"Can we go set them off after dinner?"
I shook my head gently.
In my condition, I'd collapse before the first firework even left the ground.
"Not tonight, Karen. Im feeling a little drained, and the medicine I took earlier is making me sleepy. I think Im going to turn in early."
"Ethan, you should go with her."
The conversation shifted seamlessly to Ethan. They started talking about the brand of fireworks, which somehow led to a trip down memory lane.
"Oh, Ethan, do you remember that time at grandpas birthday party? We snuck out to light fireworks and ended up setting the drapes on fire. We were so scared we hid in a closet for the entire afternoon!"
Ethan looked up, his eyes shining with a vibrant light I had never seen directed at me.
"How could I forget? We only got caught because you couldn't stop sneezing."
"Hey! It was your fault for hiding us in the closet that reeked of mothballs."
"My fault? Who was it that grabbed a sparkler and insisted on pretending it was a rocket launch? Don't play innocent now, Miss Future Architect."
They went back and forth, weaving a tapestry of memories I had no part in.
I sat between them, feeling a deep, chilling ache in my bones, like I was being slowly flayed alive.
Thankfully, Karen was too excited to sit still for long. Before dinner was even over, she was dragging Ethan out to the backyard.
Claiming exhaustion, I went upstairs to the master bedroom.
Standing before the massive floor-to-ceiling window, I watched the yard light up, bright as day. Karen ran around like a little kid, while Ethan stood a few feet behind her, relaxed, his eyes following her every move.
A firework screamed into the night sky, illuminating their joyful faces.
Karen spun around, laughing, and seemed to spot me in the window.
She waved enthusiastically.
"Elara, look! Isn't it beautiful?"
I immediately plastered on the brightest smile I could manage, waved back with all my might, then pressed my hands together by my cheek in a gesture for sleep.
They nodded, and I drew the curtains closed.
The moment I turned away, I staggered into the bathroom and began to vomit violently, the pain causing my body to curl into a ball. I slid down the cold tile wall to the floor.
Acting on pure instinct, I crawled toward the nightstand, my trembling hand fumbling for my bottle of painkillers.
I didn't bother counting. I dry-swallowed a dozen of them.
Grabbing the edge of the curtain for support, I tried to pull myself up.
But in doing so, I accidentally opened a small gap.
And I saw it.
Ethan and Karen were kissing.

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