The Vicious Saint

My problem is that I’m a people-pleaser. The kind who takes every word someone says as gospel.

So when the girl they raised as their daughter, the one who wasn't me, threw a tantrum and refused to eat, screaming that the food was garbage, I got down on my knees. I picked up the meal she’d thrown on the floor and began to eat it, piece by piece, as if it were a feast.

Faced with the shocked expressions of my biological parents, I just gave a weak smile.

“She said it was garbage. And that’s what I am. So it’s only right that I eat it.”

My parents, their faces etched with pain, rushed to pull me up. But the other girl, Luna, looked like she was about to explode. She pivoted, ran to the open window, and shrieked that she was going to jump.

“Your real daughter is back, so what do you need a fake one for? I might as well just die!”

As she swung one leg over the sill, my reflexes kicked in. I lunged forward, grabbing her and pulling her back into the room. Then, I looked her in the eyes and spoke with utter sincerity.

“Sister, if you want to die, I can help. But people who kill themselves are doomed to wander forever. Do you need me to find you a specialist? I know a team that guarantees a peaceful transition to the other side. Very professional.”

That broke her. She scrambled away from me and threw herself into my mother’s arms. “Mom!” she wailed. “She’s trying to kill me!”

1

My mother, Katherine, wrapped her arms around Luna, patting her back and cooing.

“Luna, sweetie, your sister didn’t mean it like that. She was trying to help. See? She saved you, she pulled you back from the window.”

This only made Luna angrier. “So you’re choosing her over me, is that it?” she sobbed. “Fine! I’ll just go live with Maria. She doesn’t have any kids. I’ll be her daughter and take care of her when she’s old!”

With that, she stormed out, leaving the three of us—the family I was supposed to belong to—standing in stunned silence.

Katherine came over and gently patted the back of my hand. Her touch was hesitant. “Stella,” she said softly, “you didn't grow up with us, and your… perspective is a little different. But you have to remember to be patient with your sister. Please, try to let her have her way. She may not be our blood, but we’ve raised her for eighteen years. There are feelings involved. You need to treat Luna like she’s your real sister.”

I nodded seriously, etching my mother’s words onto my heart.

So that night, when Luna went to go to sleep in her lavish, princess-themed bedroom, she found me already there, my few belongings unpacked.

She screamed, a raw, furious sound, and lunged, dragging me off the bed and onto the floor.

“Who told you you could sleep in my bed?” she spat, her face inches from mine. “You’re trash!”

At that exact moment, my parents rushed in, drawn by the commotion.

I looked from Luna’s furious face to my mother’s worried one, genuinely confused. “Mom,” I asked, my voice small. “Luna is my real sister. She said I’m trash. Should I listen to her?”

I was stolen as a baby. The woman who bought me soon became pregnant with her own child and, disappointed I was a girl, abandoned me at a remote spiritual community—the Sanctuary.

The Elders there raised me. From my first memories, they taught me one thing above all else: listen to others. Obey.

If a visitor to the Sanctuary expressed a wish, we had to do everything in our power to fulfill it.

And the Elders’ commands were absolute.

So now, my sister was calling me trash. I was trying to figure out if this was a new command I was meant to obey.

My mother’s face crumpled. She rushed forward and pulled me into a fierce hug. “No, honey, no. She’s just angry. Don’t listen to her.”

A wave of relief washed over me.

Thank God. I didn’t have to be trash.

Katherine straightened up and turned to scold Luna, but Luna had already collapsed onto the floor, wailing. “She’s the one who started it! She took over my room! She’s trying to steal everything from me!”

My father, Robert, looked at me, his expression grim. “What is going on here, Stella?”

I blinked. “Didn’t my sister say she was going to be Maria’s daughter? I got the housekeeper’s room ready for her in the basement.”

I gestured vaguely around the opulent bedroom. “All the other rooms in the house are taken. This one seemed to be empty, so I moved in.”

Robert’s stern face flickered from anger to bewilderment.

Katherine looked at me like her heart was breaking and melting all at once. She stroked my hair. “Oh, Stella. Honey, you misunderstood. She was just upset. She’s an Ashton. She isn’t really going to be the housekeeper’s daughter.”

I scratched the back of my neck, feeling a blush of shame. “I misunderstood again. I’m sorry, sister. But Mom… the way people talk out here is so confusing.”

Luna’s face was practically purple with rage.

She shoved herself between me and my mother, pointing a finger in my face. “Stella, cut the crap! You know damn well what’s real and what’s not! Stop playing dumb!”

I hesitated for a second before pulling a small notepad and pen from my pocket.

“Words can be not-real?” I asked, genuinely curious. “The Elders at the Sanctuary always said that those who walk the Path do not speak falsehoods. I’ve never heard anyone say something they didn’t mean.”

I looked at her, my pen poised. “Can you teach me how to tell the difference? I really want to learn.”

2

I was being completely serious.

But Luna just slapped the notepad out of my hand and turned to our father. “Dad! Do you see this manipulative little witch? Look at her act!”

My father wasn’t as soft as my mother.

It was obvious he favored Luna.

Faced with this chaotic scene, he spoke, his voice sharp. “If you want to know if she’s faking, there’s an easy way to find out. Let’s go see the room she supposedly prepared for you.”

His eyes, narrowed and intense, were fixed on me.

Luna’s face lit up. “Yes! Let’s go, right now. You can all see what Stella is really like!”

I heard her and smiled, nodding eagerly.

“Okay! I’d love for you to see the real me, too.”

When the four of us arrived at the small, plain housekeeper’s room in the basement, Luna froze.

Not only had I made up the simple cot with her expensive, four-hundred-thread-count sheet set, but I had also placed a photograph on the nightstand. It was a picture of her as a child, playing with our housekeeper, Maria.

I explained earnestly, “Sister, you said you wanted to be Maria’s daughter, but she might not agree right away. I found this picture of you two and had it printed. I thought it might help your case.”

Luna was speechless.

My parents, after their initial shock, finally understood. Everything I had said, I had meant.

Katherine pulled me into another hug, her voice thick with emotion.

“My child… what on earth did they do to you?”

I offered a small smile. “I saw it online. I think it’s called being a people-pleaser.”

I always take what people say as the absolute truth. I try my best to please them, to do what they ask, even when they don’t actually mean it. I carry out their words to the letter.

Katherine held me at arm’s length, her eyes boring into mine. “Stella, listen to me. You are an Ashton now. You don’t have to please anyone. Do you understand?”

I nodded, but I didn’t really get it.

If you don’t please people, how are you supposed to connect with them?

3

My parents planned a lavish party to formally introduce me to society.

The night before the event, Luna approached me, her arm linked with a tall, devastatingly handsome man who radiated an air of cold arrogance.

He stopped in front of me, looking down his nose as if I were something he’d scraped off his shoe.

“So you’re Stella. I’ve heard all about the things you’ve been doing to Luna.”

I smiled, a little embarrassed by the praise. “Oh, it was nothing, really. You don’t have to thank me.”

Ever since I’d arrived, I’d been doing everything my sister said. I figured this man must be here to express his gratitude on her behalf.

Aidan Pierce’s brow furrowed. His voice grew louder.

“Let me make something clear. No matter what little games you play, I love Luna. I would never look at you twice.”

I tilted my head, leaning first to my left, then to my right.

Whichever way I moved, his eyes followed me.

I sighed and told him with genuine regret, “Mr. Pierce, you’ve already broken your promise. You said you wouldn’t look at me twice, but you’ve already looked at me four or five times now.”

The frown on Aidan’s face deepened until it could have crushed a walnut.

Luna’s face flushed a blotchy red. “Stella, are you insane?!” she shrieked.

I nodded sincerely. “Yes, I get terrible migraines. How did you know, sister? Do you have some kind of remedy for them?”

Luna rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck.

I said, with genuine admiration, “Wow, sister. Your eyeball flexibility is incredible.”

A core tenet of being a people-pleaser is to seize every opportunity to praise others.

Luna, however, snapped her eyes back into place and tugged on Aidan’s arm.

“Aidan, darling, you see what I have to deal with?”

Aidan grabbed my wrist, his grip like steel.

“Don’t play these hot-and-cold games with me. I’m not interested.”

Before, I would have tried my hardest to win him over.

After all, he was the fiancé my parents had arranged for me. I couldn’t let them down.

But just yesterday, my mother had told me I didn’t have to please anyone anymore. So I pulled my arm from his grasp.

“Mr. Pierce, I’m not interested in you, either.”

I turned to leave, but he stepped in front of me again.

“If you really don’t have feelings for me, then go tell your parents to call off the engagement. There has only ever been one Ashton daughter, and that’s Luna!”

My old habits kicked in. I nodded. “Okay, Mr. Pierce. I’ll go talk to my parents right now.”

Luna lifted her chin, preening like a triumphant peacock.

“Oh, Aidan, you’re my hero!”

I went and told my parents exactly what had happened.

And the next day, at the party, Katherine made a shocking announcement. In front of all their guests, my usually gentle mother declared that the engagement between the Ashton and Pierce families was officially cancelled.

Her voice was cold as ice. “We have two daughters. Anyone who does not recognize our biological daughter, Stella, is making an enemy of the Ashton family.”

4

The engagement was off. Luna and Aidan were finished.

After several days of crying and throwing fits, Luna’s attitude did a complete 180.

She not only apologized to me but also said she wanted us to be the best of sisters.

My mother was deeply moved. Then, Luna said she wanted to take me shopping to bond, and asked for ten thousand dollars in spending money.

The moment we got to the mall, she started ordering me around.

One minute, she’d have me running to get her ice cream. The next, she’d demand I kneel down and tie her shoelaces.

Then she would “accidentally” kick me in the face with her sharp-toed heel.

And I obeyed every command, took every bit of abuse without complaint.

Because she had told me that our parents would only be happy if we had a harmonious relationship.

By the end of the day, I was loaded down with her purchases. Bags hung from every inch of my arms, and she had even started hanging smaller ones around my neck.

A group of her friends gathered around, giggling. “Luna, where did you find this circus act? The bag handles are leaving bruises on her skin, and she’s too stupid to even put them down for a second.”

Luna shrugged, not even bothering to look at me. “She’s the housekeeper’s daughter. Just some idiot who can’t think for herself.”

I was confused again, so I had to ask. “Sister, is that a real statement or a not-real one? A few days ago, you were the one who wanted to be Maria’s daughter. How did it become me?”

Before I could finish, Luna’s stiletto heel came down hard on the arch of my foot.

I cried out in pain. She leaned in close, her voice a venomous whisper. “Say one more word. I dare you.”

I carefully analyzed her statement.

This one felt real.

So, I followed her command and said one more word.

“Sister, I’m the real Ashton daughter. I’m not the housekeeper’s daughter.”

The color drained from Luna’s face.

Her friends all had expressions of sudden realization.

“Oh, so that’s the long-lost daughter everyone was talking about?”

“No wonder Luna’s been treating her like this…”

“I wonder what her parents would think if they saw their real daughter being treated like a pack mule?”

Luna tried to stomp on my foot again, but this time I dodged.

She pointed a trembling finger at me. “Go home! Get out of my sight and go back to the house right now!”

For the first time since I’d arrived, I shook my head. “I can’t.”

“You can’t?”

I glanced at the credit card in Luna’s hand.

“Mom and Dad gave me ten thousand dollars to buy things for myself. They said I’m not allowed to come home until it’s all spent.”

Luna’s perfectly sculpted eyebrows shot up. “That’s my money!”

I blinked innocently. “But sister, didn’t you tell Mom you were taking me shopping to buy me clothes? Was that a not-real statement, too?”

The group of wealthy girls around us burst into laughter.

Luna, humiliated, threw down the bags she was holding and ran off.

I looked down at the mountain of shopping bags at my feet and smiled.

What a productive day.

5

After two days of silence, Luna came up with a new plan.

She told my mother I was uneducated and needed to go to school.

My parents agreed, telling me to be a good girl and listen to my sister at school.

The moment we arrived, Luna gathered a crowd around me.

“Stella,” she asked with a smirk, “what did you do before you came here?”

I answered honestly. “I used to sweep the grounds at the Sanctuary.”

I grew up there, isolated. I didn’t have many skills, so sweeping was my main job.

But the circle of kids around me roared with laughter, their amusement quickly turning to disgust.

“A janitor? How dare she come to our school?”

“That’s so gross. I can’t believe I have to be in the same class as someone like that.”

Listening to their hateful words, I blinked and asked, “So, none of you ever have to sweep?”

Another wave of laughter.

Luna, perched on a nearby desk, tapped my shoulder with the pointed toe of her designer heel.

“Stella, stop being pathetic. You’re looking at the heirs to some of the biggest corporations in the country. Do you really think any of them have ever held a broom?”

She glanced out the window. “Actually, the courtyard is looking a bit dirty. Why don’t you go sweep it?”

Sweeping was something I was good at. I found a broom and went outside.

I had barely started when Luna and her friends followed me out.

“Is that how you used to sweep at the Sanctuary?” she asked.

I nodded. She shook her head.

“No, that’s not right. Back then, you were bald!”

The moment she said it, they were on me. A group of them tackled me, pinning me to the ground. I felt the cold, sharp snip of scissors at my hair.

A nightmare from my past slammed back into me.

I started to fight, thrashing wildly.

“No! Don’t touch my hair! Stop!”

“Get off me! All of you, get off!”

But Luna just shouted over my struggles, “Do it! Cut it all off! And when you’re done, use the clippers to shave it clean!”

Hands held me down, pressing my face into the dirt. The sound of scissors snipping echoed in my ears, punctuated by their cruel laughter. I begged them to stop, but they wouldn’t.

“Stella, you were basically a nun. Nuns don’t have hair!”

“Yeah! We heard you were always bald. We’re just helping you get your memory back!”

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the so-called memories they were talking about.

They were the deepest, most terrifying scars on my soul.

When they finally let me up, I knelt on the ground, surrounded by clumps of my own hair. Tears streamed down my face, landing silently in the dust.

Luna was cackling, holding up her phone and taking pictures of me from every angle.

She shoved the screen in my face. “Look, sister. Do you like your new haircut?”

The girl in the photo was a monster. They had given me a sick mockery of a hairstyle—one half of my head was shaved completely bald, the other half left with long, ragged strands.

Luna tapped her phone screen.

“A picture this good is a shame to keep to myself. I think I’ll just help you share it with the world.”

After posting it across every social media platform she could think of, she grinned at me, her eyes glinting with malice.

“Are you angry now, sister? I bet you are. But being angry is useless. Unless you have the guts to fight back!”

The world clicked into place. I understood.

This was a command. My sister wanted me to fight back.

So I snatched the scissors from the hand of a girl standing nearby and lunged, plunging them toward Luna’s stomach.

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