Chapter 33: Bloated Abdomen

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Bloated Abdomen "She’s scared," Aurora replied simply, glancing at her sister. "And I think you are too." Olivia stopped pacing, her back stiffening. "I’m not scared," she said, though her voice lacked its usual bite. Aurora gave her a knowing look. "Yes, you are. We all are. But we’re handling it differently." A tense silence stretched between them, Olivia’s face unreadable as she stared at the desk, her fingers tightening into a fist. Finally, she scoffed, shaking her head. "You sound way too wise for a thirteen-year-old." Aurora offered a small smile. "Almost fourteen." Olivia snorted softly, though there was no real humor in it. She ran a hand through her hair, exhaling in frustration. "Fine. Maybe you have a point. But that doesn’t excuse the way she acted tonight." "I never said it did," Aurora replied. "But maybe instead of fighting her, we should try listening." Olivia hesitated, then scoffed again, this time with less conviction. "You’re really pushing this whole ’understanding’ thing, huh?" Aurora shrugged. "Someone has to." Olivia glanced toward the door, where Adriana had stormed out moments before. A flicker of something—regret, uncertainty—crossed her features, but she quickly buried it beneath a mask of indifference. "Fine," she muttered. "I’ll think about it." Aurora didn’t push further. She simply nodded, satisfied that at least a seed of doubt had been planted in her sister’s mind. Adriana who had returned due to not being able to find any place, stiffened. Her eyes brimmed with tears. Complex emotions surged in her eyes. She wiped her tears away and entered the room. For a moment, neither Olivia nor Aurora noticed her presence. Olivia was still staring at the desk, her jaw tight with unspoken thoughts, while Aurora watched her carefully, waiting for a response that might never come. Then Olivia’s gaze flicked up, landing on Adriana. Her expression shifted—briefly—before she forced her features into something more neutral, guarded. "You’re back," Olivia remarked, her voice flat. Adriana nodded, her fingers twitching at her sides. "There wasn’t anywhere else to go." Her tone was quiet, but there was an edge to it, a subtle challenge. A heavy silence settled over them. Before either of them could say anything, she began, "I know I made a mistake." Olivia arched an eyebrow, skeptical. "Do you?" Adriana lifted her chin. "I do. And I know I shouldn’t have said what I did at dinner." Olivia’s eyes narrowed. "So now you regret it?" Adriana hesitated, then shook her head. "No. I meant every word. But... I also didn’t mean to hurt Dad." Her voice wavered slightly, and she swallowed hard. "I just—" She exhaled sharply, frustrated at her own inability to articulate the storm of emotions within her. "I was angry. And tired. And I guess I wanted someone to finally acknowledge how exhausting all of this is." Olivia sighed. She understood something she had overlooked earlier. Everyone has a different personality. While they could pretend everything was fine, she couldn’t. That was how she was. "Look if you hadn’t hurt Dad, I would have never fought with you in the first place. I...I apologize for my words earlier. I shouldn’t have overlooked your sacrifices." Adriana’s eyes brimmed with tears. The life of the eldest siblings is always the toughest. They lack love and are forced to be burdened with responsibilities. They are first and often bear the consequences of wrong mistakes made by their parents. They may act harshly and sometimes rudely, but the reality is...they are tired of everything around them, and can’t keep up the act. Adriana swallowed the lump in her throat. "I never wanted to hurt him," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "I will apologize to him later." Olivia and Aurora heaved a sigh of relief. Aurora suddenly opened her arms and said with a grin, "Hey, it’s time for a sister’s hug, right?" Adriana and Olivia rolled their eyes before smiling a little and hugging Aurora. Olivia feeling a slight lump in Aurora’s stomach area couldn’t help but smirk, "Hey, Aurora you have gained weight." Aurora pulled away and instantly checked her stomach in the mirror. Seeing the slightly bloated abdomen, she frowned. "Did I truly gain weight?" Olivia bit back a laugh as Aurora twisted and turned in front of the mirror, poking at her stomach with a look of utter betrayal. "I knew those cookies were a bad idea," Aurora muttered, frowning. "I should have stopped at three." Adriana snorted. "You ate seven." Aurora whirled around, scandalized. "That is a blatant exaggeration." Olivia smirked. "No, it’s really not." Aurora gasped dramatically. "You were counting?" "Hard not to when you were inhaling them like a vacuum," Olivia shot back. Adriana crossed her arms, tilting her head. "Honestly, I was impressed. I thought you were training for some kind of eating competition." Aurora groaned, flopping onto the bed. "This is slander. I have been betrayed by my own sisters." Olivia sat on the edge of the bed, nudging Aurora’s side with her foot. "Relax, drama queen. A little stomach pudge never hurt anyone." Aurora peeked up from behind her hands. "You don’t understand. My metabolism is my greatest asset. If I lose that, I lose everything." The two sisters chuckled not taking Aurora seriously. Aurora lay on the bed for a minute or two before realizing she still hadn’t entered the details of her purchase into the rebate system. She woke up and said, "Hey, I remember I haven’t logged off from the game yet. I will be right back." Without waiting for their reply, Aurora stormed off. Adriana looked at her back and couldn’t help but chuckle, "Don’t you think she is smartest of us all?" "Her?" Olivia made a weird face, but when she thought of Aurora’s comforting words just a few weeks ago, she chuckled, "She is thoughtful...and loves us too much." Adriana smiled. She knew Olivia wouldn’t accept openly that Aurora was kind of the smartest among all the siblings. Aurora reached the desktop, opened the rebate website, and was surprised.