Now that I had been reborn, there was no way I'll let you kill me again!
“Daph, I’ve booked a session with a trainer. Can you drive me to the gym in a bit?”
Juniper stood up and started packing her bag.
She was dressed in a pristine white dress and tucked away in her bag was a set of sleek sports underwear, ready for whatever came next.
“Juniper, I have an important class coming up. I can’t take you.”
I turned my gaze away, striving to keep my voice steady and casual, though it felt anything but.
Upon looking around, I recognized the familiar surroundings belonged to Juniper's parents' house.
Out of the blue, a realization hit me like a cold splash: I had been so naive. We were just two college students, each with our own lives and dreams.
Yet here I was, ensnared by my mother's unyielding expectations and Randal's relentless pressure, doing my best to cater to Juniper’s every whim. And in the end, it was that very surrender that had led me to my own demise.
Juniper was quick to express her displeasure. "Daphne, what important class could you possibly have?"
"Aren’t you on summer break? Besides, your brother told you to take care of me. If you don’t drive me, I’ll tell Mom and Randal that you’re bullying me on purpose."
My mother had always been the model of favoritism, treating Randal like royalty while leaving me in the shadows. No matter what happened, she would invariably side with him first.
When Juniper got pregnant, her family instantly became my mother’s new “protected ones.”
If Juniper had ever whispered a complaint about me, I would have braced myself for a tempest of punishment and scorn.
In the past, I would have been scared and obedient.
But at that moment, I had coldly retorted, "Juniper, if I had told them you insisted on going to the gym, do you think they would have let me take you?"
Juniper's face had instantly darkened.
She pointed a finger at me and said, "What’s your deal today? Are you trying to make me gain weight just because you see how well your mom and brother treat me? Is this your way of getting back at me?"
I didn't say a word. I swiftly grabbed my things and turned to head out.
Juniper was at her family’s home with her parents to look after her. Why should I be her free labor?
I was done putting up with it.
As I pushed the door open, Juniper, seething with anger, snatched an ashtray from the table and flung it at me.