Chapter 1

As the clock struck midnight, marking my 26th birthday, my heart fluttered with anticipation as I mustered the courage to ask the boy I had secretly admired if he would grace my birthday celebration with his presence.

In the next instant, my world tilted on its axis. My cousin, Charline Smith, walked into the room while holding the boy I had secretly admired. Her voice was dripping with mockery as she addressed me in front of our gathered relatives, "Madeline, why do you persist in texting my boyfriend?"

Ever since she invaded my home, stealing my cherished dreams and desires had become her favored pastime.

I murmured, "Was this the final act, my dear cousin? Were you prepared to receive my ultimate offering?"

Charline's parents were entangled in a tumultuous dance of love and hate and finally severed their ties when Charline was but a teenager.

Charline's father, a gambler with an insatiable appetite, squandered their family's fortune, leaving Charline to subsist on a meager allowance of less than twenty dollars a week.

Charline's mother remarried swiftly, birthing a son and immersing herself in her fresh-found family, leaving Charline adrift.

During my freshman year of high school, my mother was so kind that she invited Charline into our home.

"Madeline, you and Charline were always close. Surely, you'll be delighted to have her by your side!"

Charline, with a warmth that seemed genuine, clasped my arm and cooed, "Sweet Madeline, lead me to our room, won't you?"

I numbly hoisted her luggage and shuffled towards the bedroom.

With her vivacious spirit and honeyed tongue, Charline cast a spell on our elders.

My own mother lamented my aloofness and scholarly obsession, often drawing unfavorable comparisons between Charline and me.

My father, drawn to Charline's assertiveness and bravery, contrasted her with my own timidity, a trait that left me quaking after even the most innocuous of nighttime walks.

Even my own brother would hurl his textbooks at me in frustration during our tutoring sessions.

He gleefully played games with Charline and exclaimed, "I don't acknowledge Madeline as my sister; Charline, you're my only sister that I recognize!"

My timid affections, so carefully guarded, were destined to be paraded before the world by Charline.

She had, time and again, strolled past me, her arm linked with those I held dear or harbored secret longings for.

When I was alone, she always pretended to be sorry.

"I'm sorry, Madeline. He was the one who pursued me relentlessly."

It dawned on me that from that fateful day, my home had ceased to be my own.

Since the age of sixteen, Charline had cast her shadow over my every step.

Today was my 26th birthday.

But I harbored no illusions of receiving any surprises from my family.

The birthday gathering was a mere pretext for my parents to convene our relatives for a round of playing cards and a communal feast.

I encountered a charming male colleague at work a while ago, a match orchestrated by a mutual friend.

I wanted to get to know him better, so I sent him a message, asking if he wanted to come to my birthday party.

I put away my phone, only to witness Charline, arm in arm with that male colleague, walk into the house.

"Happy birthday, Madeline!"

She drew nearer and waved her phone before me. "But Madeline, why do you persist in texting my boyfriend?"

At that moment, the room buzzed with the intrigue of our kin.

My parents were even peering from the kitchen. Their gazes were accusatory.

Yet, I was no longer the naive sixteen-year-old girl who had wept in the bathroom because Charline circulated my love letter in the class.

I calmly purged my chat history with this male colleague.

"Is that so? A colleague had once tried to play matchmaker; I was hesitant.

"If you fancies him, then it's settled."

Charline froze and loosed her grip on the man's arm.

"I was merely kidding, yet you take it to heart and confront me with such vehemence."

At her words, my parents retreated to the kitchen for cooking.