A night meant for celebration turned into the moment everything cracked.
Helen had planned an elaborate dinner party with several family friends. The dining room table gleamed with her best china and crystal glasses. She’d spent all day cooking and arranging flowers, playing the perfect hostess role she loved so much.
I helped serve the appetizers and tried to stay invisible. The guests were laughing and chatting, and were so happy to be a part of Dad’s big day. Their joy only made me feel more out of place.
I sat quietly at my usual spot, nervously fiddling with my fork while the conversation flowed around me.
That’s when I made my mistake.
And Helen pounced the moment she saw it.
Without thinking, I reached up and touched my locket through my sweater. It was just a habit, something I did when I felt anxious or missed Mom. The cool metal beneath my fingers always calmed me.
Helen’s sharp eyes locked onto the movement immediately.
She leaned toward me with that fake sweet smile she always wore in front of company, but her words came out like poison through clenched teeth.
“That ugly necklace again, Lily. It looks so cheap. Take it off right now before people start noticing.
Karen, who was sitting right beside Helen, joined in with her own venomous grin. “Yes, take that trashy thing off immediately. Everyone will laugh at you for wearing some shabby trinket from a dead woman.
Stop embarrassing us with your little pity show.”
My throat went tight, but something deep inside me finally snapped. I sat up straighter and looked directly into Helen’s eyes. The fear that had kept me silent for years crumbled in that instant.
“This is my mother’s locket,” I said loudly enough for the entire table to hear.
“And I will never take it off.”Continue reading…
