“Stop crying, Mom,” I said quietly.
My voice sounded strangely calm.
Almost emotionless.
Like a surgeon preparing to make the one cut that could save a life.
Then I looked straight at Chloe.
She stood there with triumph still lingering on her face.
She thought she had finally broken me.
She thought I was about to run upstairs in tears.
“A pool party is fine, Chloe,” I said.
My voice carried across the heavy silence.
“You want me to be normal?
You want me to stop hiding?”
She narrowed her eyes.
Suspicious.
But confident.
“Yes.”
I nodded once.
Feeling the weight of my decision settle permanently inside my chest.
“Then I will.”
I barely whispered the words.
“I’ll wear the bikini.”…
Chapter 1: The Weight of the Shroud
“If you’re too much of a coward to wear it, then don’t bother coming to our own birthday party,” my twin sister sneered, holding up the neon-pink string bikini, entirely unaware that the horrific scars she was trying to expose were the exact reason she was still alive to mock me.
Our shared bathroom felt less like a sanctuary and more like a heavily contested demilitarized zone. The expansive marble counter was a chaotic battlefield of expensive cosmetics, shimmering highlighters, and curling irons, belonging entirely to Chloe. She stood before the brilliantly lit vanity mirror, admiring her reflection. Her skin was a flawless, golden tapestry, radiating the kind of effortless, sun-kissed perfection that made people stop and stare.
