Chapter 8 - The Sister’s Confession
We sat together on the velvet sofa, sipping chamomile tea while Mia slept peacefully upstairs. Chloe kept her hands wrapped tightly around her mug, staring into the amber liquid as if trying to summon the courage to speak.
"Things have been a complete disaster since you left, Elena," Chloe finally said, her voice cracking slightly. "Mother has been unbearable. She acts like the sun rises and sets on her wounded pride. She keeps telling everyone at her country club brunches that you 'ran away in a fit of adolescent rebellion' because you couldn't handle real life."
"Let her tell whatever stories help her sleep at night," I replied calmly, setting my teacup down on the table. "I don't care what she says anymore, Chloe."
"I know, I know," Chloe sighed, looking up at me with profound admiration. "And that's why I'm here. Because watching you walk out of that dining room on Christmas Eve... it changed something in me. You stood up to her. You protected Mia. And you showed me that there is an exit door. I quit my job at Julian’s firm last week."
I blinked in shock, sitting up straight. "You what? Chloe, are you serious?"
"Dead serious," she said, a fierce, determined spark lighting up her eyes. "I’m moving out of the family estate next month. I’ve accepted an assistant curator position at a modern art gallery in downtown Chicago. It pays a fraction of what Julian was paying me, but it’s mine. I earned it."
A wave of overwhelming pride washed over me. I reached across the table and squeezed her hands tightly. "I am so, so proud of you, Chloe. That is the best news I’ve heard all year."
"And look," Chloe said, turning to the cardboard box she had brought with her. She popped open the flaps and pulled out several wrapped packages. "Mother’s decorators packed up the remnants of the holiday storage a few weeks ago and threw out anything they deemed 'clutter.' I rescued these from the recycling bin in the back."
May you like
She placed the items gently on the coffee table: the small cloth crinkle-book, the worn plush bunny, and the two midnight-blue boxes from Mia’s very first Christmas.
"They belonged to Mia," Chloe said softly. "I thought... I thought they belonged here, where they were actually given with love."
