She Said It Was Therapy, They Signed A Pardon Chapter 02
Tears spilled down my sister’s face.
Mom pulled her into a hug. “I knew it! You’re sisters. Nothing can keep you apart.”
Dad finally smiled. “That’s more like it. From now on, we start over as a family.”
Family.
I looked down at the fading bruises on my wrist and said nothing.
Mom was already opening the closet, happy again.
“By the way, today is your sister’s birthday. We weren’t sure how you’d be feeling, so we didn’t mention it.”
She took out a dress and handed it to me, her voice light, as if nothing had happened.
“Now everything’s fine. Go get ready. We’re going out tonight to celebrate your sister’s birthday.”
I froze.
The color drained from my face.
Three years ago, it had been a birthday party that destroyed my life.
Back then, my parents had only recently found me. After years apart, I was finally home. I’d gotten into my dream university, earned a first-class scholarship, and had a boyfriend everyone admired.
I thought my life was just beginning.
But on my sister’s birthday night, she secretly invited the man she’d been talking to online for months to the hotel—using my photos the whole time.
When he saw me, he assumed I was the person he’d been chatting with.
He dragged me into the room.
By the time someone found me, everything was a mess, and so was I.
My sister stood in the crowd, pale, but she never told the truth.
So everyone assumed I’d cheated on my boyfriend with a stranger.
My boyfriend broke up with me in public and left the country soon after.
Rumors spread across campus. The people who once envied me pointed and whispered. Even my teachers looked at me differently.
I couldn’t go back to school. Eventually, I withdrew.
It wasn’t until things got completely out of control that my sister finally broke down and knelt before me.
“Sis, I’m sorry. I felt so insecure that I used your photos. I just wanted to meet the person I loved on the happiest day of my life, so I invited him to my birthday party. I really didn’t know he was a stalker. I didn’t know he’d mistake you for me…”
She cried and apologized over and over.
But I just looked at her.
One “I didn’t know” had destroyed my college, my relationship, my reputation, and the life I was supposed to have.
Her apology couldn’t bring any of it back.
That night, I broke down completely.
Mom got up in the middle of the night and found me sitting in the kitchen holding a knife. She burst into tears.
The next day, Dad kicked my sister out.
They removed her from the family records right in front of me.
Mom held me and promised, “Ivy, she has nothing to do with this family anymore.”
Dad said, “You’ll never see her again. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
But now.
Three years later.
Mom was standing in front of me, holding a dress, telling me to go to her birthday party.
Seeing me shake, Mom’s smile froze. She reached out to steady me.
“Maybe we should just skip it today…”
“No.”
My sister cut her off.
She looked at Mom and Dad seriously. “Ivy is scared because the memory from three years ago hasn’t truly faded. The more she avoids it, the worse it gets. She has to return to a similar environment. It’s part of exposure therapy.”
Dad was silent for a moment, then nodded. “Right. We’ve come this far. We can’t stop now.”
Before I could say a word, they grabbed me on both sides and led me into the banquet hall.
The door opened to cheers.
“The birthday girl is finally here!”
“Happy birthday!”
“Hurry, the guest of honor is here!”
Everyone clapped and shouted my sister’s name.
But when I saw the faces inside, my blood ran cold.
This wasn’t the small family gathering my parents had described.
Nearly everyone in the room had gone to school with me three years ago.
People from my old class.
People who had watched me being led out of that room.
My breath caught. I stepped back.
Then the crowd parted, and a man walked out from the back.
I froze.
Noah—my first love.
The man who left without looking back three years ago, when everyone believed I’d betrayed him.
He’d changed in three years. More mature. Familiar enough to recognize instantly, but a stranger.
Before I could react, my sister lifted her skirt and fluttered into his arms like a butterfly.
Noah wrapped his arm around her waist.
The room erupted.
”Three years together, and he finally brings his girlfriend to meet us!”
“After today, we should call her Mrs. Noah!”
“Noah’s had the ring ready. Everyone knows he’s proposing tonight!”
My mind went blank. An impossible thought surfaced, and the pain made me shake.
My sister nestled in Noah’s arms. She smiled shyly, then her eyes filled.
“Today is the happiest day of my life. I want someone very important to witness it.”
She turned to look at me.
My face went white.
“No…”
But she was already walking toward me. She grabbed my wrist.
I tried to pull back, but my legs gave out. I ended up curled on the floor.
She held on tight.
“Don’t be afraid, sis. They’re all people you used to know.”
She dragged me up and pulled me step by step into the crowd.
“It’s time to face them again.”
The lively room went silent.
Everyone finally got a clear look at my face.
Then their smiles froze.
