Chapter 3
667words
My mother's face went parchment-white. "Maya Johnson, what are you implying?"
"What could Lily possibly have done to make you say she didn't deserve him? What did she do to make you say that?"
"Do you have any idea how long she worked on your wedding? Six months! All she wanted was to give you the perfect day!"
She grabbed a bouquet of flowers nearby, shoving the wilting blooms toward me. "Look! She gathered all this for you!"
Then her hand connected with my face again.
The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth, my whole face burning.
"Lily always adored you! She always said you were the smart one, that you had a real career, she wanted to be just like you, to be as successful!"
"She told me she dreamed of finding a husband who would look at her the way Nathan looks at you."
"But you! How did you see when you looked at her?"
Her bloodshot eyes burned with rage.
Suddenly, her gaze sharpened, a flicker of suspicion crossing her face.
"Maya... do you think this way about Lily... because I'm not your birth mother?"
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.
Nathan went pale. He dropped to his knees, gripping my arms, his voice urgent.
"Maya, is that true?"
"Because Mrs. Johnson is your stepmother... is that why you're being so cruel?"
I met his searching gaze head-on. The doubt in his eyes cut deep.
Pushing his hands away, I rubbed my throbbing scalp, a bitter smile on my lips.
"So what if it is?"
"Having second thoughts about loving me now?"
Nathan flinched as if struck. He said nothing.
Before he could form a response, my mother threw her head back and unleashed a guttural wail,
"Lily! My daughter!"
"What did we do to deserve this?"
"I brought my daughter to marry a widower, just wanting a stable life! I treated his daughter as my own!"
"Maya Johnson, I never asked you to see me as your real mother, but Lily was your sister! How could you do this to her!"
Watching her performance, I felt nothing but cold contempt..
I didn't kill Lily Johnson.
What was she trying to accomplish with this public shaming?
I opened my mouth to fire back, but a rock shot from the crowd, striking me hard.
I cried out, stumbling as warm blood streamed down my head.
The villagers, now a single angry entity, shouting for justice for my sister.
"Animal! Monster!"
Just then, my mother's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed in a dramatic fainted.
The villagers's fury intensified.
"Ungrateful writch! After everything Mrs. Johnson took such good care of you, and this is how you repay her?"
They picked up rocks and sticks, advancing on me.
The blows came hard and fast. I heard a sickening crack, pain cracking my bones.
I fought back, staggering, but was forced to my knees in the churned mud.
Someone fisted a hand in my hair, yanking my head back violently.
Blood trickled from my brow into my eye.
My vision blurred.
The angry chanting swelled around me.
"Beat this monster to death! She has no heart!"
"Poor Mrs. Johnson and Lily, cursed with this thing!"
"Why couldn't that idiot Charlie have gotten her instead of sweet Lily!"
The air was thick with the smell of dirt and iron.
I tried to push myself up, but a heavy boot caught me in the side, sending me back down.
Through a haze of pain, I saw Jake Wilson'ssnarling faceabove me, a thick wooden club raised high for a final blow.
Suddenly, Nathan burst through the ring of attackers, throwing his body over me,
"Maya!" he screamed, his voice raw. "For God's sake, just say it was Charlie!"
"Or they'll kill you right here!"
At that exact moment, a sharp whistle cut through the chaos. Police officerspushed their way into the clearing, leading a dazed and confused Charlie by the arms.
