A Surprise Engagement Party

Emily's POV

“Ah! Help! It hurts!” Brenda screams as she falls down the stairs.The crowd in the lobby came from all directions as she cried out in agony for help.

I freeze at the top of the stairs on the second floor, not understanding why she had fallen. Today is my adopted sister Brenda's birthday party, and many guests comes to celebrate with her.

“Brenda!” Mum shouts from behind me. Before I can turn around, she pushes me out of her way.

I fall and twist my ankle as she rushes towards Brenda to help her to her feet. Then she turns around and fixes a death stare on me.

“Have you lost your mind?! What are you doing being violent towards your sick sister?! ”

Mum scolds me with contempt while Brenda stands beside her with an apologetic look on her face and I know she is not sorry about anything.

“Are you trying to kill her so you can take her place?!” My mom doesn't trust me at all. That's where I am in this family.

“I didn't push her, mom please listen to me.”I begs.

“That's enough” a male voice rings out at that moment. It's none other than my boyfriend, fiancé-to-be, Oliver.

“Oliv...” I am about to ask him for help, but when he jerks his head up, I only see him looking at me coldly “Look what you did!”

“No, it really wasn't me...”

“If it wasn't you, did Brenda jump down there herself? Haven't you bullied Brenda openly and secretly enough since you came back home?”

I suddenly froze in the face of my boyfriend's desperation and couldn't utter a word.

Brenda is such a good actress. I didn’t even know when tears formed in her eyes, but I’m more heartbroken at what they just did to me. My mom pushed her biological daughter out of the way to run to her adopted daughter’s aid and drew a conclusion without asking questions. And my fiancé Oliver, on the other hand, is holding up Brenda in his arms and heading for the door.

Before long, I am the only one left in the room. No one cares about me.

I go back to my room and lay helplessly on my bed. Some past memories suddenly comes flooding back.

“Emily, I’m going to marry you when we grow up,” Oliver’d said, making my cheeks turn crimson.

It was then that I believed that I would marry Oliver and be his wife when I grows up.

But everything had changed thirteen

years ago when I was kidnapped on my way to school.

My memories of the incident were vague and scattered, like those of a distant nightmare I had somehow escaped. I never learned who abducted me, but I lived freely for ten years in a faraway land. Eventually, I returned to my family, regaining my true identity. I’d been back with them for three years.

One would think my presence would have brought them joy. Yet, it turned out otherwise. After a good deal of searching, they’d thought me dead. So Brenda, the daughter of Dad’s late bodyguard, had replaced me in their hearts.

They weren’t the only ones that found our relationship challenging. I wasn't able to adapt to the family either. After years of wandering in an unnurtured environment, I had grown up feral and wild, unlike Brenda. She had learned from the best, receiving an outstanding education, making her the preferred daughter, even over their own blood. And she also suffers from kidney disease, so the tenderness makes her seem even more in need of care from others.

Just then, Brenda returns. She entered my room with a bright smile.

“Looks like you weren't hurt?” I asked.

She smirks, “Yeah, Oliver checked me out and confirmed that I was only slightly bruised. He really cares about me.”

Then, she passes me an invitation to Oliver’s party for tonight.

“What’s this?”

“Olivier asked me to let you know that you have to come to the party tonight, he said there's a surprise.” she added.

I had wondered the reason my adopted sister would be inviting me to my own boyfriend’s party until she hint it was a surprise party and since then, I have been anxious.

However, I don't actually have plans to attend anything tonight because I have an interview tomorrow morning. I'm hoping to get a job through this interview so I can expedite getting out of this freaking home.

Oliver and I have been dating for three years and although he has been closed off most of the time, I give him a plus thanks to his ability to keep a good number of our dates, and this surprise might be an engagement party. I must to be there.

“Okay. I will be prepared.” I nodded. 

I pick out the most expensive outfit I own in my closet; it is The Andamane Providence detailed shoulder midi dress in brown, Oliver’s favourite colour of me. It is only right that I wear it.

Next, I sit in front of my dresser to do a quick makeup before releasing my black waist-length wavy hair from the net. One glance at the mirror and I know I’m ready for this evening.

It’s 7 PM by the time I arrive at the DELUXE event centre. I had earlier checked on Brenda for the party but was told that she left the house two hours ago. It’s strange she isn’t coming to my party after passing the invite to me.

I take a deep breath in, release it two seconds later and give myself a pep talk before venturing into the building.

I show my invitation card and go through the security outside the hall before I’m allowed in.

I am surprised to see a bunch of people whom I do not recognize, in fancy clothes and expensive accessories and immediately, something feels off to me.

My priority is finding Oliver in this sea of people, so I stop a passing waiter and grab a glass of champagne from his tray.

“Excuse me, have you seen Oliver?”

As soon as I posed that question, the waiter looked past my shoulder and pointed to the distance. Immediately, I follow his outstretched arm to the stage and what my eyes see, plant my feet on the floor.

My eyes blink as my jaw drops in shock. Oliver is all smiles with Brenda’s hand hooked around his left arm. My adopted sister and my boyfriend are whispering happily to each other while I stand in the crowd watching them with a mix of confusion and shock.