14
Later, Jake, who was practicing driving, ran
into Amy, who had gotten separated from her
father.
They were both scared. He crashed into
something when the brake wasn’t working,
but he had not killed anyone.. To help Jake
cover up the crime, they adopted Amy and
gave her everything she wanted, to atone for
his mistake.
Slowly, they got used to Amy, that sensible,
well–behaved daughter. They didn’t know
when it had started, but they’d neglected their
own daughter.
く
Everyone was silent. Then I spoke softly.
“So… I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?”
“Ashley…”
Mom and Dad looked at me, as if they’d aged
ten years.
Jake didn’t dare to look up. His big body
swayed, then he knelt outside my door.
Even Ryan almost fell.
At first, we’d been childhood sweethearts,
telling each other everything. When did he
start siding with Amy?
Even my leg had been broken by him and
Jake.
I smiled bitterly.
They were too scared to face Jake’s role in
Wilson’s death! They’d used me as a
punching bag for their
guilt.
And to make up for how they felt about
Wilson’s real parents, they’d allowed her to
step on me, to bully me?
But they’d forgotten how excited they’d been
when I was born.
They’d said the family was missing a little
く
princess.
How much Jake had loved me.
How he’d held me and showed me off to his
friends, bragging about having such a cute,
adorable sister.
Until Amy officially came into my house, I’d
thought I’d done something wrong. I’d tried to
please everyone, to be obedient, more
obedient.
I’d suppressed my lively, proud personality,
becoming quiet and subdued.
But they were never satisfied.
L
Now I knew that it was their own guilt, the
knowledge that their son had killed someone,
the knowledge that I have returned after long
and had 30% of the company. How could
they feel at peace?
They had a guilty conscience, so they lived in
suspicion and discontent.
