This was not a performance anymore.
Then Paige did something I never expected.
She turned toward the guests.
“I wore this dress to hurt my sister,” she said.
A few people shifted uncomfortably.
My father covered his face.
Paige’s voice shook, but she kept going.
“I told myself she deserved it because everyone has always loved her more. But that wasn’t true. She was just easier to love because she didn’t make people work for it.”
She looked at me.
“And I made everyone work too hard.”
I felt tears slide down my cheeks.
Paige took one step back.
“I’m sorry, Clara.”
Two words.
So small.
So late.
So impossible.
I had imagined her apology for years. I thought it would feel like victory. I thought something inside me would stand up and cheer.
Instead, it felt like setting down a suitcase I had forgotten I was carrying.
