Chapter 5: The Mother Who Chose Sides
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
The kitchen suddenly felt smaller.
Like the walls were closing in around us.
Dad looked at Claire.
“Mia said she didn’t do this alone.””
Claire looked uncomfortable.
“David, this isn’t the time.””
“No.””
His voice was calm.
“That makes it exactly the time.””
I looked at my stepmother.
For years, I had tried to build a relationship with her.
I brought her flowers on Mother’s Day.
I helped around the house.
I tried to make things easier.
But whenever Mia was involved, Claire always found a reason to defend her.
Even when she was wrong.
Especially when she was wrong.
“Mia,” Dad said, “tell me what you mean.””
Mia looked at her mother.
Claire shook her head slightly.
A warning.
But Mia had already reached her breaking point.
“She helped me.””
The words hit the room like a bomb.
I stared at Claire.
“You knew?””
Claire looked down.
“Aaliyah…”
“You knew?””
My voice was quieter this time.
And somehow, that made it worse.
Claire sighed.
“I didn’t think it would become this serious.””
Dad stepped back.
“What does that mean?””
Claire rubbed her forehead.
“Mia was struggling.””
I almost laughed.
“Struggling?””
Claire looked at me.
“She felt invisible.””
I looked at the ruined dress.
“And this was supposed to fix that?””
Claire didn’t answer.
Dad’s expression changed.
“How long have you known?””
Claire stayed silent.
“Mia.””
Dad looked at his daughter.
“Tell me everything.””
Mia wiped her eyes.
“She showed Mom the design months ago.””
I frowned.
“What?””
Mia looked at me.
“Mom said it was beautiful.””
Claire closed her eyes.
“Mia…”
“No,” Mia said.
“You said I deserved something special too.””
The room went quiet.
I looked at Claire.
“You encouraged this?””
Claire looked ashamed.
“I never told her to destroy anything.””
“But you helped her steal it.””
My words were quiet.
But they hurt.
Claire looked away.
“I thought she just wanted recognition.””
Dad shook his head.
“Recognition for someone else’s work?””
Nobody answered.
My graduation day was supposed to be about celebrating.
Instead, I was standing in my kitchen discovering that two people had been protecting a lie.
Dad walked toward the table and picked up the damaged dress.
His fingers brushed over the torn lace.
Then he looked at Mia.
“You know what bothers me the most?””
Mia said nothing.
“It’s not that you wanted attention.””
He looked at Claire.
“It’s not even that you helped her.””
Then he looked back at Mia.
“It’s that neither of you cared what this would do to Aaliyah.””
I looked down.
Because that was the part that hurt.
Not the dress.
Not the showcase.
The fact that nobody had thought about me.
My phone suddenly buzzed.
Another message.
This time from the school.
I opened it.
My eyes widened.
“What?””
Dad noticed immediately.
“What is it?””
I turned the screen around.
The message was from the graduation committee.
*“We need to speak with you immediately regarding the design showcase complaint.””*
My heart dropped.
A complaint.
Someone had reported me.
Mrs. Harper took the phone carefully.
Then she frowned.
“This doesn’t make sense.””
“What?””
She looked at Dad.
“The complaint was filed this morning.””
Dad’s eyes narrowed.
“By who?””
Mrs. Harper looked at the message again.
Then slowly said:
“The complaint was submitted under Aaliyah’s name.””
I felt cold.
Someone had used my identity.
Someone wanted everyone to think I was the one who cheated.
May you like
And suddenly, the destroyed dress wasn’t the biggest problem anymore.
Because now someone was trying to destroy my reputation.
