In The Forgotten Gilmore, Alessia Gilmore grapples with adolescence in Stars Hollow, a town where gossip flows as freely as coffee at Luke's Diner. Overshadowed by her mother Lorelai's bond with twin sister Rory, Alessia finds solace in her irrevere...
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"Are you serious, Alessia?" Lorelai's voice was sharp, cutting through the comfortable silence of the kitchen like a knife. She stood there, her hands on her hips, eyes blazing with anger and disbelief. "You're really going to Harvard? After everything with Rory?"
Alessia looked up from her cup of coffee, taken aback by the intensity in her mother's tone. She had expected some pushback, sure, but this was more than she had anticipated. "Mom, this is about my future," she started, trying to keep her voice steady and calm. "I got into Harvard, and it's the best choice for me."
"Best choice for you? Really?" Lorelai's voice was rising, incredulous. "Do you even hear yourself? Rory didn't get into Harvard. She was devastated, Alessia. And now you're just going to stroll in there like it's no big deal? Like it's something that should've just happened to you?"
Alessia flinched at her mother's words. "Mom, this isn't about Rory," she said, forcing herself to meet Lorelai's gaze. "I didn't choose Harvard to rub it in her face. I chose it because it's where I want to be. It's what's right for me."
Lorelai scoffed, shaking her head. "Oh, it's right for you? Is it? You think it should be you going to Harvard instead of Rory? Is that what this is about? You think you're more deserving?"
Alessia felt her chest tighten, her mother's words landing like a punch to the gut. "That's not what I'm saying at all," she replied, her voice trembling with frustration. "I'm saying that I worked hard, too. I got in on my own merits. Just because Rory didn't get in doesn't mean I should give up my spot."
"But it was supposed to be Rory!" Lorelai shot back, her voice cracking with emotion. "Rory was the one who wanted Harvard. She's the one who should've gotten in. You know how much it meant to her!"
Alessia's eyes widened at the accusation, the implication stinging more than she wanted to admit. "So what are you saying, Mom? That I don't deserve it? That I should feel guilty for getting into a school I worked my ass off to get into?"
Lorelai didn't respond right away, her silence speaking volumes. Finally, she sighed, looking away as if unable to face her daughter. "I just don't understand why it had to be you," she muttered, her voice low and bitter. "Why not Yale? Or Princeton? Why the one place Rory wanted more than anything?"
"Because it's not about Rory!" Alessia snapped, her frustration boiling over. "I know Rory's your favorite. I know she's the golden child who can do no wrong. But this isn't about her. This is about me making a choice for my future. And I'm sick of feeling like I have to apologize for doing well just because it's not what you wanted."
Lorelai flinched at Alessia's words, a flash of guilt crossing her face before it was replaced with a steely resolve. "This isn't about favorites, Alessia. This is about being considerate. About not flaunting your success in Rory's face when she's already dealing with enough disappointment."
Alessia felt tears prickling at the corners of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "I'm not flaunting anything," she said, her voice tight with emotion. "I'm just trying to live my life. I'm sorry if that's inconvenient for you."
The silence that followed was thick with tension, both women staring each other down, unwilling to back down. Finally, Lorelai sighed, rubbing her temples as if trying to ward off a headache. "You know what? Fine. Go to Harvard. But don't expect me to be happy about it."
"Don't worry," Alessia said bitterly. "I stopped expecting that a long time ago."
With that, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the kitchen, her heart pounding with a mix of anger and hurt. She knew she had made the right decision for herself, but it still stung to know that her own mother couldn't see that.
As she walked out of the house and into the cool morning air, Alessia felt a wave of determination wash over her. She wasn't going to let anyone make her feel guilty for choosing Harvard. Not her mother, not Rory, no one. This was her life, her future, and she was going to make the most of it.
But as she walked away from the house, a small voice in the back of her mind whispered that maybe, just maybe, things would never be the same again. And that was something she wasn't sure she was ready to face.
