Deception in Silicon Heights

Chapter 23: The Sisters Clash

Later that evening, when Lily returned home, she could feel the tension in the air as soon as she walked through the door. Emma was already there, sitting at the kitchen table with her phone in hand, her expression a storm of anger and frustration. The moment Lily stepped into the room, she could feel Emma's gaze on her, heavy and full of resentment.

"What's your problem?" Lily asked cautiously, setting her backpack down by the door.

Emma scoffed, not even bothering to look up from her phone. "Nothing. Not that you'd care."

Lily frowned, sensing that this was about more than just a bad day. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Emma slammed her phone down on the table, her eyes blazing with anger as she finally looked at Lily. "You wouldn't understand," she snapped. "Your life is perfect now, isn't it? You get to live with Dad in the new house, and you don't have to deal with any of this crap."

Lily blinked in surprise. "My life is far from perfect, Emma. Just because I live with Dad doesn't mean everything's great."

Emma stood up from the table, her fists clenched at her sides. "Oh please," she spat. "At least people aren't talking about you behind your back at school, calling you names because of what Mom did. At least you're not the one everyone's laughing at."

Lily's stomach dropped. She hadn't realised how bad things had gotten for Emma at school, but instead of feeling sympathy, her anger flared. Emma had always been the favourite, the one who got everything she wanted, while Lily had been left to fend for herself. And now, Emma was acting like she was the only one who had it hard.

"I'm sorry people are saying things about you," Lily said carefully, her voice shaking, "but that's not my fault."

Emma's eyes narrowed, and she took a step closer, her voice rising. "No, but it's Dad's fault. He's the one who ruined everything. And you're just sitting there, acting like everything's fine while my life falls apart."

"That's not fair," Lily shot back, her own anger bubbling to the surface. "Dad didn't ask for any of this. And

Neither did I."

Emma let out a bitter laugh. "You don't get it, Lily. You'll never get it. You've always been the weird one, the one who didn't care about what people thought. Well, I do care. And now my life is ruined."

Lily's eyes flashed with anger. "You think my life hasn't been hard? You've had everything handed to you, Emma. All I've ever done is watch you get whatever you wanted from Mom and Dad while I was left behind."

"Maybe if you weren't so weird, people would actually like you!" Emma yelled, her face red with frustration.

Lily felt the sting of her words, but she refused to back down. "At least I'm not pretending to be someone I'm not," she shot back. "At least I'm not lying to everyone, including myself."

The room fell silent, the tension thick and suffocating. Emma stood there, breathing heavily, her fists still clenched. For a moment, it looked like she was going to say something else, but then she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Lily stood there, her heart pounding, the argument replaying in her mind. She had always known that she and Emma were different, but this was the first time she truly realised how deep the divide between them had become. And as much as she wanted to fix things, she wasn't sure if they ever could.