Deception in Silicon Heights

Chapter 24: The Breaking Point

The house was eerily quiet after Emma stormed out, the echo of the slamming door still ringing in Lily's ears. She stood frozen for a moment, trying to calm the pounding in her chest. The argument had left her shaken, and the weight of everything—the divorce, the tension at school, the growing distance between her and Emma—was becoming unbearable. But the worst part was knowing that Emma, despite everything, was still choosing to take their mother's side.

Lily took a deep breath and marched upstairs, determined to confront her sister once and for all. She was tired of pretending that everything was okay, tired of being pushed aside while Emma clung to their mother's lies. She found Emma in her room, sitting on the bed with her back turned, staring blankly at her phone.

"Why are you taking her side?" Lily demanded, her voice trembling with anger.

Emma didn't turn around. "Go away, Lily. I'm not in the mood."

"No, I'm not going away," Lily snapped, stepping further into the room. "I want to know why you're defending Mom. You know what she did. You know she cheated on Dad, and you're still acting like he's the one who ruined everything."

Emma's shoulders tensed, but she didn't respond. The silence only fueled Lily's frustration.

"Why are you pretending like this is okay?" Lily continued, her voice rising. "Why are you hiding the fact that Mom's the one who messed up? She's the one who lied, who cheated, and you're still sticking up for her like she's some kind of victim!"

Emma finally turned to face her, her eyes blazing with anger. "You don't get it, Lily! You don't understand what it's like!"

"What don't I get?" Lily demanded, her hands shaking. "You think this is easy for me? You think I don't know what it's like to have everything fall apart? Mom lied to all of us! She betrayed Dad! And you—" Her voice cracked. "You're just letting her get away with it. Why, Emma? Why are you pretending she's not the one who's wrong?"

Emma stood up, her fists clenched at her sides. "Because she's my mom, okay?" she shouted, her voice raw. "She's the only one I have left!"

Lily stared at her, stunned. "What are you talking about? You have Dad, and you have me."

"No, I don't," Emma shot back, her eyes filling with tears. "You don't get it, Lily. You never have. Mom's the only one who understands me. She's the one who's always been there for me. Dad—he doesn't care about me the way he cares about you. And you—you've always been the weird one, the outsider. You don't get what it's like to be in the middle of this, to have everyone talking about your family like we're a joke."

Lily felt a knot tighten in her chest. "I do get it, Emma," she said quietly. "I know what people are saying about us. But you're wrong about Dad. He loves you. He's trying to protect us, but you're too busy pretending that Mom didn't do anything wrong to see it."

Emma wiped her eyes angrily. "You don't know anything. You don't know how hard it's been for me."

Lily's anger flared again. "I don't know? You've had everything handed to you, Emma! Mom always gave you whatever you wanted, no matter what. And now you're just going along with her, like none of this matters. But it does matter. She lied to all of us! She broke our family apart, and you're still acting like she's the one who deserves sympathy!"

Emma shook her head, her expression hardened. "Maybe she made a mistake, but she's still my mom. I'm not going to hate her because of one stupid thing."

"One stupid thing?" Lily's voice was incredulous. "She cheated on Dad! That's not just some little mistake, Emma. She lied to us for months. And now, because of her, we don't even have a family anymore. And you're standing there acting like that's okay?"

"It's not about whether it's okay," Emma said, her voice trembling again. "It's about the fact that she's still my mom. I can't just turn my back on her."

Lily stared at her sister, the realisation sinking in. Emma was scared—scared of losing their mother, scared of being left behind. But instead of facing the truth, she was clinging to the only version of their family that made sense to her, no matter how broken it was.

"You don't have to turn your back on her," Lily said softly, her voice losing its edge. "But you can't keep pretending like what she did doesn't matter. It does, Emma. And you can't keep blaming Dad for something that wasn't his fault."

Emma didn't respond. She stood there, her face a mask of conflict, her emotions warring beneath the surface. For a moment, Lily thought she might say something—maybe apologise, maybe admit that she was struggling too—but instead, Emma turned away, her back once again facing Lily.

"Just go, Lily," Emma said, her voice hollow. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Lily stood there for a long moment, her heart heavy. She wanted to reach out, to fix things between them, but the distance between them felt too vast. With a sigh, she turned and walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind her.

As she walked down the hallway, Lily felt the weight of the argument settle over her like a thick cloud. The house, once filled with the warmth of family, now felt cold and unfamiliar. Emma's refusal to face the truth was driving a wedge between them, and no matter how much Lily wanted to fix it, she wasn't sure she could.

She only hoped that one day, Emma would see things clearly—before it was too late.