Chapter 6
The gift for Sherry was a dress she had admired dozens of times from outside a window. But she was too afraid to go inside the store for a closer look.
Sherry just smiled and explained, “This store must be really expensive. I can’t afford it, so there’s no point in going in to take a look.”
So, the night before I was supposed to give her the gift, I carefully cut off the price tag. But when she saw it, her reaction changed dramatically.
“Betty.”
Sherry slowly shifted her gaze from the dress to my face, her expression blank. “Did I offend you somehow?”
Andre came closer, asking, “What happened?”
I was even more confused.
Sherry suddenly lost control of her emotions. She threw the gift bag at my face and screamed, “Get lost! Does having money mean you can humiliate me like this?”
She turned and buried her face into Andre’s neck, sobbing uncontrollably. “Andre…”
Andre gently patted her shoulder, looking coldly at me, as if demanding an explanation.
The corner of my face was scratched by the edge of the gift bag, leaving a slight sting.
I took a deep breath. “Can you please explain what’s going on?”
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Sherry was clearly upset by my words. She released Andre and glared at me with swollen eyes, demanding, “Betty, you know what this dress means when you gave it to me. You know very well that there’s no way I can wear this out.”
Feeling embarrassed, she bit down hard on her lip. “Do you want me to wear a dress that costs over 5000 dollars with shoes that are worth only 50 bucks?”
Her eyes brimmed with tears, and her voice started to crack. “You did this on purpose. You’re jealous that my brother likes me more, so you wanted to humiliate me, making sure I realize I’ll never match up to you.”
Sherry’s last words were practically a scream. She pushed me before running back into Andre’s arms.
I was so stunned by her absurd accusations that I couldn’t speak for a long while. Just as I was about to explain, Andre held Sherry tightly.
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He lifted his gaze and calmly said to me, “Stop saying anything that could upset her further. You can leave now.”
Sherry practically pushed me out the door.
The door slammed shut behind me with a loud thud, sending a cloud of dust flying into the air.
stood at the bottom of Andre’s building. It was a windless, gloomy day, the kind that made it hard to breathe. I felt like I was sinking, and the world was spinning around me. I had no choice but to find a nearby bench to sit down.
Maybe it was because of the bushes that Sherry and Andre, who had just come down, didn’t see me off to the side.
Andre grabbed Sherry’s arm, clearly struggling to keep his composure. “What are you doing? Go home with me.”
“Let me go!” Sherry fought to free herself. “You really think I misunderstood Betty? So you’re saying I’m maliciously accusing your
Chapter 6
girlfriend, huh? Oh, falling in love is great. I’ve been living with you for ten years, but how can I ever compare to your girlfriend, right?”
Sherry was a mess, her hair disheveled and tears streaming down her face. She fought to break free, ignoring her own disheveled appearance. “Andre, let me go! I don’t want you as my brother anymore. I’m going to find that guy in charge of sports activities. He actually likes me, and he’s so much better to me than you ever were.”
The veins on Andre’s forehead were visibly throbbing. He seemed to have reached the boiling point and yanked Sherry back toward him. “What gives you the right to blame me for dating anyone?”
His gaze was filled with a brewing storm of anger and frustration “Don’t forget, it was you who said Betty was good and wanted her to be your sister-in-law.”
“I was just saying that out of anger. I don’t want you to stay with other girls. You’re mine. You’re only mine.”
With that, Sherry stood on her tiptoes and kissed Andre. Suddenly, their quarrel fell silent.
I was jolted back to reality by the sound of a janitor nearby. “Hey, girl, lift your feet,” he called, nudging my shoe with a broom.
“Sorry.”
Just then, a low rumble of thunder echoed in the sky, signaling that rain was likely on the way.
