Chapter 2He Lies With a Smile, I Act Through Tears

The next morning, Joshua pushed my door open before I had even finished brushing my teeth. He threw a pile of fabric onto my bed. "Put this on."

I looked down. It was a faded, grey coat with frayed cuffs. "This is from my freshman year of high school."

"I know," Joshua said, checking his watch impatiently. "Today is Tabitha's day. If you dress up, the relatives will start comparing the two of you again. You failed your exams anyway, so there's no point in wearing anything nice. Just wear this and keep your head down."

Keep your head down. For thirteen years, those were the only words he had for me.

I didn't argue. I pulled the coat on, but as I zipped it up, the tight fabric cut painfully into my shoulders. I had grown nearly four inches since freshman year. The sleeves were laughably short, making me look like a pathetic clown. Joshua glanced at me and frowned, but he didn't say a word.

"Alright, let's go. Stefan is downstairs."

Stefan was sitting on the sofa, wearing a pastel pink linen shirt and a delicate silver chain around his neck. That chain was a birthday gift I had saved my allowance for an entire year to buy him. Sitting right next to him was Tabitha, looking sleek in her custom white suit. On her wrist was a gleaming Rolex Submariner.

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, my eyes locking onto the watch.

Stefan noticed my gaze and cleared his throat uncomfortably. "The watch..."

"Stefan got it for me as a congratulatory gift," Tabitha said, flaunting her wrist with a smirk. "Pretty, right? Fiona, you always did have great taste. This watch is absolutely perfect for me."

My taste. Just before our senior year, Stefan and I had walked past a boutique window, and I had stared at that exact watch. Stefan had laughed and said, Once you get into a top school, I'll save up and buy it for your graduation.

But the system had forced me to leave my practice exams blank. Stefan had been disgusted by my "laziness." In the end, the watch went to Tabitha.

"You bought that for her?" I asked, looking directly at Stefan.

Stefan stood up, walking over to me. "Fiona, don't look at me like that. Tabitha is the state's top AP scholar. She worked incredibly hard for this, she earned it."

"But you promised it to me."

"With the scores you got, how could I possibly justify giving it to you?" He spoke with absolute conviction. "Besides, Tabitha grew up as an orphan. She never had anything nice. You've had a privileged life, Fiona. It's just a watch. Do you really have to be this petty?"

Just a watch. A privileged life.

When Tabitha first came to our house at five years old, she had demanded my limited-edition Lego set. When I refused, she pushed me down the stairs. My head slammed into the coffee table, requiring six stitches. When I woke up in the hospital, Joshua was crying, begging me to forgive her. And then, the golden screen flashed in my eyes: [MISSION: GIVE THE LEGO SET TO TABITHA AND APOLOGIZE TO HER.]

When I fought back, the chip in my skull released a sharp electrical current, making me convulse in pain on the hospital bed. Joshua had stood by, watching me shiver with a cold, detached gaze, until I screamed that I would do it.

That was the day I learned what my "privileged life" actually meant. It meant having no basic human rights.

"You're right," I said, my voice dead calm. "It's just a watch. It suits her perfectly."

Stefan blinked, clearly surprised by my lack of an argument. Usually, I would plead or cry, only to be branded as a spoiled brat. "I'm glad you see it that way," he sighed, his posture relaxing. "Today is a happy day. Don't ruin it for everyone."

The doorbell rang. A courier stood outside. "Delivery for Fiona. International express, needs a signature."

I walked over and signed the screen, taking a thin cardboard document envelope.

Tabitha sauntered over, peering at the label. "International express? Fiona, don't tell me you applied to some sketchy, unaccredited offshore college because you couldn't get in anywhere else?" She snickered. "Joshua, don't waste your money funding her. Those online degrees are worthless anyway. She'd be better off working in our family warehouse."

Joshua didn't even glance at the envelope. "Fiona, stop wasting your time with nonsense. If you failed, you failed. Our family can afford to feed you, but don't embarrass me today. Put that trash in your room and get in the car."

I gripped the cardboard envelope, my knuckles turning white. "Alright."

I walked back to my room, slid the envelope into the deepest pocket of my suitcase, and zipped it shut. I didn't tell them it was my official scholarship confirmation.

The tight grey coat dug painfully into my shoulders. But it didn't matter. It was the last time I would ever wear it.

The ride to the restaurant was lively. Joshua sat in the passenger seat while Tabitha and Stefan sat in the back, laughing together. I was squeezed against the far right door, forgotten.

"Stefan, the local newspapers are going to be there today. Do you have your speech ready?" Tabitha handed him a bottle of water, her voice dripping with sweetness.

"Just a few words," Stefan replied, opening the bottle for her. "We really need to thank Joshua for everything he did to help you get here."

Joshua chuckled from the front. "Tabitha is a good kid. Not like some people who only know how to pout after eighteen years of being taken care of."

Everyone in the car knew exactly who he was talking about. I kept my face pressed against the window, watching the city lights blur in the rain.

Stefan nudged my arm. "Fiona, why are you so quiet?"

"What is there to say?"

"Congratulate your sister. She did amazing. It brings honor to your family."

I turned to look at his handsome face. "Stefan."

"Yeah?"

"When did you find out about the chip in my head?" I whispered, my voice barely audible over the hum of the engine.

Stefan's body went completely rigid. The plastic water bottle in his hand crinkled sharply. "What... what are you talking about? What chip?"

His eyes darted away, refusing to meet mine. Watching his reaction, the very last shred of hope I had for him withered away.

"Joshua used to adjust the settings on his computer in the study. You saw him do it, didn't you?" I asked quietly. "In fact, those times the 'system' ordered me to stay away from you... it was because you complained to Joshua that I was being annoying, and he changed the program."

Stefan's face drained of color. He bit his lip, staring at his knees for a long time. In the front, Joshua and Tabitha were still arguing over the dinner menu, completely oblivious to us.

"Yes, I knew," Stefan whispered. "But I didn't mean any harm." He looked at me, a defensive, almost victimized expression in his eyes. "Fiona, you have to understand Joshua. You were always so competitive, always trying to overshadow Tabitha. But she was an orphan, she had nothing but her pride. Joshua only used the system to help you learn some humility."

I stared at him, unable to comprehend his cruelty. "To teach me humility? So it was perfectly fine to shock my brain with electric currents? It was fine to force me to play the idiot while the entire school mocked me?"

"It was just a mild current! Joshua swore it wouldn't cause any permanent brain damage!" Stefan hissed desperately. "And honestly, even without the chip, do you really think you could have beaten Tabitha? She's smarter than you, Fiona. The chip actually gave you an excuse. It let you blame your failures on 'system missions' instead of your own lack of talent. It saved your pride."

It saved my pride.

I looked at the face of the boy I had loved for ten years, feeling a sudden, violent wave of nausea. He knew about the physical agony. He just believed Tabitha's fragile ego was worth more than my entire life.