Amara fixed her gaze on Elowen, her eyes zing with fury.


    Suddenly, Amara lunged forward and, right in front of Larry, pped Elowen hard across the face. "Shut up!" she shouted.


    She had barely held herself back when Fiona was berating her earlier-she couldn''t bring herself to hit Fiona in front of Larry. But Elowen was another matter.


    The pnded with such force that Elowen was knocked to the ground. She clutched her burning cheek, looking up at Amara in disbelief.


    "Amara, how dare you hit me?"


    Amara had actually dared to strike her in front of their father. Elowen was overwhelmed by both humiliation and outrage—at that moment, she wished she could destroy Amara.


    But Fiona didn''t see this as a problem. She immediately turned to Larry and eximed, "Do you see this? Amara ispletely out of control! She just hit her own sister—right in front of us! She''s getting more outrageous by the day!"


    She then turned to Amara and scolded, "How dare you raise your hand against your sister? You think being pregnant out of wedlock makes you justified?"


    "Shut up!" Amara finally snapped, ring at Fiona. "You know full well who got pregnant before marriage! Why are you targeting me?"


    The moment those words left her lips, the expressions of everyone in the room changed.


    Amara''s usation was unmistakable-she was saying that Fiona was the one who had gotten pregnant before marriage.


    The truth was, Fiona had never actually been married before. There was no ex- husband—Elowen was not the daughter of some previous marriage. She was Fiona and Larry''s illegitimate child.


    Larry, ashamed of his own infidelity, had invented the story of Fiona''s supposed previous marriage to save her from the stigma of being an unwed mother.


    In reality, there was never any ex-husband. The only man Fiona had ever been with was Larry himself.


    But this had always been a closely guarded secret, known to only a select few. How could Amara possibly know?


    Larry was stunned. The anger that had been burning in his eyes a moment ago faded, reced by utter disbelief. "Amara, you... you knew all along?"


    Amara opened her mouth, and a surge of hurt and grievance overwhelmed her. She began to cry.


    "Yes, Dad, I''ve always known. You say I embarrass you, that I''m a disappointment— but do you have any idea what kind of life I''ve had?"


    "I grew up without a mother. You only ever cared about Elowen. From the time was little, you ignored me. I had menther a mother''s love n?r father''s love. And when I was a child, I had to endure Fiona and Elowen constantly tormenting me. They always bullied me behind your back, but you never noticed..."


    "When I was ten, Elowen shed my face with a knife. She ruined my life. But when


    I told you, do you remember what you said?"


    "You swore up and down it couldn''t possibly have been Elowen, that I must be imagining things for using my own sister."


    "Dad, you think my pregnancy is such a disgrace-but ask yourself, did you ever really care about me?"


    "I grew up unloved and neglected. If


    no one ever truly cared for me or taught me right from wrong, how could you expect me to grow into a good person?


    These were words Amara had prepared on her way there, intending to use them against Larry. But as she spoke, she realized they were the truest feelings in her heart.