The Kiss that Sparked it All

“Mara’s heart was fragile and sensitive, yet why do you have to utter such hurtful words?

Besides, she didn’t truly blame us. It was just that she was feeling down. If I can let it slide, shouldn’t you, our dad, be even more understanding?”

Elton looked down at Victoria and patted her hand, “It’s all my fault. I failed to raise your sister right, and now she’s dragged you into her mess. I’ve made up my mind this time, so don’t try to convince me otherwise. We’ve spoiled her into being so willful that she keeps causing trouble. She needs to learn her lesson, to understand how good she had it before.”

“Dad, aren’t you worried? Mara’s a girl. she’ll definitely go to her friends. And like you said, I don’t trust those troublemakers. What if they take Mara to some sketchy places?

You were feeling ill just now. You stay home and rest, okay? I’ll call some friends and we’ll go look for her together.”

Elton was still concerned for Mara’s safety. He fell silent before speaking, “Then take a few friends with you. And remember, don’t go to dangerous spots alone, got it? I’ll rest up at home, and if I feel better, I’ll come and help look for her.”

Victoria patted his hand reassuringly, then grabbed her phone to call her friends to help search for Mara.

Contrary to what they thought, Mara hadn’t sought out the friends she hung out with at school. Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

Deep down, she knew the score. Those kids were going nowhere, just smoking, drink and causing trouble.

Hanging out with them was a one-way ticket to ruin. It was just a stopgap measure fo

her.

She let out a mocking laugh. All she wanted was to catch her father’s attention.

She longed to scream at her father, “Didn’t you say I wasn’t putting in the effort before? Now, playing with these losers, I’m truly slacking off.”

But instead, her father had slapped her, his eyes only for her sensible and well-behaved elder sister. Where did that leave her?

With one side of her face swollen, Mara wandered aimlessly through the streets, taking in the place where she’d grown up,

Ever since she started studying seriously, she’d always rushed head down between school and home, never taking in the sights around her.

She wasn’t like Victoria, who always found schoolwork a breeze and excelled with

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minimal effort.

Mara knew she wasn’t as sharp. She always needed more time to memorize textbook materiál.

But after entering middle school, memorizing wasn’t enough to excel, let alone get into a prestigious high school.

Life seemed so unfair to Mara. They were sisters, why was there such a gap between

them?

Not only was she less attractive than her sister, but she also lagged behind in academics.

Why should her sister get all the advantages?

In fact, Mara felt relieved when she found out they wouldn’t be attending the same high

school.

She didn’t want to be in the shadow of Victoria’s success as she had been in middle school, where everyone talked about her sister’s achievements while she felt like dust buried beneath the earth.

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Victoria would always put her arm around Mara’s shoulder, introducing her to friends as her beloved little sister, but the looks from others made Mara feel small and invisible.