Youre flawless in our eyes.
You want to know why? Because Im sick of always being secondbest! shouted Lily, her voice cracking like glass. In school you were top of the class, teachers sang your praises. At university you graduated with honours, while I barely scraped through resits. At work you rack up promotions and bonuses, and Im stuck in the same spot! I want a fat paycheck and the bosss respect too! Do you understand? I want to be first!
***
Well, there goes another scolding from the boss, Lily muttered, slamming her laptop shut and flopping back against the swivel chair.
Emma lifted her eyes from the screen, a wry smile playing on her lips.
You made an error in the report. Did they pat you on the head for that?
Lily pouted, turned toward the window, her cheeks flushing with hurt. Emma ignored the younger sisters sour look and began gathering her things. The workday finally melted away. Papers slid neatly into a folder, the coffee mug clanged into the sink.
Lily stayed silent as they drifted down the corridor toward the exit. Only after the office doors vanished behind them did the younger sister speak again:
Its easy for you to laugh. Youre perfect in our eyes.
Emma sighed. These arguments had been looping like a broken record lately. Lily used to brush off the bosss remarks with a joke and move on. Now every word tasted of bitterness.
I just do my job well, Lily. You can too.
Of course, youre right.
They had both been in the procurement division of a giant retail firm for three years. Emma had landed there first; six months later she helped Lily get a foot in the door. The sisters were always close, backing each other up, yet their work habits were worlds apart.
Emma stayed late, poring over supplier lists, comparing terms of dozens of firms before making a decision. Lily favored a laidback rhythm doing the bare minimum by deadline, then scrolling on her phone or chatting in the break room. Emma never judged Lilys different outlook; everyone has their own way.
A month earlier, a moment that should have been a family celebration arrived. The directors summoned Emma to their office and offered her a promotion senior procurement manager, with a handsome raise in pounds. Emma was startled, then accepted straight away. Years of meticulous effort finally paid off.
Lily hugged her then, but Emma saw the smile fade from Lilys face, heard the strained cadence of her words. That evening they went to a café to toast the news, yet the air felt off. Lily kept steering the conversation toward salaries, asking how much more Emma would now earn, how many overtime hours shed have to swallow.
Youre lucky the boss noticed you, otherwise youd be stuck on the same rung, Lily blurted between bites.
Lucky? Emma repeated, puzzled. I worked on that project for two months without a day off.
Sure, of course.
Six months later Emma was named head of the whole department. The news rippled through the office like a sudden gust. Colleagues shook her hand, offered congratulations, wished her luck. Lily was the last to arrive, hugged Emma and whispered in her ear:
Congratulations. Youre topdog now.
There was no warmth in those words. Emma stepped back, met Lilys gaze; something cold and foreign flickered there, like a coiled snake.
In the weeks that followed, Emmas office life shifted subtly but inexorably. First, she ignored the tiny slights. Then Tess stopped inviting her to lunch. Oliver from the adjacent department no longer stopped by with his morning coffee. Colleagues offered only dry nods, turned away swiftly. Whispered jokes and muffled laughter floated behind Emmas back. Whenever she turned, everyone pretended to be engrossed in their screens.
Emma wondered what had changed. Shed always been open, helpful, sharing expertise. Had a promotion turned colleagues against her? She hadnt altered her style no yelling, no impossible demands.
One evening, as Emma was about to leave, Megan slipped into her office, jittery, shifting weight from foot to foot.
Come in, Emma called. Whats up?
Megan shut the door, sank onto the chair opposite, her face a mask of embarrassment.
I have to tell you something. Im ashamed, but you deserve the truth.
Emma set her pen down, focused on Megan.
Lilys been spreading rumours about you for months. She tells everyone your ideas are actually hers, that you stole her work, that your promotion was thanks to flattery rather than merit, that you look down on the rest of us as idiots.
Lily? Her younger sister, the one shed brought into the firm, the one shed defended? Lily was turning the whole office against her?
Are you sure? Youre not mixing things up? Emma pressed.
Absolutely. At first I didnt want to believe it. Thought maybe it was a misunderstanding. But she repeats it to anyone wholl listen. People start to believe gossip. And no matter how wild it sounds, you begin to accept it
Emma didnt recall how she left Megans office, how she got to her car. The drive home was a blur of tangled thoughts. Why? Why? Theyd always been together. Emma had shielded Lily, helped her, covered for her unnoticed. Now the gratitude felt like ash.
Lily opened her flat door, surprise flashing across her face.
Emma? Whats wrong?
Emma stepped inside without waiting for an invitation, turned to Lily, met her eyes directly.
Why?
What are you talking about?
Why are you turning the whole office against me? Why lie that I steal your ideas? Why spread those rumours? Emmas voice was cold, detached.
Lilys shoulders tensed, her arms crossed, her face blotting with sudden colour.
What, did Megan tattle on you?
It doesnt matter who said it! Answer me!
Dont shout at me in my own home! This is business!
Im not shouting, Lily. Im demanding an explanation. How could you do this? Were sisters!
The younger sister lunged forward. In her eyes flickered something Emma had never seen rage? Hurt? Something altogether stranger.
You want to know why? Because Im tired of always being second! Lily exploded. Always and everywhere! In school you were the star, teachers adored you. At university you graduated with a redhonours degree, and I was barely scraping through resits. At work you get raises and bonuses, while Im stuck at the same desk! I want a big salary and the bosss respect too! Do you get it?! I want to be first!
Emma stayed silent. Lily kept going, unstoppable:
You were always ahead. Always perfect. Emmasmart, Emmabeautiful, Emmahardworking. And me? Just a shadow, a clumsy little sister who ruins everything!
Then you should have worked harder, Emma said. Put in the hours, not waste time watching videos and gossiping in the kitchen. You wanted respect? Earn it. But dont drag me through the mud for it.
Lily opened her mouth, but Emma cut her off, turned, and walked out. The door clicked shut behind her. Tears streamed down Emmas cheeks, which she swiped away fiercely. Hold on, you must hold on.
The next morning Emma submitted a transfer request to a branch in a different borough of London. The HR manager raised an eyebrow, then signed the paperwork without fuss. Emma was a valued asset; they didnt want to lose her. The transfer was approved within two days.
Lily learned of it from coworkers, called that evening. Emma stared at the caller ID before picking up.
Youre moving? Lily said, tone flat.
Yes.
So youre running away.
No. Im just going somewhere they wont plot against me.
You betray me! Traitor! Sister!
Emma said nothing, hung up. There was nothing left to say.
Three months in the new branch whizzed by. The team welcomed her warmly, projects ran smoothly, and Emma began to forget the nightmare. Then one night Megan called.
Emma, have you heard? Lilys been sacked.
Emma froze, phone pressed to her ear.
What?
Last week. She missed deadlines on three contracts, botched reports. Management gave her one more warning, then let her go. Without you everything fell apart. Thats the story
But I didnt
Emma, youve been fixing her mistakes for years, quietly. When you left, her cracks showed. She couldnt cope without your cover.
Emma put the phone down and sat in silence.
The following day Lily appeared at Emmas door, hair a mess, eyes red, clothes rumpled. She burst into the hallway and shouted:
Are you happy?! They fired me! You moved just to sabotage me! Did you do it on purpose?
Emma looked at her calmly.
What am I to blame for, Lily? You had a chance to prove yourself. I didnt block you. What did you do? Ruined everything.
Its you whos to blame! You!
No. Youre the one responsible for what happened. And now forget the way to my flat.
Emma flung the door wide open. Lily froze, unable to believe her sister was truly sending her away. Emma stood cold, resolute. Lily turned and fled down the stairwell, the door slamming shut with a deafening bang.
An hour later Emmas mother screamed into the phone:
What have you done?! You caused Lilys dismissal! You abandoned her! Selfish! You should have helped, not run off to another office! Youve ruined our family!
Emma tried to explain, spoke of rumours, betrayal, Lilys own role in her firing. Her mother shouted, blamed, demanded she fix everything at once.
Youve betrayed the family, Emma. Remember that. Its a sin.
A few clicks of the line, then silence.
She was alone. The family turned their backs the moment Emma defended herself, the moment she stopped sacrificing herself for Lily.
She would be fine. Emma had always been strong. Now that strength was needed more than ever.
She opened an email from senior management: a transfer to the capital, a new title, a fresh city. If before shed hesitated whether to accept, now she replied with confidence.
When everyone had turned away, nothing held her here. It was time to think only of herself.
Weeks swirled in the chaos of moving. In the new place Emma settled quickly. She didnt look back, didnt adapt to old expectations. Family ties were reduced to polite holiday cards. She no longer feared love; they had let her go so easily.
