"You know, you've always been good at pretending," Lauren said with a cold smile. "Pretending to be the victim. Pretending to be perfect. Pretending you were loved."
Heather's eyes darkened. "Pretending? Like how you pretended to care? Pretended you weren't sleeping with my fiancé behind my back?"
Lauren's smile only widened, her voice dripped with venom. "Mike loved me. He always did. He just didn't know how to tell you."
Heather's breath caught in her throat. "You ruined everything. Not just with Mike—but with this whole family. You've always had to be the center of attention."
"And you," Lauren said, stepping closer, "you've never been able to face the truth. That no matter how hard you try, you'll always come second. To me. To him. To everyone."
Heather stood frozen. The words hit harder than she expected. Too close to the truth she'd worked so hard to ignore.
"You're supposed to turn around," Lauren snapped, snapping Heather out of her thoughts.
