Chapter 213
As worn as Alicia dropped that bomb, the whole room fell ulent.
Everyone froze for a moment, then thought to themselves, Yep, trust Alicia to pull something like this.
All eyes turned to Nicole
Nicole had already guessed Alicia might target her.
But she never expected Alicia to ask something like that.
How am I supposed to answer this? Nicole thought, her mind racing
No matter what, there was no way she could admit she hated Alicia.
She forced herself to stay calm, repeating over and over in her head, ‘I don’t hate Alicia. I don’t hate Alicia!
Finally, she forced herself to say, “I don’t hate Alicia.*
But as soon as the words left her mouth, the lie detector flashed red and let out a sharp beep.
The host glanced at Nicole and said, “Ms. Hammond, the lie detector says you’re not telling the truth.
“Here’s another chance for you.
“Do you want to stick with your original answer, or do you want to change it?”
Nicole hadn’t expected that, even after telling herself over and over, the lie detector would still go off.
Her face darkened as she pressed her lips together. “I’ll stick with my original answer.”
She looked Alicia straight in the eye and said, “I don’t hate you.”
But as soon as she finished, the lie detector beeped again, flashing red.
Alicia let out a mocking laugh. “You always wanted to be close sisters with me, huh? Dreamed of having someone like me as your big sis?
“I’m dying over here!”
She shot a look at Nicolas and Caleb. “I told you two you were totally blind. Ever since Nicole set foot in the Hammond family, she’s treated me like her enemy, but you never listened.
“Back when Nicole and her mom first came to the Hammond family, I heard she’d had it rough growing up, so I went out of my way to be kind to her.
“But instead of appreciating it, she just plotted against me. No way I’d keep a snake like her by my
side.”
Alicia scoffed, “Now that the lie detector’s called you out, I wonder if you two are still gonna keep lying to yourselves.” When her dad decided to marry Nicole’s mom, Alicia couldn’t help but feel unhappy about it.
But honestly, her dad wasn’t that old at the time, so wanting someone by his side for the rest of his life was pretty normal.
Chapter of
he wasn’t marrying Nicole’s mom out of love he just wanted someone to help take care of Alicia and her
Ser yeah. Alicia definitely had her freervations about Nicole and her mom at first, but she kept all those feelings borded up
Mhen Alicia heard Nicole had been abused as a kid, and saw this skinny little thing with marks all over her, she actually felt erry for her
She even tried to show Nicole some goodwill, making an effort to be friendly.
Back then, there was no beef between them–Alicia had no reason to go after a poor kid who’d already had it rough
But Nicole didn’t take the olive branch. Instead, she played Alicia for a fool once.
Once Alicia caught on, she started keeping her distance from her “pitiful” stepsister.
Nicole’s mom always put on a friendly face, but in reality, she wanted to ruin Alicia by spoiling her so much she’d end up
useles
Whenever Alicia did well in school, Nicole’s mom would shower her with treats and push her to slack off and play, hoping shed pick up bad habits.
But Alicia caught on and didn’t fall for it–she went straight to her ex-dad and told him what was going on.
He didn’t really buy it, though. He said Nicole’s mom was just trying to fit in with the Hammond family and wanted to be
super
nice to Alicia so she’d feel welcome, which was why she spoiled her so much.
He said he’d ask Nicole’s mom to be more careful.
From that day on, Alicia started feeling let down by her dad, and that feeling just kept growing.
Nicole and her mom made a habit of putting Alicia down and scheming behind her back, always acting like the poor victims in the Hammond family just to milk everyone for sympathy and love.
Later on, Alicia started to pick up on the fact that Nicole’s mom really had it out for her, even though she kept it well hidden.
At first, Alicia couldn’t figure out why Nicole’s mom always singled her out, but was totally fine with her three brothers, even though they were all part of the Hammond family.
After doing some digging and finding out Nicole’s mom had been secretly in love with her dad for years, Alicia finally got it.
Since Alicia looked and carried herself a lot like her own mom, Nicole’s mom just couldn’t stand her–she basically transferred all that old resentment onto Alicia.
The moment the lie detector beeped for the first time, Caleb and Nicolas’s faces both changed.
Caleb, especially, looked completely stunned, disbelief written all over his face.
He clearly hadn’t expected this outcome, and he just couldn’t accept that Nicole was lying when she said she didn’t hate
Alicia.
When the lie detector beeped again, Caleb felt his heart drop, a storm of emotions swirling inside him.
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9:31 am
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Lucia Morh is a passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.