Dawn froze in place. Had she been caught? Her heart pounded alarmingly, sweat slowly dripping down the corner of her face.
No, from that angle, her father definitely didn't know what she was doing. So, she decided to play her part.
*Sniff*
"Father," she turned her face around, showing the tears that had formed on her eyes out of nowhere and the sadness in her face. "I'm so worried about my sister." She said.
"Haa, Dawn dear, you're such a kind-hearted child." Her father said, and he walked in and hugged her. "You don't need to shed tears for this girl." He hugged her, pressing her head to his chest in comfort.
"But sister isn't waking up." Dawn continued with her flawless act. "She shouldn't have bothered going down the stairs."
"Yes. She knows she can't see yet, she doesn't stay put. She brought this upon herself." Her father said those words, and they relieved her. At least her father still saw Lilah in an unfavorable position.
'That's right. Father is so reliable. He doesn't care about Lilah at all. He'll only love m--' her thoughts came to a halt when she realized something.
Why was her father in the guest room where Lilah was? It couldn't be by chance, right? His study and his room were in the other direction. So why...?
She gulped, hoping there was nothing to worry about, but the curiosity made her anxious. If she didn't know, she wouldn't rest well, and if she did know... She hoped it wasn't anything to worry about.
"But father, what are you doing here?" Dawn asked, and he said,
"Oh, I just came to check how Lilah was doing." He said, and Dawn paused, the color fading from her face.
"What?" The words slipped from her mouth before she realized it, and her father looked at her shocked, colorless face in confusion. "W-why would you...?" She paused, realizing she was letting her true emotions slip. "Aren't you busy, father?" She asked, trying to remain soft on the surface. "You shouldn't bother with these things. I can take care of my sister."
Her eyes trailed away softly as she added,
"Especially when it seems like you're reminded of mother each time you see her."
She felt all she had to do was spite Lilah a bit to her father, and it would be fine, but her father suddenly had this cold look on his face as he looked at her, causing her to shiver in fear.
What? Why was he looking at her that way? He never looked at her that way before. So why...?
"Dawn, my dear, I think you've been overthinking things this period." He said, brushing his hand over her forehead. "It's good you don't have a fever."
Wait, she couldn't understand. What was this about?
"You don't have to bring up the incident with your mother every time." He said and sighed in exhaustion. "It'll make me misunderstand your intentions."
"W-what intentions?" Dawn asked, her pure expression fading with worry.
"It makes me think you're intentionally trying to spite me against your sister." He said, and her face drained quickly than before.
"I... I would... I would never." She stuttered, her throat feeling dry and cold sweat seeping out of her pores. She gulped. Was her father already suspecting her?
But Mister Anderson wasn't thinking about anything like that. He smiled and brushed her hair softly.
"I know that. You're a sweet and kind girl, and you would never do such a thing. I feel guilty for saying such words to you, even." He huffed her. "But I'm just telling you how I feel."
Dawn's heart rate increased.
This wasn't right. Her father never questioned or warned her before, so why was this happening?
"By the way, your school is resuming soon. Have you packed your bags?"
Dawn forced her smile out and nodded.
"Yes, father. I'm ready to return back to school."
Things weren't going the way she wanted. Things were falling apart. But she hoped that by the time she returned from school, everything would be back to how they used to be, with Lilah being the eyesore and she being he lovely and innocent apple of their eyes.
She hated to part ways like this but... She couldn't delay going back to school any further.
'I have a bad feeling about this, though.' She thought as she got ready to leave.
What if she came back and they were all over Lilah instead of hating her? What would she do then? She felt spiteful and gritted her teeth.
"Sister, are you ready to leave?" Patrick asked, and Dawn flashed a happy and excited smile.
"Yes, I am." She said, but her excited smile faded a little as she added, "But I'm a bit worried about Sister Lilah. I hope she'll recover soon."
"You don't have to, Dawn. Her recovery isn't your concern." Harry suddenly said, making her feel bad.
"But..."
"Your concern should be on school." Harry added, quite sternly, and Dawn bit her lip.
He used to hate parting with her. But now it looked like he couldn't wait to part with her.
"Alright, brother." She said, brushing her palm over her eyes to clear her tears. "I'll go to school and work hard. So, I hope you come to visit me a lot."
She was nearing the end of her studies, and afterwards, there would likely be talks of marriage. It would be her 21st birthday, after all.
And she would return a month to the party, that was why they needed to get their measurements taken so early on.
But it was quite unfortunate that Lilah didn't get her measurements taken by the famous designer, and only Dawn would be wearing a famous piece. Quite unfortunate for Lilah, that is.
Once she returned and the party started, she would be in the limelight and all attention would be on her.
She wondered what young master would ask for her hand in marriage then. Oh, she couldn't wait.
Maybe someone from Country X would be there. Country Z and Country Z were acquainted. And it was a country ruled by high and dignified werewolves.
They were nobel, unlike the savages in country Y. Her blood ran cold just thinking about it.
Those disgusting blood sucking monsters...
'I hope my sister catches their eyes.' She thought, her lips curling up as she sat in the car. 'They may be monsters who endlessly crave blood, but they are still dignified creatures who live an awfully long life.' she chuckled lightly. 'I will wish you a happy marriage when that time comes, sister.' She looked out the window and sneered. 'You deserve it.'
After Dawn left for her school that was located in country X, a very prestigious school, the first young master, the first son, Harry, decided it was time to dig up what his sweet little sister had been hiding all this while.
*****
A few months later, Lilah finally woke up from her coma.
She could feel three people hovering over her with hearts that felt familiar but a little bit different than she remembered.
And then, she heard their voices. The people there were her two brothers and her father, looking down at her and thanking the heavens that she finally woke up.
"Lilah, dear," her father called, holding her hand. "How do you feel? Are you weak anywhere?"
But Lilah felt this might've been a dream. There had never been a day her father had worried about her like this.
"Lilah, you've been asleep for so long that you're looking pale. Let's go out once you can stand. You need some sun on your skin." That was the voice of her elder brother, Frank.
"Lilah, please get well soon." She heard Patrick's voice, and it sounded like he wanted to cry.
Lilah couldn't understand. No matter how hard she thought about it, this was not normal. It was certainly a dream.
But... This dream kept going on far longer than she thought, and there was no sign of her waking up.
Her brothers began to help her walk down the stairs, paid more attention to her. They took walks around the garden with her, in turns, as they all wanted to spend some time with her but not let her feel crowded.
She thought they were only acting that way because they wanted her to forgive Dawn. She thought they knew Dawn was responsible but didn't want her to hold it against her.
She had no plans of doing so. She was just going to live but... They never mentioned Dawn in their conversations. Not once. It was as if she no longer existed in their lives.
They made the guest room her permanent room without explaining to her why. They even got her more clothes, though she could not tell how they looked because she could not see; she was convinced that they were pretty by how soft and comfortable the fabrics were.
Her father invited her to the dining table to eat with them, something they never did.
And each time, they would ask how her day went, how the food tasted, if it was to her taste, or if it was too hot or too cold?
It was a level of affectionate attention she had never received in her life. Not even in her last life.
She had been a terminally ill patient who couldn't walk, but most only looked at her with pity and some thought of her condition as a waste of resources.
This attention they were giving her... It was so poisonous. Poisonous hope for something better, a life worth fighting for. It was to the point that she could cry.
And she did cry. At the dining table that day, which marked a month of their continuous shower of affection on her, she wept.
Were they tears of joy or tears of sadness? She couldn't tell. But she felt her heart open up a dam, causing tears to flow down her cheeks.
But even as she cried, she still seemed so elegant and graceful, reminding them of the grace their mother carried herself in, in everything she did.
They all stared at her worriedly but felt they had no right to ask her why she was crying. They had been the ones to neglect her for so long, so it was only fair that she cried her heart out for the first time.
'If this is a dream, I... I don't want to wake up.'