12 Confession

A trembling hand made contact with the white-painted door, and a shaky breath was drawn as the girl steadied her nerves. No matter how many times she told herself that coming back to the main house didn't bother her, there was still a part of her that was terrified.

The door opened, and Ali stepped inside.

Handing over her coat, she moved towards the family room, knowing that's where her sister usually frequented during the afternoon.

"Alice, what are you doing here?" Jae stood up and started when she saw the dark look on her sister's face.

"Don't use my full name!" Ali steamed.

Jae had no right to say that name; none of the family did. Not after what they had done to her mother - the woman she was named after. Alice was the only thing she had left of her mother, and she didn't want them to dirty the name.

"Wasn't it enough that you took my mother from me? Now you've done the same with Seonghwa. What's your problem with me?" Ali jabbed her finger at Jae, who stumbled backwards and landed on the edge of the sofa.

"Ali, calm down. What are you talking about?"

Ali could feel her anger rising at the innocent look plastered all over her sister's face. Somehow, she reigned it in, and she opened her mouth again:

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You were jealous of the relationship I shared with my mother because your own wouldn't pay attention to you. And using that jealousy you got rid of mine, so I would know what it felt like... What you felt like."

"Shut up!"

"And then I got into a relationship with Seonghwa, and he helped me deal with the pain of losing my mother. Not that the pain ever goes away, not completely anyway."

"Stop!"

"Jealousy found its way to you again, and like the time before, you couldn't handle it. So, when those unpleasant emotions became too much, you planned to get rid of me. With me out of the way, you could have Seonghwa all to yourself. Isn't that right?"

"I said shut up!" Jae jumped up once again, and she angrily stepped before Ali. "I was jealous! Is that what you wanted to hear? I was jealous! And with no other way to control it, and let it all out, I caused your mother's accident. And the one with Seonghwa."

Ali secretly laughed inside and tried to stop the smile that wanted to spread on her face. She had her sister right where she wanted her.

"But I didn't know Seonghwa would be in the car. The accident was supposed to happen to just you. I wanted you dead, not Seonghwa. I love him, and wouldn't want him to be hurt." She broke down and buried her face in her hands. Patting her on the shoulder, Ali grinned above Jae's head.

"Now that wasn't so hard to confess, was it? Thanks for giving me what I want." Ali stood back up and fiddled with the recorder in her pocket. "Well, see you around, sis."

"You're not going anywhere!"

A loud shout was the last thing Ali heard, before something hard hit her in the back of the head, and she collapsed to the floor.

A heavily breathing Jae stood above her sister's fallen body, a broken, bloodied vase still grasped in her hands.