"We'll be having a family dinner tonight at seven. Make yourself available. I do not want to hear any excuses." My mother woke me up with the announcement. It was unnecessary. She could have waited for me to wake up. I'm sure she did not wake her precious daughter like that. I hissed and went back to bed, but I couldn't sleep anymore.

It was always like that. I was always given instructions as though I was a hired maid. Well, we did not have one, so I did everything, while Penelope did nothing. When we were in high school, I would wash our uniforms both. My mother had an annoying saying everytime. "She's your little sister. You should do it so that she'll learn from you."

But she never learnt anything. Till now, she's still learning from the "older sister." I scoffed. I heard footsteps approaching my room. It was Penelope.

"I would need your help today." She said as she walked into my room. No one actually spoke about how disrespectful my own younger sister is to me. Nobody actually cared.

"What is wrong with everyone in this family? Can't I at least have some peace? You keep disturbing me. What do you want, Penelope? I asked.

"Check the time." She said, rolling her eyes like an old witch.

"Are you crazy? If you have something to say, say it, or get the fuck out of my room."

"Well, if you don't want to, I'll help you." She walked towards my bedside table and took the wristwatch there.

"The time is 1pm. And you're still in bed. What does that tell you?"

I looked at her sternly. I had the urge to crush her but I stood still.

"You won't make it in life like this, sister. You won't. Such a shame." She said and twisted her mouth.

"What do you want, Penelope? I'm not in the mood for this."

"We have dinner at seven today. It's compulsory." She said, with one hand on her waist, while swinging the other slowly.

"Mum told me already. Now get out." I said and covered myself with the sheets.

Penelope dragged them away and threw them at the other end of the bed. I was amazed.

"Penelope! What was the meaning of that?"

"Meaning of what? I'm not done talking to you. So listen to me. It's not just any dinner. Jordan would be coming. Mum invited him. And we have a special announcement to make."

"I have no business with you, your family, or Jordan, whatever you call him. I'm really not in the mood for this. Just leave." I told her. I was already getting impatient.

"I know dear. Of course you have no business with us. But you do have business in the kitchen. Mum said you would cook the meals."

"And why would I do that? Isn't he your boyfriend?"

"And so what? Your duty is to make the meals. I was told to tell you. And you know what will happen if you don't do it right? I'll send you the list of what you'll make." she said.

"Why can't you do it yourself? Ohhh, I see," I laughed. "Poor girl, you can't even boil water. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Don't insult me," She said. Her boldness had died down.

"I'm not insulting you. It's a fact. I wonder how your "boyfriend" would take it when he realizes that you cannot do anything. A waste of sperm!" I blurted.

She was filled with rage but she couldn't do anything. I could see the veins in her head sprawling out. She said finally:

"News flash. He knows and he loves me that way. You cannot say the same for yourself, can you? And I see where your cooking skills have taken you. To the jobless guy right?" She laughed.

"Don't forget to make the food tasty." She said again and banged the door.

"Bitch!" I hissed behind her. I was like a slave in my own house. I was wishing it would end one day. It definitely has to. They can just tell me if I was adopted. I would gladly look for my parents.

I proceeded to get things ready for the so-called dinner. I had to get a few things in the supermarket to make everything set. I realized when I got to the kitchen that some foodstuffs were not there. I looked at the other side of the kitchen that was covered with sooth just above the microwave and the thoughts of what happened that day flashed through my mind.

Penelope decided to make rice and her own. We were still in college. She was back before me and decided to make something to eat, but ended up burning the whole thing. I walked into the house, and saw my mother standing by the door. I greeted her, and a resounding slap followed.

"What did I do!" I was confused.

"Check what you caused in the kitchen," she said.

I walked to the kitchen and saw the mess. I came out quietly, with tears filled eyes.

"This house would have been burnt down. All because of you! Why did you let your sister cook alone?"

"Please, mum tell me, what exactly did I do? Or do you just hate me? I was not even around! I just came back. Why should I be punished for what Penelope did?" I asked, still crying.

"You are her older sister. You are supposed to guide her. Why did you let her do it on her own?

"Am I now her bodyguard? Is she a child?"

"I told her to help me but she said she'll be busy at school. I knew she was lying. She just wanted to avoid me." Penelope said.

"Are you not even ashamed of yourself?" I said, turning to her. I carried my bag and stormed out. That was the day I met Thomas.

I sighed heavily, leaving my thoughts. I took note of what I needed and left for the supermarket.

"Jordan proposed!" Penelope said over dinner, while every other person was busy with their food. No one said anything when we began to eat. She just decided to pop up the news of her useless proposal all of a sudden.

"Yes I did. We would love to take our relationship to the next step. I would love for your daughter to be my wife." Jordan said, and smiled at Penelope. He went further to drop his cutlery to hold her hands. They were sitting opposite each other.

"I knew you were a good person and the best option for my daughter from the first time I met you. We have approved even before you spoke." My dad said.

"Why won't you approve? He's a fucking billionaire! Disgusting people." I thought in my head.

"We support you hundred percent, Jordan. We know she is in safe hands with you." My mother said,

I just sat there, watching them as they spoke one after another. I don't know what I was feeling. If I was jealous, happy or just there. I however knew I wanted to leave the table. I was not even surprised. I knew he would propose to her. They have been all lovey-dovey. Even though something smelt fishy. Besides, I've not seen her so happy around any man.

I remembered when she first spoke about him. She came home one evening, and was smiling more than usual. My mum inquired. She was the type that told my parents everything. Usually, children did not tell their parents everything. But Penelope did. Well. Maybe not everything. The sneaky ones were buried inside of her. But she told them almost everything in her life. Maybe it was because she was the cherished one, so whatever she says will be accepted.

They did not know much about me. They did not care. And I loved it that way. They only knew my name, and also that I was an occupant in the house. Obviously.

So she came back that day, telling my mum about the man she met. She is an architect. So the Company she works for was going to design a building for him and she was one of the representatives. I was there in the kitchen too, helping out with dinner while I listened quietly as she told my mum the story of how they met and how she was already falling in love.

She went on to describe how handsome he was and all. How they exchanged contacts and also how he would take her to dinner the next day. The whole thing felt awkward to me though. Events happening too fast were usually suspicious. Why would he ask her out on a date on the first day? But then, I knew things like that happen. Besides, there was something called "love at first sight." Maybe I was just jealous. Or not. I don't know.

"That is impressive. You are indeed irresistible." My mum told her. I laughed silently. "Irresistible indeed."

"Some others can not say the same about themselves." I heard my mother say. I knew she was talking to me indirectly. So I pretended not to hear and continued what I was doing. She was used to doing that. I can't even remember if she has ever been nice to me since I was born. It has always been about Penelope. "Laura, do this for your sister." "Laura, do that for your sister." "She's younger. She wouldn't know if you don't teach her." And all the other rubbish. I was literally her slave.

Weeks and months passed, and the relationship was getting stronger. I was a bit envious. Not in a bad way. I just wanted to experience love like that too. I have never seen her so happy with any man. She never spoke so much about any man like she spoke about Jordan.

At some point, I thought she bewitched him. How did he not see her terrible sides? Or she changed because of him. No. I did not believe it. A Leopard cannot change its spots. But he had love in his eyes. It was genuine.

She introduced me to him one day when he came to the house.

"My sister." she told him. And then he stretched his hand to me for a handshake. She dragged him immediately to look like they were in a hurry and needed to go. Lie. She just did not want me to have a handshake with her god of a boyfriend.

"He's not even that cute," I said to myself, to feel better. Because he was actually cute.

I coughed, as the water I was drinking was about to choke me. I suddenly realized my mum and dad had been looking at me. They were sending me signals to say something. They did not want to give their new found in law any bad interpretation. I smiled.

"Erm.. congratulations to you both." I said, unsure if that came out well. My mum was not satisfied. She was still looking at me. She wanted me to say more. But I had nothing else to say. So I kept quiet.

Jordan excused himself to make a call.

"If you don't behave yourself, you'll regret it!" My mother said in a whisper.

I laughed. "Y'all need to stop hiding your true selves. He'll find out eventually. That you've been patching up Penelope for him."

"Shut the fuck up, you bitch!" Penelope said, almost shouting. I smiled and continued eating.

"Respect yourself Laura. Mind your words." My father said,

My mother was about to talk when Jordan showed up. He had finished making his call.

"Is everything alright? I heard..." he was trying to say.

"Well, we..." I was about to say.

"Everything is fine sweetheart." Penelope interrupted me immediately. Fool. She thought I was going to say something to jeopardise her chances with him.

I wasn't sure if I overheard my father's conversation with my aunty loud enough or I was just imagining things. I wanted to be sure. It did not sound real.

Aunty Tessa was my father's older and only sister. She was almost sixty, yet unmarried. But she had a unique kind of sweetness. She was the only one I could really call my own in the family. Whenever she visited, she always made sure everyone was doing fine. She treated me and Penelope equally but I felt she liked me better. Though our mother never liked her. And I don't know why.

I was going to tell my father that I had finally gotten a job after they had made me feel useless. I hoped he would be happy for me.

"How was your day, Dad?" I had asked. He was almost dozing off on the couch. He looked tired.

"My day was fine. Is there anything you want?"

I was used to him immediately asking me if I wanted something whenever I came to speak to him. I always wondered if he sometimes really wanted to talk to me as a daughter without having to ask about something. Maybe to ask about my day, my health or life in general. His replies always sounded like I was problematic.

"I got the job." I said finally.

"Really? What company? Or organization?" He asked, and tilted a bit on the couch, so it could be easy for him to hear me.

My face dropped. I felt my answer would be disappointing to him now. But I had to tell him.

"No, dad. I mean I'll be working as a sales girl now. The pay is not bad." I said, a little scared. I was waiting for the worst. But he didn't say anything. He adjusted again. Then crossed his legs. I waited for a few minutes, but nothing came from him.

"Dad, did you hear me?"

"Of course I heard you!" He snapped.

I froze with fear at the sound of his voice. I should have gone when he said that to me. I should have known that it didn't go well with him. But I stayed. I did not know why. I did not know what else I wanted him to say to him. But I got what I wanted. He said exactly what I knew he was going to say. If I had left earlier I would have been saved from those words.

"I knew you were not going to say anything important. Laura, do you ever think that you are capable of something better? Are you not tired of making a fool of yourself and embarrassing us? You are happily telling me you got a job as a sales agent. Really? Did we train you to become some kind of maid out there?"

He said a lot more. But because I couldn't bear to hear any of it, only my ears could hear, not my mind. Nothing got into my head anymore. I thought of what he said. I believed him to some extent. Maybe I was making a fool of myself. Maybe I should do something better with my life. But what? What was there for me to do? Absolutely nothing.

Well, Aunty Tessa walked in immediately. I'm sure she heard him when he screamed at me. I could not welcome her properly. I was already sad.

"Welcome, aunt tess. You didn't say you were coming."

"I wanted to surprise you all. I flew in from Africa some days back." she said while hugging me. She had a special liking for Africans and the continent in general. She spent most of her vacations there.

"Where's your sister?"

"She went out with mum. They'll be back soon." I said.

"Go to your room. I want to speak with your dad." I left them and went up to my room. Tears dropped from my eyes while I recalled the harsh words from my father. I called Thomas to tell him I was coming over. I needed to clear my head. I was just about to come down from the stairs when I heard my aunty.

"Does she even know the truth?" I heard her ask my father. It seemed like they had had a lengthy argument while I was away.

Who were they talking about? I listened keenly.

"Tessa, you don't have to talk about it every time you show up here. She doesn't need to know. It's long gone. We are doing fine." My father said,

"Well it doesn't look like that to me. I overheard you earlier. That is not how you speak to your own child. This is not you!"

Wow, they were talking about me. Well I was glad that at least my aunty could talk to him about the way he treats me. But what truth were they talking about?

"That's enough Tessa. I'm just trying to raise her well. Let her do well like her sister."

"That's not what you're doing. If her mother were alive she would have treated her right. You married that witch of yours and she has absolute control of you, your thoughts and your decisions!"

"My mother?" I asked in shock. I did not know I said it out loud. They heard me and kept quiet. I came down slowly from the stairs, still shocked.

My aunt was trying to change the topic. But I wanted to know if I heard correctly. I wanted to know if I wasn't just imagining things.

"I have a different mother?" I asked again. My gaze moved from my aunt to my dad while they stood there, mute.

"Have you seen? I'm sure you're happy now." My father told her.

"Well she has to know. I did not ask you to keep it from her for such a long time. "

"Somebody should explain what I just heard now!" I screamed with my hands on my head, trying to process the whole thing.

My aunt tried to calm me down. But I wasn't ready for any petting. I just wanted to be sure.

"Aunt Tess, did you just say I have a different mother from Penelope? I know what I heard. You all should not play dumb with me. Just tell me what I need to know. Dad?"

"You really don't have to worry..." My father began to say.

"Just fucking tell me! I'm not a child!"

"Okay, Laura. There's no point hiding it anyway. Your mum died when you were born. Your father married Penelope's mother a few months after to take care of you. I was taking care of you from birth but I fell ill. I only got discharged months after being unconscious to realize that your father had remarried."

"So she's not my mother." I said, as if I did not just hear the explanation clearly.

"Yes. I would have been there for you. But...".

"It's not your fault aunty," I said, tears rolling down my cheeks.

"Laura, you were a child. There was nothing I could do. Someone had to be there to take care of you. There was no choice." My dad said.

"Why then did you keep it from me? And you watched your wife treat me like a helpless, homeless child. Including you! You should have told me she wasn't my mother. It's all clear now. I know why she's so wicked..."

"My stepmother walked in just immediately."