The desire to have, to own everything her older sister had, which initially and rightfully should have belonged to her if Leila had never been brought back home by their father after her illness was cured, consumed Julianne.
Julianne thought she would grow up to inherit all the properties owned by Chief Faisal, who possessed billions of dollars in net worth. There were so many unimaginable things she and her mother could have been entitled to, but Leila's arrival ruined it all, and their imaginary wealth vanished into thin air like vapor before they knew it. That's when the desire was born—when Julianne was still considered little.
Realizing that acting cute wouldn't work on her father, Julianne confided in her mother, who was also Leila's stepmother, and together, they schemed to bring Leila to where she was now.
It was hard.
So many nights Julianne tried to prove herself to her sister, hoping to enter her life and gain her trust. She had to pretend they both had the same tastes just to have something in common to talk about, even though she didn't like those things at all. Finally, when they turned ten, her efforts paid off as she and Leila became as close as real siblings.
Julianne had just casually said this that day, casually, but she never knew it would work!
"Sister, I really love your new Gucci bag. It's a pity I don't have one."
"I will give it to you when we get home."
It was like a luxury gift that just fell from the sky and straight into her lap. It was something Julianne hadn't expected.
Was it because Leila had started treating her as a lackey, or was it because she had too many, and that's why she could bear to part with precious bags so easily? Julianne couldn't understand, even though she pondered over it at nights with the bag placed in front of her eyes as she fell asleep. No matter what the actual answer was, it successfully aroused her indignation time and again.
In the first place, she shouldn't have had to ask for anything. It should have belonged to her! It was hers from the beginning!
All her twisted emotions were presented to Leila's eyes.
"I don't believe you," Leila's hoarse voice sounded extremely firm as she met Julianne's widened eyes.
Everything seemed makeup to her otherwise. How could a sister she was willing to give her life to if it comes to it suddenly turn this hostile and manipulative?
Anyone could be, but definitely not this sister before her, the sister with the sweetest smile that told her when they were young that she would always be there for her, whenever and wherever.
"I am glad that you still choose to believe in me, dear big sister," Julianne sneered, her eyes mocking which was contrary to her grateful words. She declared with her hand clenched into a fist. "But do you know that's what makes you even more unlikable."
"You must think you are amazing, don't you?" She scoffed, brushing the strands of ash hair on her face aside. She didn't go back into the topic but instead leaned back onto the chair and crossed her arms in front of her chest and uttered coldly, "But you aren't. You know the reason behind your terminal illness relapse?" She smirked, "It's my handiwork."
Julianne's words once again made Leila's eyes dilate in horror, her heart trembling.
In the upper circle, it wasn't a secret that her mother had died of this illness a few days after giving birth to Leila, and she too was diagnosed with it at a very young age.
Her maternal grandparents only had her mother, and after they lost her, they were so grieved and decided to retire and take Leila away to the countryside with them since even doctors weren't sure they could completely cure her. They were only told to wait a few years before undergoing the surgery.
Years after living in the countryside, Leila's condition improved tremendously and she underwent the surgery which was a success, making her grandparents extremely grateful.
After she was discharged, her father begged her grandparents to let Leila live with him and after persistently preventing him from doing so, they finally relented after a long time and let her stay with him in the city.
And thus, she was brought home. Little Leila felt lucky when she realized she had a cute little sister who cared for her deeply and a gentle but strict stepmother. After all, back in the countryside, she was catered to like an egg that could break with a little knock. She didn't have a friend to play with as the little kids were warned by their parents not to play with her lest she accidentally died in the process. No one wanted to be a murderer.
And thus, gaining a sister who relied on her and didn't treat her like a fragile object made her excited and she swore to give her whatever she wants.
Her cold father also turned out to be super caring too.
But anyway, she loved her stepsister the most.
There was even a time when her grandparents wanted to bring her back to the countryside, but Leila had refused because she didn't want Julianne to be alone.
Little Leila had cheerfully told Julianne back then that she had decided not to go back to the countryside because of her, and Julianne had cried at that time.
Leila had thought that it was because she was moved, but it seems like there was more to it.
"Let's see if I can make you more heartbroken than you are now." Julianne's lip curled up into an evil smile and she took out her phone and showed Leila some pictures, each one worse than the other, making Leila's heart sink slowly like a boat making a sail on a windy day, the world blackening before her eyes.
The first was a screenshot of a transaction record showing that Julianne had transferred a hundred thousand dollars to someone.
The second was a chat between Julianne and someone where she asked the person to tamper with Chief Faisal's car. Another swipe showed a message where the person sent a picture of the tampered car and replied with a 'done.'
After showing her all these, Julianne propped up her chin and even pointed out, looking all smug and fulfilled, "That's why your father died of brake failure."
Leila's eyes were wide open, and she couldn't even process anything, her mind completely blank. Sooner rather than later, Julianne played out the video of the news aired a few days ago that she had recorded.
In her discordant state, Leila could still process the major information.
It was that Lady Leila Faisal couldn't be found in her hospital ward right after her father's car crash! There was even CCTV displayed which showed Leila running away secretly.
Now, many netizens suspected that she was directly involved in her father's death!
Not only that, Julianne's identity was revealed as the real daughter of Chief Faisal, and there was even DNA proof of it, showing that Chief Faisal had cheated on his late wife when she was alive with Julianne's mother because his late wife couldn't give birth.
In other words, Leila was a bastard. Everybody in Leila's family was roasted and labelled as the scum of society, including her maternal grandparents who used to be researchers. Chief Faisal was addressed as a scumbag who made Julianne's mother suffer, and Leila's mother was also roasted for being a selfish and scheming woman.
Now, Leila's innocent parents couldn't even rest in peace, and the main culprits of the incident were now being pitied by everyone on the internet and even praised as the most selfless people in history for being tolerant of Chief Faisal's poor character.
Leila couldn't explain the feeling of immense anger that overwhelmed her at this moment, threatening to engulf her entire being as her murky eyes blazed red, her blood boiling.
"Oh, sister... Why are you so sad about this? Haven't you always been calm and cool?" Julianne's lips stretched to her ears, happily taking in the sight of an angry Leila.
No action movie could bring her this kind of satisfaction. The satisfaction of watching the person she hated most in the world in pain.
"You..."
"Me what?"
The sight of her made Leila extremely disgusted that she nearly retched.
Not knowing where she found her strength, Leila raised her hand and with all her strength, slapped Julianne's cheek!
Julianne froze for solid five seconds at the unexpected slap, her right ear buzzing before she slowly brought her trembling hand to touch her cheek, the slight sting waking her up.
Her eyes turned slightly furious, but she clenched her hand and slowly smiled before saying softly but eerily, "Are you happy? Huh? Have you vented your anger? But no matter what, Leila, you are bound to be a loser."
"You..." Leila felt that all she had lived for in her life was but a waste. She had wasted oxygen and the government's resources she used when growing up!
Why couldn't she see this evil side of Julianne?
Why was she realizing it only just now?!
"I became the movie queen loved by the world all thanks to you, who stole your father's precious contract from his study and gave it to the director to gain me a role in my first movie. Also, thank you for paying for my acting class. I am super grateful for that. Not only that, I became the best female singer worldwide and even went down in history with the songs you wrote. How much more grateful can I be to you, my dear Leila?" Julianne's voice was dripped with gratitude as she slowly traced Leila's cheek, but her eyes filled with disdain were a clear contrast to how she truly felt.
Leila slapped her hand away and closed her eyes as her heart wrenched and twisted with sadness and pain. Hearing Julianne's words brought her so much regret that she couldn't even breathe properly.
How dare she?!
Julianne wasn't really the main culprit, nor was it her mother; it was Leila herself! She was the one that started all this! She was the one that should be shunned by the public! Not anyone but her!
Father...Mother...I have let you both down!
"Sister, don't be sad..." Julianne's soft voice echoed once again, causing Leila to grit her teeth until she heard Julianne sourly say,
"At least someone was willing to threaten my mother to reveal your whereabouts to him..."
The sentence made Leila's eyes flutter open abruptly.
Julianne met her gaze with a proud smile and continued, "After all you have done to him, he was still willing to fight Momma for your whereabouts. Oh... you might not even remember him..." Her eyes lit up with a hint of mischief. "How about you guess who he was?"