I quickly calmed down.
The glass of the small window was a one-way mirror.
The view from outside to inside was clear as crystal.
But the view from inside to outside was just a mirror.
That meant she couldn't see me.
I pretended to be calm and acted as if nothing had happened.
I made coffee to entertain Beth as usual.
Just as I reached the door, I heard a flattering male voice inside:
"Beth, look at my project, I promise you'll make big money!"
I knew it was my younger brother Charles.
He was arrogant and had been idle since graduation, pestering parents to allow him to start a business.
Our parents had always spoiled him.
At first, they gave him a lot of money to do as he pleased.
But in just a year, he had spent all of it and even got my parents to pay off his debts.
But he wouldn't give up: "Give me one more chance, this is a marvelous project, just invest and you'll make money!"
My family was rich, but it couldn't afford his spendthrift ways, so my parents refused to give him any money.
Charles was arrogant and stubborn.
He thought parents didn't understand his vision and didn't have the eyes to see a good investment.
So, he went around looking for investors with his marvelous project.
"Beth, trust me, this project has great prospects, I am sure it can quadruple your capital!"
He persisted in his persuasion, but Beth across from him seemed uninterested and bored.
Beth was shrewd and skillful.
She skillfully avoided talking about investment and excused her makeup had been messed up, then slipped away to the restroom to stop the conversation.
Seeing this, stupid Charles also realized Beth didn't want to invest.
Alone in the restroom with me,
Charles blamed me as he always did:
"It's all your fault for not entertaining Mr Thompson well that night!
"If you had acted more lewd, I would have enough investment by now!"
I felt both angry and humiliated, but I didn't say anything. I just silently endured his abusive words.
Behind my back, my fists were clenched so tightly that my fingernails dug into my palm, causing pain.
As children of the same parents. My parents loved Charles the most, and then my elder sister, Jenny. It was clear how differently our lives turned out.
I meant nothing to them.
My existence was ignored and meaningless.
Because no one was investing in the project, Charles turned to a wealthy but morally bankrupt boss, Mr Thompson.
Mr Thompson was lustful and enjoyed innocent, inexperienced girls.
So, he catered to his desires.
At his birthday party, he forced me to drink alcohol laced with drugs.
Then, he took his unconscious sister, me to the bed of Mr Thompson.
Afterward, as I collapsed and complained,
he was arrogant and disdainful, not afraid at all:
"Go ahead and make a scene! See whose side parents are on in this family!
"Emily, I advise you to be smart! Shut up, pretend nothing happened, and you'll have good days, otherwise..."
His disgusting words were like arrows to my heart, piercing and painful.
But I was unable to refute them.
Our parents would always favor him; they wouldn't care about me.
I had only one choice: to hold my tongue.
And that wealthy man, Mr Thompson, was not without business insight.
He talked about investing, but actually just symbolically invested ten thousand dollars, just as a reward.
That few tens of thousands, in Charles's eyes, was no different from begging for alms.
He took out his frustrations on me.
He blamed me for not being lewd enough but being too reserved, for not pleasing the disgusting man.
Whenever he encountered investment setbacks, he would vent his anger on me like now.