Betrayed By Family

I vomited blood. The taste of blood with poison lingers in my mouth as I struggle to understand what is happening now. My head is spinning and my vision is blurred like I am inside the sea of fog, yet through the blurry vision I can see them. The brother and sister were standing in the doorway of my room while smiling. 

Not only did they were smiling but they were coming towards me step by step. The smiling face also became a laugher face because they started to laugh loudly while seeing me vomit blood and becoming weaker than before. The laughing sound felt like it was cutting through my disorientation illusion like a rugged knife.

I saw their masks were fading from their faces as I glanced through tears. What's happening now? Why didn't I notice it before? I didn't notice that they were covering their faces with a false mask. It was all a lie. That's why they didn't even care for me but they told me it was for my good.

Suddenly I realized with a strong hit by a force that was stronger than nausea and disgust. They truly did poison my food. My body can't endure this pain. I fell to the ground abruptly. They not only betrayed me but also took my life. But the thing I didn't know was betrayal tastes worse than bitter poisonous blood.

My mind started racing to grasp the situation but it was the reality. I can't deny it anymore. They were my siblings but they poisoned me. What a fate! As I tried to rise from the ground my sister came in front of me and stepped one of my hands. It was more painful than I thought. The heel of her shoes pierced in my hands like it was a thrown arrow.

"Why are you doing this to me?" 

My voice was trembling as I said the words. Each word was coated in my desperation, disappointment, and pain.

"I am your sister. We are a family."

Their laughter grew louder as they heard me. It was echoing through the room as it was ridiculing my suffering. The masks that hid their face fell completely, and their eyes glistened with the cold calculated malice. The siblings I trusted had become the cause of my agony. How did I not notice this side of them before?

My body weakened as I sank to the floor, the betrayal was burning hotter than the poison was cursing through my veins. It was not only attempting to take my life but it was shattering of everything that I believed in this short life. I saw the room becoming closer to me and the wall started to press down as I fought to stay conscious.

"Why? Why are you treating me like I am an outsider? I am your sister and family."

I whispered as I couldn't make my voice loud but my question was hanging in the air like a phantom.

"Sister?" The brother sneered as his voice was full of contempt. "We never acknowledged you as our family because you are not our real sister."

The words hit me with strong force.

"You are a thing that was useful to us," sister added with a tone that was filled with a chilling indifference. "If we sacrifice you then we will get the abundant magic power you possess."

I was stunned by their words. 

"Don't you know that you can't get another person's magic?"

My voice couldn't become loud but I finished the words while suffering as I looked into her eyes. Hearing me, Both of them glared at me with a more malicious contempt look.

"Who said that? You know nothing. If you die, we will absorb your magic, big brother will become the imperial knight commander and I will marry the prince. Just die for us this once."

Her voice was malicious, chilled, and full of greed but both of their faces were contorted with terrifying disgusting ugliness.

For their greed, they are sacrificing me so that they can get what they want. Was I this fool that I couldn't even know their true faces?

I tried to steady my breath as I forced myself to remain calm, "So, all of this was for power and status?" I whispered with a voice that was barely sounded.

"Yes," my brother replied as his eyes gleamed with ambition. "You are lucky that your death will pave the way for us. You are a loser, who can't even do a thing. Is it not good that your death will be good for us?"

As he said, his voice felt full of confidence and arrogance. The words cut me deeper and were not sharp but were meant to be more painful than any blade. But it kept me awakened and severed the last thread of belief and love I had for them.

"Father knows that you are sacrificing me and the prince... is he knows about this?" I asked with a hope that was flickering in my heart.

They started laughing after hearing my words. I was surprised to see that.

"Father? Haha... didn't you understand till now?" Brother was laughing a cruel laugh while mocking. "Father told us that you are not his daughter and not a family to us. He only loves us. We can do anything to you if we want that was his last words to me today."

"How could you know? Father give you that store room so that you won't be able to interact with any people." Her voice was cold and it cut the light from my eyes. But she continued without stopping.

"He always said angrily that you are an insignificant thing who doesn't know anything. But he couldn't kill you because of his majesty the emperor. Today, the empress gave the order to kill you and take the thing that you had in your hand."

She paused for a moment and looked at me with burning anger in her eyes.

"Do you want to hear a secret? But no one can know this secret." Brother continued with his twisted greedy face. "If others find out that something happened to you then we can't stay in this mansion that is yours. Father adopted you when you were seven and your parents died. The empress told the emperor that you are a little child and you need a family. So father took you in because of your vast wealth."

He paused for a moment and looked at me with his greedy face and cold eyes but he continued his talking.

"It was so hassle to stay with you, we couldn't tell you in languages. But how can you an orphan whose parents died have so much wealth? You don't deserve this, this is all ours. So you need to die now, fake sister."

I am becoming weaker and my eyes are trying to be closed but I can't close my eyes now. I need to know one more thing.

"The prince..."

I couldn't finish my line but my little sister started to talk angrily.

"Don't you understand anything? The prince doesn't like you. He told me in person."

She looked at me with a delighted face. Her words felt like it was savoring the knife to throw towards me. But she didn't stop there as she continued.

"If you don't believe me then I can show you what he said to me. But don't tell him after you die that I secretly recorded what he said to show you. You know how hard it was for me."

She acted as if she was innocent and didn't know anything like a child.

But I stared at her and couldn't say anything. My heart was hurting like, someone was piercing my heart with a sharp knife. I tried hard to open my mouth to say something but was struggling. 

She took out a shimmering blue little magic sphere while reaching the folds of her gown and with a flickering finger of her hand, the magic sphere activated. It cast a soft light around the room and a video recording was started to play.

Two silhouettes were present there. It didn't take me long to see who was there. The man__ who was my betrothed was hugging my sister, whom I foolishly thought that person cared for me despite the arranged marriage but he committed adultery. 

Two silhouettes were sitting on the bed of a bedroom and started to talk.

"Prince, do you like my sister?" 

She said with a soft smile like she was showing her adoration to the prince and was feeling that she did something wrong towards her sister.

Suddenly the prince's slightly handsome face becomes full of disgust and ugly. Seeing his face, she smiled happily but when the prince looked at her she became like before who is guilty. The prince touched her cheeks and said,

"Don't be guilty towards her. If she was not from that family I wouldn't have looked at her. Who said that I like her? It was the mother who arranged this marriage, even the father opposed it. it was a forced marriage to get her wealth and vast state that even the emperor can't get in his hand."

His voice was sharp like a knife that can cut through anything. But he didn't stop there.

"When tried to touch her, she said like a typical woman. We didn't get married, so we can't do any immoral things. I didn't ask much of her but a kiss. She couldn't even give me that. Does she think that I lack women? If my mother didn't force me then I would've broken this marriage and then killed her later. I don't even want to see her gloomy face. I am disgusted by her."

His words struck me like lightning struck on a tree. My head and eyes were spinning as I saw the room was circling like a wheel. His face was full of anger and contempt with malicious thought. Seeing that my breath was caught in my throat. I was delusion that he truly cared for me when his smile didn't look that malicious when we met before. 

Was all of this an act of them? Do people truly act when they talk, eat, and stay with another person? I think I was truly a fool who didn't know anything. That's why they didn't allow me to read many books other than some compulsory things that need to learn as an imperial wife.

My eyes were full of tears but I was determined to not cry in front of them at this moment. Her smiling face became wider and she smirked while keeping her head into the prince's chest while hearing his cold voice towards me. The video stopped and the light of the magic sphere ended.

She came closer to me and whispered, "Do you understand now? You were a plaything to all of us. I was jealous that you were so dazzlingly beautiful that I wanted to ruin your face. But I couldn't do that at that time. So now I did. See your face become blue pale with poison. It suits you so much. So don't wait for us and die quickly."

Her words were cold and harsh like a very harsh cold winter. The reality of them came in front of me. But now I can't do anything. They didn't let me do what I wanted to do. What did I do wrong that I have to die like this? What kind of sin I did do that I had to endure everyone's disgust, contempt, and malicious look? Was my being born wrong? How many people conspired in this plan to kill me?