As the waitress brought in the drinks, Serena hardly noticed any difference between Rosemary’s glass and the others.
Rosemary remained silent, deep in thought, which only made Serena more uneasy.
The atmosphere grew awkward, and Serena tried to break the tension with a nervous laugh.
"Rose, no matter how much our family gives you, it’s yours by right. You’re a part of this household," she said, her voice edging towards sincerity. "On the other hand, I’m not related by blood, so every gift, every token of appreciation I receive is a stroke of luck, a blessing. I’m too grateful to ever resent you for having more—or better. How could I?"
Perhaps sensing disbelief in the room, Serena added gently,
"For the past eighteen years, the Collins family has been nothing but kind to . Their love has moved beyond words. I’ve received more warmth and happiness than I could ever claim as my own. I’m content."
"Really?"
Rosemary’s response prompted Serena to nod emphatically.
"Absolutely."
"Then let’s toast," Rosemary said, standing up and pushing her suspicious lemonade towards Serena.
"Sharing my drink with you symbolizes that from now on, in this family, I’ll always think of you—my sister—and share everything with you. Even if it’s just a glass of water, I’ll make sure you’re taken care of."
"Rose..." Serena felt a rush of panic.
Rosemary poured herself a new drink and clinked it against the problematic glass on the table.
"Here’s to you," she said, and without hesitation, downed her lemonade in one go.
Serena’s face twisted in distress.
Did Rosemary realize sothing was wrong with the drink and was deliberately letting her have it?
Impossible. Martha had assured her the drug was colorless, tasteless, undetectable—even to the divine.
Was Rosemary just naturally suspicious, or was she genuinely trying to make ands?
But she couldn’t drink that lemonade. If she did, she’d be the one to suffer.
Rosemary turned her empty glass upside down as if to show she’d finished, signaling it was Serena’s turn.
"You always take care of , even willing to give up your drink for ," Serena said, reaching for her own glass.
But Rosemary intercepted, picking up the tainted glass and pressing it to Serena’s lips.
"If I’m giving it to you, it’s because you deserve to be my sister. If you refuse, does that an you don’t see as family?"
Serena had never seen Rosemary play such a cunning ga and frantically tried to explain,
"You’ve got it all wrong—"
"Just drink it," Rosemary interrupted. "It’s getting cold, and I wouldn’t want you to have a stomachache. That would weigh on my conscience."
Rosemary’s insistence left Serena cornered.
Eunice, watching from the side, sensed sothing was amiss. Although she didn’t believe Serena capable of poisoning the drink, Rosemary wasn’t one to be so pushy without reason.
There must be sothing wrong with that glass, which was why Rosemary was insistent on Serena drinking it.
"Serena, if it’s a gesture from your sister, you should accept it," Eunice prodded, curious to see if there was truly sothing amiss with the lemonade.
"But Aunt Eunice... as the younger sister, I really shouldn’t be competing with her—even over a glass of water."
The truth was, drinking it could spell disaster for her.
"By offering it to you, she’s showing she accepts you as family, willing to share her fortunes and face hardships together. If you don’t drink, does that an all your earlier words were just empty pleasantries?"
Hearing Eunice’s words, Serena felt tears welling up.
"Of course not."
Bard, standing off to the side, observed his wife’s strange behavior.
Could there really be sothing wrong with the water?
Darren and Belinda were baffled by the whole charade over a simple glass of water.
"If Serena is bothered by my presence, upset that I got more presents than you, then I’ll just go back and tell Mom and Dad—"
Serena was stuck between a rock and a hard place and, finally, she mustered up the courage to take a tiny sip.
Eunice playfully scolded,
"Your sister drained her glass, and you’re just taking a wee nip? That’s hardly in the spirit."
When Serena picked up the glass again, a mischievous idea struck her, and she pretended to fumble it. The cup seed destined to fall from her hand.
Serena was about to celebrate her sly move, but lo and behold—in the next second—Rosemary reached out and caught it, saying,
"Luckily, it didn’t spill."
Now, Serena felt like sinking into the ground.
"You two, fussing over a glass of water," Darren chid in, his eyes on a heaping spoonful of creamy crab dip—the kind he adored. To savor a mouthful was pure bliss!
Belinda, worried the food might get cold, smiled and said,
"Sweetie, just drink up when your sister offers a gesture of kindness. In this family, there’s no need for all this polite deflection."
With no way out, Serena swallowed the small cup of lemon water, holding back tears.
Martha had ntioned the effects would kick in after an hour, so Serena didn’t lose her cool right away. She managed to smile sweetly and exchange pleasantries.
However, after nibbling at her al for a bit, she couldn’t hold back any longer and snuck a ssage to Martha, querying what on earth she should do.
Martha was now beside herself with worry!
After all, she had pulled several strings to get this drug, which was notorious for having no antidote!
Her plan was to use it on Rosemary—to make even the best doctor suffer through 12 hours of agony without a cure.
But she never imagined it would backfire on Serena!
[Don’t panic, I will find a way. Trust !] she texted back.
The al was torture for Serena, who sat there distracted. After an agonizing fifty-five minutes, she finally got Martha’s reply:
No antidote.
Despair engulfed her.
As dinner wound down, Serena suggested everyone head off to rest. But on the drive, she felt the urgent need to find a bathroom.
And it didn’t stop there.
Hallucinations started to kick in. She was riding in her uncle’s luxury car, yet she saw everyone sitting on a giant, edible mushroom.
Yes, the kind you eat—only enormous.
And floating.
"Serena, what’s wrong?" Eunice noticed her discomfort and asked gently.
"I’m fine. It’s just a sudden stomachache... I need a bathroom." Serena was struggling to hold on.
"Maybe it’s the raw fish we had, a bit of indigestion?" Darren said, rubbing his stomach that had also started to grumble.
Reviews
All reviews (0)