The Woman They Broke, The Queen She Became

All for what had I given up on myself for?

Freya had never contributed a dime to my family, and yet her photo was hung on the wall of the house I had bought with my own Money.

I scanned around the living room—There were more photos of Grayson, Mason, Isabelle, Ethan…and even Freya hanging around…but there was not a single photo of me.

“You have to find bundles of joy for yourself,” A lady’s voice echoed from the TV,

She was young, beautiful, and had the whole world at her feet.

I used to be like that too. Tears formed at the corners of my eyes and I was too weak to stop them from falling.

With a huge defeated sigh, I stood up and went to the bedroom,

I had just shut the door closed when it flung back open,

Grayson walked in with a frown on his face,

I tried to make way for him but before I could…he pushed me and made me fall to the bed,

“God, why are you so fat?” He asked,

“Freya is your sister, yet she is so sophisticated and clean, unlike you who looks like a pig that has been fed garbage its whole life and has never showered,” He was irritated, pointing at me,

I looked down at the shirt I had on, it had a grease stain that wouldn't come off, and it was stretched tight across my belly, the buttons struggling to stay put,

Grayson was the total opposite of me.

His hair was a shiny black just like Freya's. Everything about him was admirable. His skin, his neat outfit I always spent my early mornings ironing.

He was the definition of perfect…just like Freya. While I was just like the embarrassing part of his life…of this family.

Grayson went to pull off his shoes and pushed them aside, knowing I would immediately go to pick them up to take them to their rightful position like I always did…but this time I didn't.

I sat still with no reaction.

“Look at how stinky the room smells with you around. You should be washing off the gutter of a body you have instead of acting so childish about going to a concert,”

“All you did was give birth to one kid, yet your whole body is so saggy and disgusting. Look at Freya—she is so flawless and sexy at her age. Why can't you be like her?” He snorted,

“I wonder why I even married you?” He hissed at me before storming out of the room,

Finally, I let out the heavy sigh I had been holding in—And my head sparked with a shameful memory I had tried to push behind me,

Thirty years ago while Freya was still in college, she had introduced Grayson to my parents as the man she wished to marry,

They were the perfect couple to everyone—They’d even once played Romeo and Juliet in a school play, and the whole hall had celebrated like they were watching real love.

But out of the blue, they'd separated.

And that was when Grayson came to me, “Finally, I can be with you. I have been waiting all my life to find someone like you, my love. I can't wait to spend forever with you,” He had said with the sweetest smile on his face,

And I had fallen for it all. Every day, he filled me with sweet words, swept me off my feet, and got me excited to spend forever with him.

I didn't even bother to ask why he had broken up with Freya,

She had always won—but this time It felt like I did because I had something she didn't.

I thought I had finally been chosen.

But…it all finally dawned on me now that I was just the backup plan all along.

All these years…he never truly loved me. He just needed someone to fill the empty space Freya had left behind.

She had dreams—A bright spotlight waiting for her.

And I was just available. Easy and pathetic for him.

I was the perfect fool.

Desperate for love and ready to cling to any scraps of affection he threw my way.

While he chased after Freya’s shadow, I stayed behind—trying to become light for a man who never even saw me.

And the worst part?

I let him.

I gave him everything, thinking it meant something.

But to him, I was nothing more than just a pathetic backup.

Just as a shameful tear dropped from my eyes, Grayson's phone beeped with a message,

I quickly reached for it without a second thought,

It was a message from Freya—"The concert tickets are ready for the five of us. We’ll be leaving for Brookmere City in three days so I got us a space at the Royale Hotel. We’ll both be sharing a room. So exciting."