Emily said nothing.
Daniel simply smiled and changed the subject.
That night, when Daniel and I were alone, I asked him:
“Why have you been talking about Emily’s appearance like that lately?”
He stared at me silently for several seconds.
Then he laughed.
“Laura, are you serious?”
“Very serious.”
His smile disappeared.
“I was just trying to give her more confidence.”
“Why?”
Daniel looked away.
“Ask Emily.”
That answer worried me even more.
The next day, I did.
But Emily reacted strangely too.
“Mom, please don’t make this into something bigger than it is.”
“Emily, if something is happening, you can tell me.”
“Nothing is happening.”
But that word — nothing — started eating away at me.
Several times, I noticed that whenever I entered a room, they suddenly stopped talking.
One evening, Emily was showing Daniel something on her phone.
The moment he saw me, he turned the screen away.
Another time, I heard Daniel say:
“Don’t tell your mother yet.”
When I walked into the room, they both went silent.
By then, I had the feeling there was a secret inside my own house.
And I was the only person who didn’t know what it was.
Two weeks later, it was my sister Sarah’s birthday.
