He continued to berate me as he added, "Remember this. Nina's about to debut as a big star. So whatever little 'fights' you think you had with her before? Keep that buried deep inside. Got it?"
Little fights? That's what he was calling it?
Years ago, Caleb had been the one taking me to see a psychologist for six years. He had even broken up with Nina, calling her "a heartless snake" for all the damage she had caused me.
But now that they were back together, suddenly the trauma she had caused me was just "little fights"?
I looked up at him, my heart pounding. So this was the real reason they had called me here tonight. Caleb wanted to threaten me and to make sure I wouldn't get in the way of his precious Nina's future.
Caleb never liked me. I always knew that.
However, I never imagined he would go to such lengths for his precious Nina.
We grew up together, and Caleb knew my biggest fear was snakes. No matter how much he disliked me or how many pranks he pulled, he'd never used snakes against me. That was a line he wouldn't cross.
Of course, that was until Nina came along.
Right then, a sharp pain ripped through my abdomen, and I curled up into a ball on the floor. Panic surged through me as I felt something slipping away inside.
Desperately clutching my stomach, I swallowed my pride and begged, my voice trembling. "Please call me an ambulance!"
Nina, nestled in Caleb's arms, covered her mouth and laughed, her voice dripping with cruelty. "A little stomach pain and you already need an ambulance? Still playing the innocent act after all these years? Your tricks to seduce Caleb have gotten even more shameless."
Her words stung like salt in an open wound. "Like mother, like daughter, huh? Those two-faced genes must be hereditary."
Nina's taunt stopped Caleb in his tracks. For a brief moment, there had been a flicker of concern in his eyes, but it quickly morphed into hatred.
"Just like your dead, two-faced mother. So cheap."
Without another glance at me, he wrapped his arm around Nina and headed upstairs. Before he left, he didn't forget to grab a snake and throw it at me as if I were the embodiment of all his resentment toward my mother.
"You naughty boy! Come here and kiss me!" Nina cooed, her voice sickeningly sweet as they disappeared.
As they went upstairs, the cold, slick body of the snake slithered across my skin, its presence overwhelming me.
I blacked out completely.