Secret Obsession

Proloque

Paige Donahue glanced around the elegant dining room and literally wanted to die. She hated visiting her sister, she hated all that Camille had been blessed with, and most importantly, she hated her. In fact, she always had, ever since childhood, thanks to the way their parents had doted on Camille and treated her like she was just a bit more precious. They'd gone out of their way, confirming the idea that Camella was the better daughter, their golden child so to speak, and that Paige was the least of their worries. They'd even as much as told Paige this very thing on several different occasions--- maybe not directly, of course, but their actions had made their feelings dreadfully clear. Such as the time when she'd turn 16  and they'd told her how they simply couldn't afford to give her the same pricey sweet- sixteen party they'd given Camille just two years before, since they now had saved all their money for Camille's graduation gala. Worst, they'd never even apologized for it and had merely expected Paige to accept their decision. And it was the same situation when they'd purchased Camille that brand- new SUV right before she left for college but convinced Paige the their was nothing wrong with driving her sister's hand-me-down, ten-year-old camry when she graduated---that is, since Paige would only be traveling 10 miles sown the road to a junior college. It was true that Camille had done much better than Paige in high school, and yes, Camille had practically breezed through Marquette with honors, and right after had been immediately been hired by one of the Chicago's top advertising firms. But had given George and Maxine Donahue the right to treat her younger daughter like she didn't matter? Had it been okay for them to boast about Camille's high school accomplishments to anyone who would listen and then constantly compared to all that Paige had failed at? Had it been okay for them to insist that maybe if Paige had  been just a tad more like Camille, they'd have been a lot prouder of her?
   Even today, Paige still hasn't forgiven them, doubted she ever would, and pretty much kept her distance. From her parents, anyway, because when it came to Camille, Paige had always visited her regularly and never let how she truly felt about her--- not once. They did everything sisters should do together, and paige went out of her way to let camille know that she loved her and would give her life for her if she had to. She'd done all of this for years because she needed her sister to love and trust her completely. She needed her to trust her so much that she would never suspect what was coming. Paige had denied herself for fifteen agonizing years, partly because she didn't want to hurt Crystal and PJ, her adorable niece and nephew, but as of a few months ago, older and wiser and would handle things a lot better now. They would still be hurt, that much she knew for sure, but not devastated.
   Paige smiled at her sister, then at her flawless-looking brother-in-law, Pierce, and then at the children. She lifted one of the freshly baked dinner rolls from the basket, set it back onto the table, and pretended she couldn't be happier.