Chapter 4

The pressure from Brenda intensified as Jessica' s attempts to attract a wealthy suitor floundered.

The Wallflower Charm, true to its name, made Jessica blend into the background.

At local social events Brenda pushed her into, she was overlooked.

Her newfound timidity made her conversations awkward and brief.

Men who initially showed interest were quickly put off by her lack of opinion and seeming inability to make even the simplest decision.

"It's not working, Mother!" Jessica would wail after another fruitless outing. "This charm is supposed to make me alluringly quiet, not a complete non-entity!"

Brenda' s frustration with Jessica morphed into renewed determination to control me.

"Jessica needs a proper debutante season next year," Brenda declared one evening, ignoring Jessica' s miserable expression. "That costs money. Serious money."

Her eyes, cold and hard, landed on me. "Your little jobs aren't cutting it, Sarah. You need to find something better. Something that pays significantly more."

She didn't suggest how. She just demanded.

I feigned obedience. "I'll look, Mother."

This "looking" involved more late nights, more intense study, and careful planning.

The Trailblazer Charm wasn't just about intellect, it was about strategy.

I saw pathways Brenda couldn't imagine.

While she pushed me towards vocational schools or "sensible" office jobs with low ceilings, I was aiming for Atlantic University.

A prestigious institution, miles away, with a renowned tech program.

My escape route.

Jessica' s jealousy, meanwhile, festered.

She saw me come home tired from my jobs, yet she also sensed a change in me.

A quiet confidence I never possessed in our first life.

"Still think that stupid Trailblazer locket is so great?" she'd sneer, watching me count my meager earnings at the kitchen table. "Look at you. Working like a dog. While I'm preparing for a life of ease."

I never rose to her bait. I just smiled faintly.

Her words were hollow, her envisioned future a mirage.

The Wallflower Charm was slowly eroding her. She was becoming more passive, more reliant on Brenda, less capable of independent thought or action.

Brenda, blinded by her favoritism, couldn't see it. She only saw Jessica's "need" and my "obligation."

Frank remained a ghost in his own home, offering no support, no intervention.

His silence was a constant affirmation of Brenda' s tyranny.

I learned to operate in the shadows of their dysfunction.

My compliance was a shield. My secret studies, a weapon.

The university application deadlines were approaching.

I used the diner's old computer during off-hours to write my essays, the library's internet to research scholarships.

Every form filled out, every transcript requested, was a covert act of rebellion.

Brenda thought she was managing my life, directing my path.