“I… I’m okay,” I replied, the lie tasting bitter on my tongue.
Esther shifted on the bed, turning to face me fully.
“KC, you’re my sister, and I know you. You’re not okay. You haven’t been okay since you came back from Canada. And downstairs just now…” She paused, studying my face. “You looked like you were choked up.”
I closed my eyes, feeling the familiar sting of tears threatening.
“It’s just… overwhelming. All the wedding talk, the pressure…”
“There’s more to it than that.” Her voice carried that gentle persistence I knew so well. “Talk to me, please. What happened over there?”
I stared at the floor. I wanted to tell her everything about Marley—about the love I’d found and lost, about the piece of my soul I’d left behind in Vancouver. But the words felt too dangerous.
“Esther,” I whispered, opening my eyes to meet hers, “what if… what if you found out you had feelings for someone your family would never accept, but you have to marry someone else that your family wants for you? What would you do?”
Esther’s brows furrowed slightly as she processed my words carefully.
“KC…” she began slowly, “if I found real love—real love that makes you feel alive, that makes you understand why none of the other relationships worked, I would fight for it with everything I have.”
“Even if it meant disappointing everyone? Even if it meant going against everything we were raised to believe?”
Esther leaned forward, her voice growing more passionate.
“Especially then. Because happiness isn’t selfish. I don’t see living your truth as rebellion. You think I don’t see how you’ve spent almost your whole life pretending? Dying slowly inside while you try to be what our parents want.
My breath hitched.
“Is that how you want to go on forever, sis? Without happiness?”
As she spoke, Marley’s face flooded my mind. Her laugh echoing through her apartment. Her fingers intertwined with mine as we walked through the halls of our faculty building. The way she had confessed her love to me that day, the way her voice trembled with vulnerability.
“But what if the person is…” I swallowed hard, unable to finish the sentence.
“Different from what they expect, abi?” Esther completed gently. “Sis, love is love. And if this person makes you happy, if they treat you well, if they see you for who you truly are, that’s what matters. Not what society says, not what extended family whispers, not even what Mummy and Daddy think initially. Because I have seen real love? It has a way of winning people over.”
Tears began sliding down my cheeks as Esther’s words sank in.
“You deserve to wake up every morning excited about your life,” Esther continued, her voice thick with emotion. “You deserve to love someone who loves you back completely, without conditions or compromises. You deserve to be yourself, fully and unapologetically.”
“But what if there’s a wedding…” I choked out.
“The wedding can be cancelled. The hall can be forfeited. And let me tell you something—the shame will fade. But a lifetime of regret?” She scoffed. “That never goes away.”
I sniffled and let a small smile break through my tears.
“Sometimes I forget you’re the younger one. You’re always so full of wisdom. I wonder how you debate in college against your law course mates.”
She let out a chuckle, then paused, watching the tears stream down my face more freely now.
When she spoke again, her voice was barely a whisper.
“KC… is this… about you?”
I tried to speak, tried to form words, but my throat had closed completely. All I could do was remember Marley’s hands cupping my face, her lips against mine.
Esther sat up immediately, gathering me into her arms as my silent tears became quiet sobs. She held me against her chest, stroking my hair the way she used to when we were children.
“Shh, it’s okay,” she murmured. “It’s okay, sis.”
