“Youre flawless to us,” Lily snapped. “Want to know why? Because Im sick of always being secondbest!” She slammed her laptop shut, the chair squeaking as she flung herself back. Emma glanced up from her screen, a wry smile curving her lips.
“Didnt you just mess up the figures in the report? Were you expecting a pat on the head for that?” Emma teased.
Lilys cheeks flushed with hurt as she turned toward the window, her lips pursed. Emma ignored the younger sisters sour look and began gathering her things. The workday finally ended; the files were neatly slipped into a folder, the coffee mug clattered into the sink.
Lily stayed silent as they walked down the corridor. Only when the office doors closed behind them did Emma speak again.
“Its easy for you to laugh. Youre our perfect one.”
Emma sighed. These arguments had become a regular thing lately. Lily used to brush off criticism from the boss with a joke and move on. Now every word seemed edged with bitterness.
“Just do your job well, Lily. You can, too,” Emma said calmly.
“Of course, right.” Lily muttered.
Both women had been in the procurement department of a major British retail chain for three years. Emma had joined first, and six months later helped Lily get a place. The sisters had always been close, supporting each other through everything, but their approaches to work were worlds apart.
Emma stayed late, digging into supplier markets, comparing terms from dozens of firms before making a decision. Lily preferred a laidback pacegetting the minimum done by the deadline, then scrolling through her phone or chatting in the break room. Emma never judged Lilys different outlook; after all, everyone has their own method.
A month earlier, the management called Emma into the directors office and offered her a promotion: senior purchasing manager with a substantial increase in her £salary. Emma was startled but accepted immediately; years of diligent work finally paid off.
Lily hugged her and congratulated her, but Emma noticed how quickly Lilys smile faded and how forced her words sounded. That evening they celebrated at a café, yet the atmosphere felt off. Lily kept steering the conversation toward salaries, asking how much more Emma would now earn and how many extra hours shed have to put in.
“You’re just lucky the boss noticed you; otherwise youd be stuck in the same rut,” Lily blurted midconversation.
“Lucky?” Emma echoed. “I spent two months on that project without a single day off.”
“Right, of course.”
Six months later Emma was appointed head of the whole department. The news spread quickly; colleagues shook her hand and wished her success. Lily was the last to arrive, wrapped Emma in a hug and whispered, “Congrats. Youre brilliant now.”
There was no warmth in those words. Emma stepped back, looked straight into Lilys eyes, and saw something cold and alien, like a snake coiled to strike.
In the weeks that followed, Emmas office life shifted subtly but steadily. She stopped receiving lunch invitations from the team. Oliver from the adjacent department no longer stopped by with his morning brew. Colleagues greeted her curtly, then turned away. Whispered jokes and muffled laughter floated behind her back; anyone who turned around pretended to be busy.
Emma wondered what had changed. She had always been open, helpful, and willing to share her expertise. Could a promotion really alter how people treated her? She hadnt become a tyrant; she still listened, didnt demand the impossible, and never sabotaged anyone.
One evening, as Emma was about to leave, Megan, a nervous colleague, knocked on her office door.
“Come in,” Emma called. “Whats wrong?”
Megan slipped into the chair opposite, her face flushed with embarrassment.
“I have to tell you something. Im ashamed, but you deserve to know the truth.”
Emma put down her pen and listened as Megan swallowed hard.
“Lily has been spreading rumors about you for months. She says the ideas in your projects are really hers, that you stole her work, that you only got the promotion because you cozyup to the boss, and that you look down on the rest of us.”
Lily? The little sister Emma had helped get a job? The one she had quietly corrected for the team? Lily was turning the whole office against her?
“Are you sure? You havent mixed anything up?” Emma asked, voice tight.
“Absolutely. At first I thought it was a misunderstanding, but she repeats it to everyone. People start believing it. Gossip spreads faster than a London fire, and soon you begin to accept it yourself.”
Emma left the office, her mind a jumble of disbelief. She drove home, replaying the conversation over and over. Why would Lily do this? They had always been together, Emma had always defended her.
When Lily opened the front door, surprise flickered across her face.
“Emma? Whats happened?”
Emma stepped inside without waiting for an invitation, turned to face her sister, and said coldly, “Why are you turning the whole office against me? Why spread lies that I stole your ideas? Why the rumours?”
Lilys posture stiffened, arms crossing over her chest. Her face flushed a harsh pink.
“Did Megan tell you?” she snapped. “What does it matter who said it!”
“It matters because its false,” Emma replied evenly. “Youre accusing me of betrayal while youve been the one sowing the seeds.”
Lily lunged forward, eyes flashing with something Emma had never seen beforeanger, hurt, perhaps something deeper.
“You want to know why?” Lily shouted. “Because Im tired of always being second! In school you were the top student, teachers adored you. At university you got a firstclass degree while I barely scraped through. At work you keep getting raises and bonuses, and Im stuck in the same spot! I want a high salary and the bosss respect too! Understand? I want to be first!”
Emma stayed quiet as Lily ranted, her voice growing louder.
“Youve always been ahead, flawless. Emmasmart, beautiful, diligent. And I? Im just the shadow, the useless little sister who messes everything up!”
“Then you should have worked for it,” Emma said softly. “Put in the effort, not waste time on videos and gossip. Respect is earned, not taken by shoving others down.”
Lily opened her mouth, but Emma didnt let her finish. She turned and walked out, the door clicking shut behind her. Tears streamed down Emmas cheeks, which she brushed away fiercely. She had to stay strong.
The next morning Emma submitted a transfer request to a branch in Manchester. The HR director was surprised but signed the paperwork without fuss. Emma was a valuable employee; the company didnt want to lose her. The move was approved within two days.
Lily learned of the transfer through colleagues and called Emma that evening. Emma stared at the caller ID before answering.
“You’re moving?” Lily said bluntly.
“Yes.”
“So youre running away.”
“No, Im going where I wont have to look over my shoulder.”
“Youre betraying me! Traitor!”
Emma didnt reply. She hung up. There was nothing left to say.
Three months in Manchester passed quickly. The team welcomed her warmly, projects ran smoothly, and Emma began to forget the nightmare shed endured. Then one night Megan called.
“Emma, have you heard? Lilys been fired.”
Emma froze, phone to her ear.
“What?”
“Last week. She missed deadlines on three contracts, made errors in reports. Management gave her chances, but eventually they let her go. Without you covering her mistakes, everything fell apart. She couldnt cope on her own.”
Emma set the phone down and sat in stunned silence.
The following day Lily appeared at Emmas doorstep, hair disheveled, eyes red, clothes rumpled. She burst into the hallway, shouting:
“Are you happy now? You got me sacked! You moved just to trap me!”
Emma looked at her calmly.
“Where is my fault, Lily? You had the chance to prove yourself. I didnt stop you. What did you do wrong? You ruined everything yourself.”
“This is your fault! You!”
“No, youre the one responsible for what happened. Forget the path back to my flat.”
Emma opened the door wide. Lily froze, unable to believe her sister was truly turning her away. Lily turned and fled down the hallway, the door slamming shut with a deafening bang.
Later, their mother called, voice trembling.
“What are you doing, Emma? Youre to blame for Lilys firing! You abandoned her! Youre selfish! Youve ruined our family!”
Emma tried to explainabout the rumours, the betrayal, Lilys own role in her dismissal. Her mother shouted, accused, demanded that Emma fix everything.
“Youve betrayed the family, Emma. Remember that. Its a sin.”
The line clicked off.
Emma was left alone. The family turned its back the moment she protected herself, stopped expecting her to sacrifice everything for her sister.
She opened an email from senior management: a promotion to a senior role in London, a move back to the capital with a higher £salary. The offer came as a fresh start. If she had once doubted whether to accept, now she answered with confidence.
With everyone who had turned away, there was nothing holding her to the past. It was time to think only of herself.
Weeks of moving and settling in London blurred together. Emma adapted quickly, didnt look back, and didnt try to fit into the old dynamics. Family ties had dwindled to polite holiday greetings, and she no longer felt the sting of their indifference. She realised that strength isnt measured by how much you endure for others, but by how honestly you live for yourself.
In the end, Emma learned that true respect cannot be demanded nor forced; it must be earned through integrity, and that loving someone does not mean tolerating their betrayal. A life built on genuine effort and selfrespect is far richer than any hollow accolade bought with envy.
