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Part 1: When the Past Walks Back Into Your Family
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She sat behind me in class and whispered insults just loud enough for me to hear. She smiled sweetly while pointing out my flaws. She laughed softly when others looked away, her words sharp enough to cut but clean enough to leave no proof.
By high school, I had learned how to disappear. I ate lunch alone. I kept my head down. I counted days until graduation like someone counting down a sentence.
College became my escape. I moved two states away, built a career, and created a life where Nancy didn’t exist. For years, she barely crossed my mind.
Until my brother brought her back into my world.
“I really want you at the engagement party,” he said gently. “It would mean a lot to me.”
I should have said no.
Instead, I told myself I was an adult now. That the past was over. That people change.
