Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

The girl whispered "Richard" and then just collapsed. The crowd went wild, and Richard's face twisted as he looked over. She was closest to me, so I stepped up and caught her before she hit the ground.

She was barely conscious, trying to open her eyes, but all she managed were a couple of tears and another soft "Richard."

I rushed her to the hospital. After a bunch of tests, the doctor dropped the bomb: she was pregnant. I stared at the girl on the bed, looking so young and innocent. That was my first impression of Sophie. Thinking back to how upset she was when the judge gave the verdict and her constant calling for "Richard," I thought I had it figured out.

She was still out cold, so I dug through her phone for her family's contact info and gave them a call. A middle-aged couple showed up just before dark, right as Sophie was waking up.

When they heard she was pregnant, the woman lost it, throwing all kinds of insults at her. Sophie just cried, too scared to talk back.

Then the woman turned to me, giving me the once-over before pointing at me and asking Sophie, "Is he the father?"

Sophie shook her head like crazy, but the woman didn't care and started yelling at me.

"You look decent, but what have you done? Sophie's just a kid!"

I wasn't planning to say anything, but she was really pushing it.

I calmly said, "It's not me."

That just made her angrier. She put her hands on her hips and yelled even louder. "Why won't you take responsibility?"

She turned back to Sophie, stormed over, and jabbed her in the forehead. "You're such a disgrace. We raised you, and this is how you repay us?"

Sophie's head jerked to the side, but she just kept crying, not daring to talk back.

The woman said angrily, "You need to get rid of this illegitimate child."

Sophie was shocked, but then her eyes got this fierce look. "No, I won't. I'm keeping this baby."

"What did you say?" The woman's voice went up several notches, and she grabbed Sophie's ear. "You've shamed us enough, and now you want to keep it?" Sophie, still crying, said firmly, "I have to keep this baby."

The woman shot a look at the silent man next to her, then sneered. "Sophie, if you keep this baby, you're out of our house. We can't handle this shame."

She dragged the man out, and I later found out she wasn't Sophie's mom but her aunt. Her parents had died, and she'd been living with her uncle's family. After they left, Sophie cried her eyes out. I stood there, clueless about how to comfort her.

When she finally calmed down, I asked, "Is the baby Richard's?"

She teared up again but nodded.

"Does Richard know about the baby?" I asked.

A sad look crossed her face, and she shook her head.

I felt bad for her and added, "Are you really going to keep the baby?"

Sophie looked at me with her swollen eyes and said, "I have to keep this baby."

I knew there was no point in trying to change her mind. She was determined.

I said, "I'm Ethan, Richard's older stepbrother."

With her family cutting her off and Sophie set on having the baby, I had to find a place for her. Richard had messed up, but I managed to pull him back from the edge. Still, I felt guilty about Sophie and the baby.

Later, I found out Richard didn't really want the baby; he got Sophie pregnant by accident. We all had to face the consequences of our choices. Sophie did, Richard did, and so did I.

I didn't know if Victor had fully kicked his drug habit. If he hadn't, then after Richard got busted for dealing, he should've realized just how bad drugs were.

On Fiona's death anniversary, I drove back to her hometown to visit her grave.

Fiona was buried on a hillside near her home. Unlike a public cemetery that had kept up, her family was small-just her mom and sister-so no one had time to take care of her grave. Weeds and brambles had taken over, almost hiding her tombstone.

I spent half the day clearing them out and then stood there for another half, just staring at her grave in silence.

Her tombstone only had her name, but I could never forget her face those long lashes, big eyes, and the way she'd shyly look down and say "thank you," too scared to meet my gaze.

And that last night, when she trembled under my harsh words, trying so hard not to cry. Over the years, I've had nightmares, seeing her covered in blood, telling me she was in so much pain and so cold.

"Ethan!" A clear voice called out behind me.

I turned to see a tall, beautiful girl walking towards me.

It was Fiona's sister, Faye. She looked a lot like Fiona, but now she was all grown up, full of life.

I remembered when she came to Starlight City looking for Fiona; she was just a kid. Now she was a young woman.

Even back then, I could tell she was braver than Fiona. When she first arrived in the big city, she wasn't scared at all just curious and eager to try everything. She even went on stage for Fiona once. Like Fiona, she had a beautiful singing voice. I thought, 'Maybe one day, Faye could live out Fiona's dreams.'

"Ethan, Fiona knows you came to see her; she'd be so happy." Faye's voice had this uplifting tone that made it pleasant to hear. I couldn't help but smile a little.

I said, "Are you sure Fiona would be happy, not resentful?"

Faye shook her head firmly. "No way. Fiona loved you; how could she resent you? You loved Fiona too, right? I can feel it."

When Faye was going through Fiona's stuff, she found a diary. Most of it was about me. From the diary, I could see her love, her insecurities, and her struggles. But no matter how much time passed, I could never make it right.

I patted Faye's head and said, "Faye, study hard."

Faye nodded with determination, saying, "I will."

Before leaving, I visited Faye's mom. She was disabled and bedridden for years. With Faye away at school, her elderly grandmother had been taking care of her mom.

The year Fiona had her accident, I visited them. Seeing how tough things were, I totally got why Fiona, despite being so timid, had to work in a crowded bar and why she felt so inferior around me.

She must have been extremely desperate before she died; otherwise, how could she have left her mom and Faye behind?

I thought, 'If I hadn't gotten drunk that night, if I had answered her call, would things have been different?'

Over the years, guilt and regret have haunted me. Besides financial help, I didn't know how else to make up for it.

After returning from Fiona's hometown, I went to Victor's place.

I knew that after what happened to Richard, Victor must have felt terrible. I didn't hate him as openly as I did when I was younger. No matter how much anger there was, he was still my father. Now, I was more rational. After dealing with the business world and seeing how cold people could be, I longed for some warm family moments.

Linda made some cupcakes, which reminded me of how Cindy used to make them for me.

Taking a bite of the cupcake in my hand, I suddenly felt very sad. I knew I would never be able to eat Cindy's cupcakes again.

Victor sat on the couch, completely still. Linda called him several times, but he didn't come. She wiped away her tears as she made cupcakes. "Richard loved my cupcakes, but now he's all alone..." There were so many lonely people in this world. As I left, I took two more cupcakes and drove to Broadway Alley.