Gentle tattoo

My phone buzzed with a notification. Someone had answered my question on Quora: "How powerful is the impact of a 'first love'?" My fiancé, Mark, had responded. "Powerful enough that I proposed to her sister, so I could be close to her, as family."

I’m that sister. And honestly? I wasn't as devastated as you might think. Because the top-rated answer to that question? That was mine. And I had a secret too.

1.

The doorbell rang. Mark, drunk as a skunk, stood swaying on my porch. Last week, he’d proposed. I’d said yes. Now, his eyes were red-rimmed, reeking of booze. He looked like he’d been crying. His friend, Ben, steadied him.

"Hey, Sarah! Mark’s just… overwhelmed with joy, you know? So happy he’s marrying you. He got a little carried away celebrating."

"Right. Thanks for getting him home, Ben."

The moment the door closed, Mark grabbed me, pulling me into a hug. "Finally…we’re gonna be family."

As I helped him to the couch, I noticed his phone lighting up with notifications – likes and comments. I unlocked it with his fingerprint. He’d answered that "first love" question on Quora. He’d written about how he’d initially pursued me, the younger sister, just to be near my sister, Ashley. He wasn't sure he loved me. He only knew he loved Ashley. He proposed, he said, to be close to her, to protect her, as family.

2.

I flashed back to the first time Mark met Ashley. I hadn't even introduced them yet when he’d smoothly said, “Hi, Ashley.” I hadn’t thought much of it at the time. But now, I remembered Ashley’s surprised look, Mark’s knowing smile. The air had crackled with unspoken something.

3.

Ashley wasn’t my biological sister. She was my stepmom’s daughter. She arrived when I started high school, a year ahead of me. Dad adored her. My stepmom, riding high on that favoritism, let Ashley get away with anything. We’d clashed constantly. Things had eased as we got older, a superficial truce masking underlying rivalry. But she’d won, hadn’t she? I'd gotten her sloppy seconds, a man who was still hopelessly in love with her. I remembered Mark's engagement announcement on Instagram: "I’ll become your family, and I’ll always protect you." Ashley had commented, “Congratulations!” Now, reading his Quora answer, I understood its real meaning. Ninety percent of it detailed how heartbroken he was after Ashley dumped him, how he’d followed her, discovered she had a younger sister – me – and started pursuing me. So that was it.

Mark stirred on the couch, muttering, "Ashley, don't leave me…"

I detached myself, my face expressionless. He didn't know that I’d also answered that question. My answer was the top-rated one, with 20,000 upvotes. I’d written it years ago and forgotten about it. It was time I woke up from this dream. Mark was never really him. But I couldn't leave yet. I had unfinished business.

4.

The next morning, I made breakfast. Mark barely touched it, grabbing his keys and rushing out.

"Aren't we supposed to go look at wedding dresses th...