Youre perfect, you know it, Poppy snapped, eyes flashing. Want to know why? Cause Im fed up always being secondbest! All the time, in everything! At school you were top of the class, every teacher sang your praises. At uni you graduated with firstclass honours, while I was just scraping through resits. At work you keep getting promotions and bonuses, and Im stuck in the same spot! I want a good salary and respect from the boss, understand? I want to be number one too!
***
Great, another slap on the wrist from the boss, Poppy muttered, slamming her laptop shut and flopping back in her swivel chair with a sigh.
Emily looked up from her screen, a halfsmile playing on her lips.
So you messed up that report, huh? Did they pat you on the head for that?
Poppy pursed her lips, turned toward the window, her cheeks flushing with hurt. Emily ignored the younger sisters glare and started gathering her things. The workday finally wrapped up papers neatly slid into a folder, the coffee mug was rinsed and set aside.
Poppy stayed silent as they walked down the corridor. Only when the office doors were far behind them did the younger sister speak again.
You find it easy to joke, dont you? Youre perfect in our eyes.
Emily exhaled. Those arguments had become all too frequent lately. Poppy used to shrug off criticism, crack a joke and move on. Now every word seemed tinged with bitterness.
I just do my job well, Poppy. You can too.
Yeah, sure
Theyd both been at the same large retail firm, buying department, for three years. Emily got the job first, and half a year later helped Poppy get a foot in the door. The sisters were always close, supporting each other, but their approaches to work were night and day.
Emily stayed late, poring over supplier markets, comparing terms from dozens of firms before making a call. Poppy favoured a laidback style get the bare minimum done by the deadline, then spend the rest of the day scrolling on her phone or chatting in the staff kitchen. Emily never judged Poppys different outlook. To each their own, shed say.
A month ago, something that should have been a family celebration happened. The directors called Emily into the managers office and offered her a promotion Senior Procurement Manager, with a tidy salary bump of a few thousand pounds a month. Emily was taken aback but accepted straight away. Years of painstaking work finally paid off.
Poppy hugged her and congratulated her, but Emily noticed how quickly the smile faded from Poppys face, how the words sounded strained. That evening they went to a café to mark the occasion, but the mood was off. Poppy kept steering the chat towards salaries, asking how much more Emily would be earning, how many extra hours shed have to put in.
Lucky you, the higherups finally noticed you. Otherwise youd be stuck on the same old rung, Poppy blurted midsentence.
Lucky? Emily echoed. I spent two months on that project without a day off.
Right, of course.
Six months later Emily was promoted to head the whole department. The news spread like wildfire through the office. Colleagues shook her hand, offered their best wishes. Poppy was the last to arrive, gave Emily a quick hug and whispered in her ear:
Congrats. Youre proper topdog now.
There was no warmth in that whisper. Emily stepped back, met Poppys eyes, and saw something cold, almost serpentine.
The weeks that followed saw Emilys office life shift subtly but steadily. First, Sarah stopped inviting her to lunch. Mike from the neighbouring team no longer dropped by with a morning coffee. Colleagues offered stiff nods, no smiles, and turned away as soon as she turned around. Whispered giggles and murmurs floated behind her back. Whenever she glanced over, everyone pretended to be buried in work.
Emily was baffled. What had changed? Shed always been open, helpful, sharing her knowhow. Had the promotion really twisted how people treated her? She hadnt become a tyrant, hadnt demanded the impossible, hadnt put a spanner in anyones works.
One evening, as Emily was about to leave, Claire, a colleague, tiptoed into her office, looking nervous.
Come in, Emily said. Whats up?
Claire shut the door, lowered herself onto the chair opposite, her face a mixture of embarrassment and unease.
Ive got to tell you something. Im really sorry, but you deserve to know the truth.
Emily set her pen aside, gave Claire her full attention. Claire swallowed hard.
Poppys been spreading rumours about you for months now. She tells anyone wholl listen that the ideas in your projects are actually hers, that youre stealing her work, that you only got the promotion because you cosyup to the boss, that you look down on the rest of us like were idiots.
Poppy? Her own little sister, the one shed helped get a job? The one shed quietly patched up when things went wrong? Was she turning the whole office against Emily?
You sure? Youre not mixing things up? Emily asked, a hint of panic in her voice.
Positive. I didnt want to believe it at first, thought maybe it was a misunderstanding. But she says it constantly, to everyone. People are starting to believe it. You know how fast gossip spreads, and eventually you start to buy into it yourself
Emily left the office that night feeling a knot in her stomach. The drive home was a blur of thoughts. Why? Why now? Theyd always been there for each other. Shed always defended Poppy, even covered for her little slipups. And now this betrayal?
When Emily knocked on Poppys flat, the door swung open, surprise flashing across Poppys face.
Emily? Whats wrong? Something happen?
Emily stepped inside without waiting for an invitation, turned to meet Poppys eyes.
Why?
What are you talking about?
Why are you making the whole office turn against me? Why lie that Im stealing your ideas? Why spread those rumours?
Poppys shoulders hunched, arms crossing over her chest. Her face flushed a strange shade of pink.
Did someone tell you that?
Who cares who said it! Answer my question!
Dont yell at me in my own home! This is ridiculous!
Im not yelling, Emily. Im demanding an explanation. How could you do this? Were sisters!
Poppy stepped forward, eyes blazing with something Emily hadnt seen before anger? Hurt? Something else entirely.
You want to know why? Because Im sick of always being secondbest! Always, everything! In school you were the star pupil, teachers adored you. At uni you graduated with firstclass honours, I was barely scraping through. At work you keep getting raises and awards, and Im stuck here! I want a good salary and respect from the boss, got it? I want to be number one too!
Emily stayed silent as the younger sister ranted on, not stopping.
You were always ahead. Always perfect. Emilythebrain, Emilythebeauty, Emilythehardworker. And me? Just a shadow, the clumsy little sister who always messes things up!
Then you should have worked harder, Emily replied calmly. Put in the effort, not waste time watching videos at your desk or gossiping in the kitchen. You wanted respect? Earn it. Dont drag me through the mud for it.
Poppy opened her mouth, but Emily cut her off, turned and walked out of the flat. The door clicked shut behind her. Tears streamed down Emilys cheeks, which she swiped away fiercely. Hold on, she told herself. Hold on.
The next morning Emily submitted a transfer request to the companys Manchester branch. HR was surprised but signed the paperwork without fuss. Emily was a valuable employee; they didnt want to lose her. The transfer was approved within two days.
Poppy heard about it from coworkers and called that evening. Emily stared at the name flashing on the screen before answering.
Youre moving? Poppy said, tone flat.
Yes.
So youre running off then.
No. Im just going somewhere I wont have to watch my back.
Youre betraying me! Traitor! Sister, youre a
Emily didnt answer. She hung up. There was nothing left to say.
Three months in Manchester flew by. The team welcomed her warmly, projects ran smoothly, and Emily began to shake off the nightmare. Then one night Claire called.
Emily, have you heard? Theyve sacked Poppy.
Emily froze, phone pressed to her ear.
What?
Last week. She missed deadlines on three contracts, made errors in reports. Management had had enough and finally let her go. Everything fell apart without you. Thats how it went
But I didnt
Emily, you spent years fixing her mistakes behind the scenes. When you left, everything came to light. Poppy just couldnt cope without your safety net.
Emily put the phone down and sat in the quiet for a long while.
The next day Poppy turned up at Emilys doorstep, hair dishevelled, eyes red, clothes rumpled. She burst into the hallway and shouted:
Are you happy now? Theyve fired me! You moved just to sabotage me! Did you do it on purpose?
Emily looked at her calmly.
Whats my fault, Poppy? You had a chance to prove yourself. I didnt stop you. What did you do? Ruined everything.
Its you! Its you!
No, youre the one who caused this. And now, stay away from my house.
Emily opened the door wide. Poppy stood frozen, unable to believe her sister was actually sending her away. She turned and fled down the stairwell, the door slamming shut with a deafening bang.
A short while later Mums voice erupted over the phone.
What are you doing, Emily? Youre to blame for Poppys sacking! You abandoned her! Selfish! You should have helped, not run off to another office! Youve destroyed your own sisters life! Its all your fault!
Emily tried to explain, spoke of the rumours, the betrayal, how Poppy herself had driven the situation to the point of dismissal. But Mum kept shouting, accusing, demanding that everything be fixed immediately.
Youve betrayed the family, Emily. Remember that. Its a sin.
A few beeps followed the outburst.
Emily was left alone. The family turned their backs the moment she defended herself, the moment she stopped sacrificing everything for her sister.
Shed be fine. Emily had always been strong. And now she needed that strength more than ever.
She opened an email from the head office: a transfer to Londons City. New role, new city, fresh start. If shed ever doubted whether to take it, now she replied with confidence.
When everyone had turned away, there was nothing left holding her in that town. It was time to think only of herself.
Weeks of frantic packing passed. In the new city Emily settled quickly, didnt look back, didnt try to fit into the old mould. Family ties were reduced to polite holiday cards. She no longer felt the sting of their indifference. Shed survived, and shed thrive.
