My sister and I are two years apart in age so we have always had the same group of friends. When she was 18 she started seeing my boyfriend’s best friend and we spent even more time together.
My sister and her boyfriend, Will, had been together for about six years when she confided in me that she had met a guy at work and that they had heaps in common. My sister and her boyfriend had met before she went to uni and both of them had since grown into pretty different people — Will was a labourer and she was now a journalist.
One night my sister, her boyfriend and my boyfriend and I went to a really nice restaurant together. My sister was really dressed up and had a new haircut that made her look great. I had recently put on a bit of weight and was feeling very frumpy that night. It didn’t help that my boyfriend kept sneaking admiring glances at my sister, and that Will couldn’t stop saying how beautiful she looked.
About a week later I saw my sister again and she told me that she had started having an affair with Sam, the guy from her work. She was upset because Sam wanted her to break up with Will, and Will had just asked her to marry him. She spent the next few hours telling me that Will had been her best friend since she was young, and that no one knew her better, but that Sam understood her in a way that Will never would.
When I went home that night, my boyfriend and I had a silly argument. In the middle of the argument he said it would be nice if I put more effort into my appearance — like my sister did. He said that maybe I could look at least half as nice as her if I tried. I went to sleep that night very upset and unsure of myself.
Will and I ran into each other the next day and decided to eat lunch together. Over lunch, Will told me he was worried that my sister hadn’t answered his marriage proposal yet. He said that she was the best thing that ever happened to him and that he would be devastated if she said no. He talked about how beautiful she was … and that was the final straw for me. I blurted out that everyone thought she was so perfect, but that she was running around with another guy behind his back.
That night my sister rang in tears — Will had left her. He’d said that he didn’t want to talk to her again, and it was clear from her confusion that he hadn’t even told her why he was moving out. My sister just assumed he must have seen her with Sam somewhere.
A year later, I ran into Will. He was engaged to a girl he had met not long after he left my sister. He said he was happier and that he had more in common with his new fiancée — he had always felt like my sister looked down on him a bit.
In a way, my jealous outburst had helped all of them. My sister and Sam were married six months after Will broke up with her, and Will was clearly happy with his new love. But I wish I hadn’t let my own insecurities get the better of me. I know my sister would never forgive me if she ever found out that I spilled her secret.
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