I Was The Outsider

After my adopted sister, Bella, borrowed my phone, she forgot to log out of our family's secure channel.

I was about to log her out when an encrypted group chat message popped up at the top of the screen.

"To celebrate Enzo, the Moretti heir, handling his first piece of business for the family, we're having dinner at the private club tonight."

I tapped on it without a second thought.

The member list in the channel was painfully clear, showing only four avatars: my father, my mother, my brother, and Bella.

My brother, Enzo, replied a moment later, "Just the four of us. Don't call Aurora."

"If she comes, she'll just find another excuse to bully Bella."

I stared at the words, frozen.

It dawned on me then. In this family, I had been the outsider all along.

...

As if on cue, my mother's call came through.

"Aurora, there's a sudden sit-down with the capos. We won't be back at the manor tonight."

"Remember to go to the laundry room and steam those couture gowns. The staff can't be trusted with them."

"And besides, Enzo and Bella both have their own plans."

"Don't wait up for us for dinner. Just have the chef make you something simple."

Before I could even think of a reply, the line went dead.

I walked into the laundry room. The racks were lined with my brother's silk shirts and Bella's silk evening gowns. I stared at them, lost in thought.

The signs I'd ignored had been there all along, scattered throughout my life.

I'd just been deluding myself.

Somewhere along the way, I had become the most irrelevant person in this manor.

I casually picked up the last imported blood orange from the fruit bowl and began to peel it. It occurred to me that this was one of the few things left in this manor I could still call my own.

A few days ago, my exclusive custom couture gown had arrived .

All it took was a casual remark from Bella about its beauty for my parents to hint that I should let her have it.

But I have few indulgences, and this dress was tailored specifically for me.

I didn't say much, only suggesting the designer create another gown in the same style so we could each have one.

But my suggestion was met with a tirade of cold sarcasm from my mother, right in front of all the bodyguards.

"A Moretti daughter should know how to be generous, Aurora."

Right then and there, she had the butler hand the garment bag to Bella.

"Come on, Bella. I'll have the tailor adjust the measurements. We'll make sure it fits you perfectly."

Enzo just stood by, sneering.

"Are you serious? You're going to fight with Bella over a dress?"

My father, the Don of the Moretti family, sat on the sofa smoking his cigar. He didn't even bother to look up, as if I were a complete stranger.

I used to be naive enough to think they were just overcompensating, trying to make Bella, the orphan they had taken in, feel secure.

But I was wrong. I was the one who was always left out in the cold.

I took down the gowns one by one and hung them back in their respective closets, arranged according to their owners' preferences.

My brother's room was decorated with his favorite boxing gloves. Bella's bedroom smelled of expensive scented diffusers, her goose-down bed like a cloud.

I glanced at my own small bed in the spare guest room it had been moved to, and my throat tightened.

Who even remembered that the largest bedroom in this house was once the "princess suite" my parents had designed especially for me?

I remembered the first morning after my father brought Bella to the manor. She appeared at the breakfast table with dark circles under her eyes, tear stains still fresh on her cheeks.

My mother held her hand, her heart aching for her, asking if the bed was too hard, if she hadn't slept well.

Bella looked down, whispering that she had claustrophobia and the small bedroom made it hard for her to breathe.

And so, I was "advised" to give up my spacious, sunlit master bedroom.

At the time, she had just escaped a gang war on the streets, and I pitied her. To keep the peace in the family, I agreed without hesitation.

But my consideration only paved the way for them to take more and more.

Because I was the reasonable one, I was expected to give in to her every time.

Because I was the responsible one, it was my job to handle tedious family duties like banquet menus and guest room assignments, while Bella and my brother just had to enjoy themselves and receive the best education money could buy.

I had almost forgotten. Before Bella came, they used to dote on me, too. I was the apple of their eye.

How did it all change the moment she arrived?

The thought tightened a knot in my chest.

I sat on the edge of my bed, mindlessly scrolling through social media.

Bella had posted a new update from her private account.

In the photo, my father, mother, brother, and Bella were all seated in a private room at the club, smiling brightly under a champagne tower.

The caption read: A displaced soul has finally found its true home.

Comments from their inner circle quickly poured in, "The Don's family is so generous. The new young lady is very fortunate."

"Such a beautiful family of four. A truly blessed sight."

Using my own verified account, I liked the post.

Then I typed a single line: "Wishing your family a lifetime of happiness."

It was deleted in less than three minutes, as if it had never existed.

She must have forgotten that the last time she borrowed my phone, she had followed me from that private account and never unfollowed.

A moment later, my phone rang.

"Aurora, don't get the wrong idea about that photo. I just had a little too much to drink and posted it without thinking."

I couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

Her two-faced act had become masterful.

To my parents, she always played the part of the fragile, traumatized girl. She was the timid, sweet girl who would voluntarily help our mother organize her jewelry box.

But behind their backs, she constantly used her youth to undermine me.

For the sake of the family's reputation, I had endured it all.

Eventually, she could take anything she wanted from me with a breezy air of entitlement, and if I so much as frowned, I was accused of embarrassing the family.

I tried to explain, but all I ever got in return were more reprimands.

Hearing my silence, her voice on the other end of the line dropped to a whimper. "Aurora, are you angry with me?"

"I'm so sorry, it's all my fault. I've lost everything, and I just wanted so badly to be part of this family..."

Before she could finish, she was already sobbing.

I hadn't even had a chance to speak when the phone was snatched from her. It was Enzo's furious roar.