Chapter 3

My mother forgot everything else and turned to pull Bella into her arms.

"Don't be silly, my child. This is your home. No one can ever make you leave."

"We're the only family you have now."

She looked back at me, my head bleeding, her eyes filled with a deep, impenetrable disappointment.

"Aurora, you've gone too far this time."

"As a princess of the Moretti family, you shouldn't act like this. I'm very disappointed in you, Aurora."

As the crimson blood ran down my cheek, a grim smile touched my lips.

She wanted me to yield to Bella in all things. I did.

She wanted me to be sensible, to be understanding. I was.

And now, I couldn't imagine what she was disappointed in.

Was she disappointed that I'd stopped playing the smiling puppet for Bella's amusement, that I'd failed to maintain the poised facade of a Principessa?

Or was she disappointed that once I saw through their false affection and realized they never considered me family, I refused to play along with their clumsy charade?

But I'm a person, too, Mama.

I have dignity. I need my family's love!

My father walked over, ostensibly to mediate. "Aurora, your mother is truly angry this time."

"Just apologize to Bella and this will all be over. Don't let outsiders laugh at the Moretti family."

Apologize. Again. From start to finish, I was always the one who had to apologize.

But not this time.

I pushed myself up from the cold floor and lifted my head, speaking each word with deliberate clarity. "I did nothing wrong. I will not apologize."

The moment the words left my mouth, Enzo lunged forward and slapped me hard across the face.

The force was so strong it snapped my head to the side. The taste of iron filled my mouth, and I spat a mouthful of blood onto the light-colored silk carpet.

Still not satisfied, he leaned down and grabbed my collar.

"Aurora, I'm warning you, don't play games. Drop the princess attitude!"

"If you don't get on your knees and beg Bella for forgiveness tonight, I'll throw you in the lockup in the basement!"

He raised his hand again.

This time, my father finally stepped in, grabbing his arm.

"Enzo, that's enough. She is your sister, after all."

Enzo shook him off. "She's not my sister!"

"She's selfish, cold-hearted, and cruel. I don't have a sister who brings so much shame to our name!"

"My only sister is Bella!"

My mother spoke up then. "Aurora, you can't blame us for favoring Bella."

"Look at yourself right now. What's the difference between you and some common street brawler? Where are all the noble manners we taught you?"

With that, she put her arm around Bella and turned back to her room.

As our eyes met, Bella peeked out from behind our mother's arm. Her expression held no sympathy, only naked triumph.

It was as if she were gloating: See? You can never win against me.

Your family, your position, everything you have… it's all mine.

Taking his cue, Enzo started walking toward me with a grim look on his face.

Seeing that even my mother had sided against me, my father sighed, turned, and went back to his study down the hall.

Enzo glared at me. "Aurora, this is your last warning. Bow your head and admit you were wrong."

"Otherwise, I guarantee you won't like the alternative. A spoiled princess like you wouldn't last a day in the lockup."

"Don't make this harder on yourself, or it's only going to get uglier for you."

I saw him up close then, and his face was so unfamiliar it sent a chill through me.

He had always been impulsive and reckless, but out of respect for family rules, he had never dared to lay a finger on me.

He was never gentle with me, but for most of our lives, he had at least fulfilled the duties of a brother.

But now, the way he looked at me… it was as if he were sizing up a traitor who deserved nothing less than a bullet to the head.

We shouldn't have ended up like this.

Bella's methods were terrifyingly effective.

First my mother, then my father, and now Enzo.

One by one, they had all been turned against me, all willing to hurt me for her sake.

I had to laugh at myself.

"Even if you beat me to death today, I will not apologize."

Enzo grabbed my chin, forcing me to look up at him.

The pressure was so intense it was painful.

But the physical pain was nothing compared to the agony in my heart.

Finally, my father's study door opened again. "Enough!" he boomed. "Do you want the entire underworld laughing at us?"

Enzo snorted, let me go, and stormed off down the corridor.

The vast, luxurious manor fell silent, save for the faint hum of the crystal chandelier.

I leaned against a cold, hard marble column, my mind replaying the last twenty-odd years of my life.

I don't know how long I sat there. In a daze, I heard my parents' hushed voices through the slightly ajar door on the second floor. "Was the punishment in front of everyone too harsh today?"

"Harsh? That girl is too proud. This is a good chance to knock her down a peg, make her learn her place."

"Tomorrow, have the cook make her favorite Osso Buco. And have the jeweler send over that necklace she was looking at. She'll get over it."

"You know what she's like. She values family above all else; she can't survive without the family's protection."

I smiled. So that was it.

It was my devotion to our blood ties that gave them the confidence to trample on my heart without a second thought.

Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

It was a notification from Jessy. A private jet to Europe, departing at six tomorrow morning.

I pushed myself to my feet, my head swimming. The blood on my face had started to dry.

I didn't pack a suitcase. I went to my room and took only my passport, a few clean credit cards, and the first family heirloom my mother had ever given me.

Not that she remembered giving it to me.

As I walked out the manor gates, the night wind whipped into my collar. I shivered, but with a clarity I hadn't felt in years.

I looked back one last time at the brightly lit manor.

As the gate clicked shut behind me, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

I would never see them again. And I no longer wanted this family.