Chapter 3 The Family I No Longer Belonged To

In the end, the wedding was called off. To avoid scandal, both the Lior and Arroway families publicly announced that the ceremony would be rescheduled for another day. And to dispel rumors of discord between us sisters, they even decided that I—the elder one—would personally officiate the wedding.

When I returned to the Arroway Residence, my parents were waiting, their anger ready to explode.

"Raina Arroway, you must host that wedding!" my father shouted, slamming the newspaper down onto the table. The front-page headline was dripping with mockery. "People are saying we mistreated our birth daughter—ostracized you for the sake of an adopted one! You have to come forward and clear our name!"

I met his glare with a cold expression. "Why should I lie just to protect your reputation?"

"You—" My father's hands trembled with rage.

Selina's eyes instantly filled with tears. "Raina, are you still mad at me? Mad that I took Enzo from you? I know you still love him—that's why you can't stand to see us happy, isn't it?"

Before I could even respond, she turned toward the balcony, clutching the railing as tears streamed down her face like broken pearls. "You're right, I don't belong here. I stole your life, your happiness. Maybe if I die, everything will go back to the way it should've been. I'm sorry, Raina…"

She made it look as though she was about to climb over the railing.

The next second, Enzo rushed in and yanked her back into his arms, holding her tightly, his voice trembling with panic and fear. "Selina! Don't be stupid! You're not the one who doesn't belong. You've done nothing wrong!"

After soothing her, he looked up at me, his bloodshot eyes blazing with fury. "Raina, when will you finally stop?!" he shouted. "Selina is kind and gentle—she's never fought for anything, never hurt anyone! But you—you're all thorns! You can't seem to rest until you've driven everyone around you to the edge!"

My parents hurried over as well, wrapping their arms around Selina protectively, whispering words of comfort as if she were the only one worth saving.

"Raina," my mother said softly, "why don't you stay somewhere else tonight? You need to calm down. We don't want Selina getting upset again after seeing you."

I looked at the loving, united scene before me—this family that had never once stood on my side—and felt nothing but cold emptiness. Without another word, I turned and walked out of that house for good.

…

At the corner of an empty street, I pulled out my phone. On the screen was a text I'd received a few hours earlier. 'Raina, have you made up your mind? Mr. Ellery and the team are all waiting for your return.'

I took a deep breath and typed back a simple reply. 'I'm in.'

Almost immediately, my phone rang.

A familiar, excited voice came through. "That's wonderful, Raina! You finally agreed! Mr. Ellery will be thrilled to hear this! But… you know the experiment requires total isolation, right? There's no set duration. Will your parents and… fiance be all right with that?"