The Girl Nobody Came For

ELOWEN’S POV

“Don't be late tonight. Your stepfather has arranged a celebration, and please, Elowen, don't embarrass me.”

That was the message mother sent me on my graduation day.

I read it twice while sitting alone on a bench outside the university hall, my graduation gown hanging around my ankles.

No congratulations. No, we're proud of you. She hadn't even asked how the ceremony went.

I should have been used to this by now. After years of being treated like I wasn't important, I should have learned not to expect anything from her. Yet, it still hurts.

The whole campus was full of excitement around me. A girl ran past with a large bouquet that covered half her face. Nearby, two brothers lifted their mother off the ground while she laughed and begged them to put her down. An old man wiped tears from his eyes as he watched his grandchild celebrate.

Cameras flashed everywhere. People shouted out names. Every bench and every patch of lawn belonged to someone's family.

I had hoped mother would come. Even if she couldn't stay for the entire ceremony, I wanted her to sit at the back for a few minutes so I'd see a familiar face when I looked up from the stage. Instead, Seraphina had sent a driver that morning to collect my belongings from the hostel and take them to the mansion.

I locked my phone and placed it face down on my lap.

“Elowen!”

My roommate, Lisa, dropped onto the bench beside me, her graduation gown slipping off one shoulder. Her eyes went to my hands and lingered.

“Where are your flowers?”

I forced a smile. “I don't want any.”

“Nobody doesn't want flowers.” She glanced around the lawn. “Wait, did your family come?”

“They're busy.”

I answered so quickly that she blinked in surprise. Thankfully, she didn't press further. She squeezed my arm, promised to call me later, and hurried back to her parents, who were waving at her excitedly from the grass.

I gazed down at my empty hands. They looked strangely bare among all those colourful bouquets.

Across the path, a father knelt to straighten his daughter's gown. He adjusted her collar, smoothed her sleeves, and said something that made her roll her eyes and burst into laughter. It was such a simple thing. He probably didn't even realise how much that little act meant to her.

For a moment, I was back in our old living room, listening to my father shout at my mother over a bottle he had emptied hours earlier. I remembered the sound of breaking glass and how I used to count the seconds between his footsteps, never knowing when his anger would be directed at me.

I pushed the memory away.

“At least I got out. At least that part is over,” I murmured.

Back then, it didn't occur to me that escaping a bad home and finding somewhere to belong were two different things.

I stood up, brushed the dust from my gown, and headed for the parking lot to collect the rest of my belongings.

Four years of my life had been packed into two suitcases; books, clothes, a chipped mug I refused to throw away, and a few photographs. That was all I had to show for years of studying. It seemed so little.

I was struggling to lift the first suitcase into the car when the second slipped from my hand and hit the ground with a loud thud.

Then the chatter around me grew quieter

Heads turned as a sleek black car drove into the parking lot and came to a stop. A man stepped out of the back seat, dressed in a well-fitted dark suit with the top button of his shirt undone.

Cassian.

He had the look of someone with somewhere more important to be. When his eyes landed on me, bent over my suitcase in my graduation gown, he headed straight to me.

Whispers followed him.

“That's Cassian Thorne!”

“Why is he here?”

“Isn't she his stepsister?”

“Imagine having a brother like that.”

I heard every word but kept my eyes on my suitcase. I wished the ground would open up and swallow me. Cassian reached me and took the handle from my hand.

“Why are you carrying this yourself?”

“I can manage.”

“I didn't ask if you could.”

That was Cassian. He never waited for permission to help. He simply showed up and took the burden off my shoulders. He handed the suitcase to his driver without another word, then turned to me.

His eyes studied my face. “Where's everyone?”

I looked away. “Who?”

“Your friends, your mother. Anyone who should be celebrating with you.”

His eyes roamed the parking lot, then to the crowded lawn where families were taking photographs. A muscle moved in his jaw.

“I don't need anyone to celebrate me.”

“That's a stupid thing to say on your graduation day.”

I lowered my eyes. “Congratulations won't change anything.”

He said nothing. Then he reached into his pocket and brought out a small red box tied with a black ribbon.

“I got you something.”

I stared at the box, not believing what I was seeing. “You remembered?”

His eyebrows drew together, as though the question had offended him.

“Of course I remembered.”

Four words, said as if it were obvious, and they nearly undid me. I opened the box and saw a delicate gold chain with a tiny moon pendant. I recognised it immediately.

Months ago, while walking back from the bus stop, I had stopped outside a jewellery shop and admired a similar necklace through the window. I hadn't told anyone how much I liked it. I certainly hadn't expected Cassian to notice.

“It's beautiful,” I whispered.

“Then wear it.”

“Is it expensive?”

“Must you ruin every nice moment by asking about money?”

I laughed. Cassian took the necklace from the box and drew closer. He lifted my hair away from my neck and reached around me to fasten the clasp. His fingers brushed my skin, and suddenly, I couldn't remember what I was thinking about a second earlier. I stood still, and fixed my eyes on the buttons of his shirt. Behind us, someone let out a loud sigh. I prayed my face wasn't as red as it felt.

“There.” Cassian stepped back and looked me over. “Now you look like a graduate and not someone attending a funeral.”

“That's your idea of a compliment?”

“It's the best you're getting today.”

I smiled. For a few precious seconds, I forgot the truth. That the man standing before me had never looked at me the way I looked at him.

Then a girl wearing a blue graduation gown approached and tapped his sleeve. “Excuse me, Cassian. Could I take a picture with you?”

He agreed without hesitation, flashing the crooked smile that seemed to work on everyone. Within minutes, a crowd had gathered around him. Students raised their phones, called his name, and laughed as they took turns posing beside him.

I moved aside and folded my hands in front of me. Seeing him among those people reminded me of what I often tried to forget. Cassian Thorne was the kind of man everyone wanted. He was handsome, wealthy, and confident. People naturally gravitated towards him.

And I was just the girl who happened to live under the same roof.

When he finally returned, his smile had softened.

He opened the car door for me. “Come on.”

“Where?”

“Home.”

“I need to unpack.”

“You can do that later.”

“Cassian, I really don't feel like going anywhere.”

He studied my face again, as though he suspected I was hiding something from him. “There's a graduation party tonight. Dad arranged it.”

“For me?”

“Unless there's another university graduate living in our house.”

I touched the moon pendant resting on my chest. Nobody in that house had ever made a big deal out of anything I did. The thought of having a celebration arranged in my honour filled me with both excitement and fear.

“Why didn't anyone tell me?”

“Because everyone in this family enjoys keeping secrets.” He held the door open wider. “Get in, Elowen.”

I climbed into the car. The leather seat was cool at the backs of my legs. Cassian slid in after me, and the door closed, shutting out the noise and excitement of the campus.

As the car drove away, I spotted Lisa and a few other classmates waving from the lawn. I waved back, wondering when I would see them again.

“You're acting strange today,” Cassian said.

“I'm tired.”

“Then sleep.”

His eyes dropped to the pendant around my neck. He stared at it and returned to the window, quick.

I didn't understand the look on his face, so I told myself not to think about it.

I wanted to believe the party was real, that for once my family had remembered me and decided that my happiness mattered. But hope was a habit I had learned to ration. I faced the window and watched the trees blur past.

If only forgetting my feelings for him were as easy as closing my eyes.

The road led us to the Thorne estate. Soon, the tall black iron gates came into view under the evening sky. I felt the familiar mix of emotions that always came with returning home. Relief at having somewhere to sleep and fear of what was awaiting me

Just before we got to the gates, Cassian's phone rang. He glanced at the screen and answered.

I couldn't hear the person on the other end, so I watched his face instead. The relaxed expression he had worn all afternoon disappeared. His features hardened, and his eyes became cold. He listened for a few seconds before speaking.

“No. She isn't leaving tonight.”

I turned to him sharply. Leaving? Why did it sound as though he knew something I didn't?