Chapter 3

After dinner, my boyfriend, Noah, arrived at our house carrying two mango smoothies.

Lily accepted one, took a sip, and immediately smiled.

“You really do know me best. When it’s this hot outside, I have to have something cold.”

Noah smiled with her, then handed the other smoothie to me.

The two drinks were identical, from the flavor to the toppings. Both had been ordered according to Lily’s preferences.

When we were children, Noah had been the only person who remembered me.

One year, my entire family bought Lily gifts for the Moonlight Festival and forgot about me. Noah took my hand and said, “It’s okay, Evelyn. From now on, I’ll make sure you always have a gift.”

But at some point, things began to change.

First, he started buying two of everything—one for Lily and one for me.

Then eventually, both gifts became things Lily liked.

“Why aren’t you drinking it?” Noah asked. “I bought it especially for you.”

I set the cup back on the table.

“I’m allergic to mangoes.”

Noah frowned as though he were trying to decide whether I was deliberately ruining the mood again.

“Are you? I remember seeing you eat mango before.”

“That was the first time I tried it. I ended up in the medical center afterward.”

Three years ago, I had drunk a mango beverage Noah bought for me. That night, I struggled to breathe as hives spread across my entire body.

He had waited outside the treatment room for hours, apologizing over and over. He had even held my hand and promised he would never forget again.

Now, he had forgotten completely.

Noah’s expression stiffened for a moment, and he scratched the back of his head.

To hide his embarrassment, he pushed the smoothie toward me again.

“Werewolves heal quickly. A few sips won’t hurt you. Don’t exaggerate just because Lily likes mangoes.”

Damian’s expression turned cold as well.

“Noah went out of his way to buy that for you. It’s bad enough that you’re being ungrateful. Do you have to make everyone think Lily somehow tried to hurt you?”

“I’m only refusing to drink something I’m allergic to.”

I pushed the smoothie farther away.

I didn’t explain myself again, and I certainly wasn’t going to drink it just to prove how mature and accommodating I could be.

I turned and went back to my room.

For the first time, I was grateful that I hadn’t chosen Blackthorn Academy.

Otherwise, I would have spent the next four years being expected to accept everything Lily liked—and every time I refused, my own boyfriend would accuse me of being jealous of her.

The next day, my parents left for the hotel to confirm the arrangements for Lily’s college acceptance celebration.

I stayed home and began packing.

I took only some clothes, my identification documents, and a few books I would need.

I left the e-reader Damian had given me untouched on my desk.

Once I had finished packing, I opened my bank account, intending to transfer my savings into the new personal account I had recently opened.

Only thirty-two dollars remained.

The account had been opened when I was fifteen. Because I had been a minor at the time, Mom still had joint access to it.

The eight thousand dollars inside had come from three years of part-time work and academic competition prizes.

It was everything I had managed to save in those three years.

I immediately opened the transaction history.

The latest withdrawal was displayed clearly on the screen.

[Amount Withdrawn: $8,000]

[Recipient: Moonlight Jewelry]

My family returned at that exact moment.

Lily walked into my room and raised her wrist, showing me a gold bracelet covered in moonstones.

“Isn’t it beautiful? Mom just gave it to me as my coming-of-age present. It cost eight thousand dollars.”

I looked at the moonstones around her wrist, then at Mom, who had followed her into my room.

“You took eight thousand dollars from my account?”