Chapter 1

I swallowed the bitterness rising in my chest and pushed the door open.

The moment they saw me standing in the doorway, their smiles froze.

Loic walked over to me. Apparently, he still thought he could talk his way out of it. "We were just talking about taking you to the airport first," he said gently, "so we'd get a little more time with you."

I stepped away from his outstretched hand and smiled bitterly. "Do you really think I'm that stupid?"

My mother's face stiffened for a moment, but she quickly recovered. "Theona, since you heard everything, I'll be direct. Clarine has been through enough since you came back. All she wants this time is a graduation trip of her own."

My father chimed in. "Now that we've found our biological daughter, we can't let people think we're mistreating our adopted daughter. Theona, think of the family's reputation. Don't make a big deal out of this."

What a noble speech. Anyone listening would think I was the villain and Clarine was the innocent victim.

But Clarine was the one who'd taken everything from me!

When I was 16, my mother, Daisy Prescott, tracked me down. She told me I'd been kidnapped as a little girl and that I was her biological daughter.

When I first came home, my parents really did care about me.

They had a new home renovated for my adoptive parents, Frank and Ruth Walsh, to thank them for raising me. They threw me a lavish welcome-home party and gave me 16 years' worth of birthday gifts to make up for every birthday they'd missed.

Once my adoptive parents saw I was finally happy, they left me a letter and quietly stepped out of my life so they wouldn't get in the way.

But those good days were never really mine!

Back then, my parents had Clarine teach me high-society etiquette.

No matter how hard I tried, I kept getting things wrong—all thanks to Clarine.

At one dinner party, I made a mistake that offended one of my father's important guests. Everyone turned to stare at me.

My mother quickly explained that I'd grown up away from the family and never had the chance to learn proper etiquette.

After the party, I told them the truth. I'd only done exactly what Clarine had taught me to do.

Clarine's eyes welled up, and she looked so hurt. "Theona, I know you didn't do it on purpose. But when you make a mistake, you have to be brave enough to own up to it. How could you blame it on me?"

She played the victim so well that my father flew into a rage.

His expression darkened as he turned on me. "Theona, there's nothing wrong with not knowing something or making a mistake. But you can't lie and blame your sister for something she didn't do! I'm so disappointed in you!"

My mother said being raised by poor people had made me rotten to the core.

Later, I baked my mother a pineapple cake, hoping it would make her less angry with me. Clarine had told me she loved pineapple. I was allergic to it myself, but I made the cake anyway. What I didn't know was that my mother was allergic too. She had a reaction on the spot and had to be rushed to the ER. My father tore into me, accusing me of not caring about her at all.

That was when I finally realized Clarine had been teaching me the wrong things all along!

After that, everything changed. They refused to touch anything I cooked. They kept me in my room during important parties. They went to Clarine's school events but sent a staff member to mine.

Through all of it, Loic was my lifeline. He'd stay by my side and teach me proper etiquette. Whenever my parents made me feel unwanted, he'd reassure me that they still loved me. They just hadn't figured out how to be parents to two daughters yet. Every time I won an award, he was the only one who told me I'd done well.

On top of that, our two families wanted us to marry, so getting together just felt natural.

But whenever Clarine needed him, he'd drop everything and run to her. "We grew up together. She's like a little sister to me. If you hadn't come back, I would've married her. I can't just turn my back on her now. You understand, don't you, Theona?" And now, here he was trying to convince me all over again. "This isn't just Clarine's graduation trip. I promised her this trip a long time ago. I can't give her the future we once thought we'd have, so at least let me give her this. Just this once, okay?"

He made it all sound so reasonable, as if refusing him would make me the selfish one.

For a long moment, I said nothing.

Clarine came over and took my hand. "Theona, don't blame Loic or Mom and Dad. It's all my fault. I'm being selfish. I'm asking for too much. I won't go anywhere. You should go to Hawaii with everyone else."