Chapter 2

As soon as she finished speaking, tears started streaming down Clarine's cheeks.

Right away, all three of them were fussing over her.

My mother hurried over, pulled Clarine into her arms, and gently patted her back to soothe her.

My father frowned. "Theona, stop sulking. Be the bigger person. You're our only biological daughter. Everything we have will be yours one day. Your sister just wants one trip. That's all she's asking for."

Was that really all she wanted? Then why had she taken everything from me?

My father never gave me a cent in allowance, yet he'd bought Clarine several cars.

My mother said Clarine was her daughter too, and she wouldn't neglect her just because I'd come home. Instead, she showered Clarine with even more love and attention.

For every dress my mother bought me, she bought ten for Clarine so she wouldn't feel left out. When Clarine said she liked a doll I'd bought with my scholarship money, my mother simply took it from me and gave it to her. She always remembered Clarine's favorite foods, yet somehow forgot that both of us were allergic to pineapple.

Clarine sniffled. "Mom, Dad, it's okay. I really don't mind. But Wrangel Island is so far away. What if something happens to Theona when she's there all alone?"

Loic reached over and wiped the tears from Clarine's face as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Don't worry. Theona's been through plenty since she was a kid. She knows how to take care of herself. But you've always had people looking after you. How could we let you go somewhere like that alone?"

A place like that.

Every word of it dripped with contempt.

How ironic. They knew perfectly well how remote Wrangel Island was. They knew something could happen to me out there, yet they'd still ganged up on me and rigged the draw.

All because they wanted to give Clarine a trip of her own. All because they were afraid I'd embarrass them.

Humiliation and disappointment washed over me. I couldn't stay there any longer. If I did, I'd burst into tears.

I took a step toward my room.

Loic tensed up. He moved in front of Clarine and watched me warily. "Theona, what do you think you're doing?"

I looked at the man I was supposed to marry in a few months and felt completely let down.

"Relax, Loic. I'm only going to my room to pack." I laughed, mostly at myself.

What they didn't know was that I wouldn't be making this trip alone.

My advisor, Dr. Ellen Marsh, was leading a team to Wrangel Island in the High Arctic to film a documentary on polar bears. She'd invited me to join them.

This was an exceptionally rare polar research expedition. My name would go down in the field's history.

I'd turned her down twice because I wanted to go to Hawaii with my family. I'd even considered walking away from the research I loved just to stay close to them.

But there was no point in telling them any of that now.

I could live without a graduation trip. I could live without my family and the man I loved by my side. I still had work I loved and a future of my own.

When Loic realized I was only going to pack, he finally stepped aside.

But just as I headed for my room, my mother stopped me. "Theona, your sister had an eczema flare-up recently, and her doctor said she needed more sunlight. Your room gets the most sun, so we let her move in there for now."

With graduation coming up, I'd been so busy with the work Ellen had given me that I'd practically been living at the lab.

I had no idea my room had already been handed over to someone else.

"Your sister has so many clothes and bags that we turned her bedroom into a walk-in closet." My mother looked a little uncomfortable.

"What about me? Where's my room?" My voice came out low and flat.

My father actually pointed to the shabby, damp storage room outside.

I went over and opened the door. My things had been thrown together in a messy heap.

The teddy bear my adoptive mom had sewn for me more than ten years ago had been tossed onto the floor, covered in dust.

I picked it up, brushed off the dust, and suddenly thought of my room back at my adoptive parents' house.

Their house wasn't big, but they'd given me the biggest, brightest room. They'd filled it with my favorite flowers and toys my adoptive mom had sewn by hand. I was afraid of the dark, so she'd kept making me little toys to keep me company at night.

An aching sadness welled up in my chest, and before I could stop myself, tears began to fall.

When Loic saw me crying, he looked flustered, almost pained.

He came over and patted my back. "It's okay, Theona. Just let Clarine have the room. We'll have our own place once we're married anyway."

I didn't say a word. I just kept packing.