Chapter 1 — The Daughter They Didn't Want

The rain had not started yet, but the sky above the Laurent estate was already dark.

Elena Laurent stood halfway down the upstairs hallway, one hand resting against the wall as she listened to the voices coming from her parents' study. She had only come upstairs to tell her mother that dinner was ready. But the moment she heard her father's voice, she stopped.

“We cannot keep delaying this.”Elena frowned.

Richard Laurent rarely sounded uncertain, but tonight his voice carried an urgency she had never heard before.Her mother's reply came a moment later.

“I know. But Adrian's family expects the Laurent name to be represented properly.”

Elena's heart skipped.

Adrian?She moved closer to the slightly open door.

“We already have someone who can take her place,” Richard continued. “Isabella is the obvious choice.”Elena's fingers tightened against the wall.

Someone who could take her place?

Her mother's voice dropped. “What about Elena?“She was never supposed to be involved.”Elena stopped breathing for a moment.She stared at the door, waiting for someone to laugh and tell her this was some misunderstanding.

Instead, Richard continued.

“The original arrangement was made years ago because we needed an alliance. But things have changed. Isabella is more accomplished, more graceful, and far more suitable for the Blackwood’s family.”

Elena felt something crack inside her.She had spent years trying to earn her parents' approval. She studied hard, stayed away from scandals, attended every family event, and did everything expected of her. Whenever Isabella received praise, Elena told herself that her turn would come eventually.Apparently, she had been fooling herself.

“But what will happen to Elena?” her mother asked.There was a short silence before Richard answered, “She'll manage.”

Elena's eyes burned.Her mother didn't defend her.Instead, Catherine sighed.

“She has always expected too much. Perhaps this will finally teach her to stop.”That was when Elena pushed the door open.Her parents immediately looked toward her.The silence that followed was louder than anything they could have said.

Elena stepped inside, her face pale.

“So it's true?”Richard's expression hardened. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough.”

“Elena, this conversation wasn't meant for you.”A bitter laugh escaped her.“My marriage wasn't meant for me either, apparently.”Catherine looked away.Elena stared at her mother, desperately searching for some sign of guilt.

“Mother?”

Catherine remained silent.Elena swallowed the air in her throat.“You were discussing replacing me with Isabella?”Richard sighed impatiently. “You're making this more emotional than it needs to be.”

“Because it is my life!”Her voice broke, but she didn't look away.Richard stood from his chair.“You need to understand that marriage into the Blackwood's family is an important opportunity. Isabella is better suited for it.”

“Then why was I promised to Adrian?”

“Because at the time, it was necessary.” her mother replied.The answer left Elena speechless.

Necessary.

That was all she had been.A convenient daughter for a convenient arrangement.

Richard's next words destroyed whatever remained of her hope.

“Elena, Isabella is the daughter we actually wanted. You were just a placeholder.”The room went still.Elena looked at him as though she had never seen her father before.

A placeholder.

She thought of all the birthdays when she had waited for her parents to notice her before celebrating Isabella. She remembered every school achievement she had brought home, only to hear how Isabella had done better.

She had always believed she simply wasn't trying hard enough.Now she understood.It had never been about her effort.They had never wanted her.A tear slipped down her cheek but she quickly wiped it away.

Catherine finally looked at her.

“You were never meant to be anyone important.”

Elena's heart sank.For a moment, she couldn't speak.Then she nodded twice.

“All right.”Richard frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It means I'm done.”She turned toward the door.“Elena.”She stopped but didn't turn around.

“Where are you going?”She looked over her shoulder.

“Away.”

“Don't be childish.”Her eyes met her father's.“I spent my whole life trying to become someone you could love.”Her voice trembled, but she forced herself to continue.

“I won't waste another day doing that.”She looked at both of them.“Then I'll become someone you can't ignore.”

She walked out before either of them could answer.No one followed or tried to stop her

and that hurt more than she expected.By the time Elena reached the front entrance, the rain had begun.

She stepped outside anyway.

Within seconds, cold drops covered her hair and face. Her dress became soaked as she walked down the long driveway, but she didn't turn around.

Behind her was the Laurent estate.The place she had called home.

The place where she had just learned she had never truly belonged.

She kept walking.

The rain grew heavier, forcing her to squint as she moved through the streets. She had no destination and no idea what she would do next.

But with every step, the pain inside her slowly changed.

It was still there.

The betrayal,the humiliation,the loneliness.But beneath it was something new.

Determination.

If they didn't think she could become important, she would prove them wrong.After nearly an hour, Elena stopped beneath the awning of St Regis New York hotel.The golden lights shining through the glass doors offered warmth from the storm.

She hesitated before entering.

The moment she stepped inside, several people turned to look at her soaked clothes and dripping hair.

Elena lowered her gaze and walked toward the reception.She only needed somewhere quiet.Somewhere to breathe.She had almost reached the receptionist when a deep male voice came from behind her.

“Leaving home in the middle of a storm is a dangerous way to disappear.”

Elena froze.Something about the voice made her heart beat faster.

Slowly, she turned.

A tall man stood several feet away, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit. His grey eyes were fixed on her, and unlike the curious guests around them, he wasn't staring at her because she was drenched.He looked as though he recognized her.

Elena's fingers tightened around her bag.

“Do I know you?”

The man's gaze remained on her face.

“Elena Laurent?”

“How do you know my name?”

For the first time, something shifted in his expression.

Recognition.

Then he took a slow step toward her.

“You look like someone who could use a company.”

Elena stared at him, suddenly forgetting the storm outside.She had walked into the hotel believing she had finally escaped one problem.She had no idea she had just walked directly into another.