Chapter 9 - Not Her Life Anymore

Luna couldn't sleep.

She lay on of Marcus's bed, wrapped tightly in the blanket he had given her earlier.

The diner had closed hours ago, and the building was quiet. Marcus had told her she could use the bed for the night, but even though she was exhausted, sleep refused to come.

Her mind kept replaying everything that had happened.

The hospital.

The landlord.

Her belongings lying in the rain, And the apartment she no longer had.

Luna turned onto her side and reached for her phone.Maybe scrolling would distract her.

She opened social media.

The first post that appeared on her screen made her stop breathing for a moment.

Aurora.

She was standing inside what looked like a luxury penthouse, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city.

Aurora wore a beautiful designer dress.

Her hair was perfectly styled.

A champagne glass rested in her hand.

And beside her stood Ethan.The man who had once searched for his angel.

Luna stared at the picture.

The caption beneath it was simple.

**“A night to remember.”**

Thousands of people had reacted to it.The comments kept appearing beneath the picture.

*You're so lucky!*

*You deserve this, queen!*

*Ethan looks completely in love with you!*

*The perfect couple!*

*Our angel finally has everything she deserves.*

Luna's thumb stopped moving.

Our angel.

She swallowed.

That word used to belong to her too.

Not because she had ever called herself an angel.Because once, a boy had looked at her like she was something precious.

A long time ago, Luna had been sitting alone in an alley, trying not to cry.

She had been hungry.

Cold.

Scared.

She had spent most of her life learning that crying didn't make anyone come running.

Then she founded Ethan.He hadn't looked at her old torn clothes.She remembered the way he had looked at her before they parted.

The way he had made that promise.

*I'll find you.*

Luna had believed him.For years, that promise had stayed somewhere inside her.

Not because she was waiting for some grand romance.

Not because she dreamed of becoming rich.She had simply wanted to know that the person who had once seen her would remember her too.

That was all.

She wanted him to look at her one day and say, *I remember you.*

She wanted proof that the girl in that alley had mattered.

But Ethan's promise had taken him somewhere else.

To Aurora.

Luna slowly scrolled again.

Another picture appeared.

Ethan was standing beside Aurora at a glamorous gala.

There were cameras everywhere.

He had his arm around her as photographers captured their smiles.

The headline beneath the post read:

**ETHAN BLACKWOOD FINALLY INTRODUCES HIS ANGEL TO THE WORLD.**

Luna's chest tightened.

She remembered the first time she had heard that word attached to Aurora.She had wondered how it could possibly be true.But now the whole world believed it.

They had seen Aurora in the beautiful dresses.

They had seen the expensive parties.

They had seen Ethan beside her.

They had seen the story they were given.

Nobody had seen the girl who had once sat alone in an alley.

Nobody had seen Luna.

She touched the screen.

Her fingertip rested gently against Ethan's face.

“He doesn't even know I exist,” she whispered.

The words came out weaker than she expected.

A tear slipped down her cheek.

Luna quickly wiped it away.

She didn't want to cry over him.She had survived worse things than losing someone she had never truly had.

But that wasn't why it hurt.

It hurt because Ethan had been the only person who had ever made her feel seen without asking her to prove that she deserved it.Before him, Luna had spent years watching other people receive the love she wanted.

Her mother had collected money for Aurora's dress while Luna learned not to ask for anything.

People praised Aurora.

People protected Aurora.

People noticed Aurora.

Luna had learned to make herself smaller.

Quieter.

Easier to forget.

Then Ethan had come along and, for one brief moment, made her feel like she wasn't invisible.

That memory had kept her going longer than he would ever know.

Sometimes, when life became unbearable, she had remembered that boy in the alley.

She had remembered his kindness.Just because she was herself.

Luna looked at the picture again then locked her phone and pressed it against her chest.

She didn't hate Aurora.

That was the worst part.

She couldn't even hate her enough to make the pain easier.

Aurora was her sister.

Her twin.

The person who had shared the same face, the same childhood, the same blood.

Yet somehow, life had given Aurora everything Luna had spent years wishing for.

Love.

Attention.

Security.

A home.

And Ethan.

Luna closed her eyes.

A quiet sob escaped her.

She immediately covered her mouth.

She didn't want Marcus to hear.

She didn't want anyone to know how badly it hurt.

Because admitting it would mean admitting that somewhere deep inside her, she was still that little girl waiting for someone to come back.

Still waiting for someone to say she mattered.

Still waiting for Ethan to look at her and remember.

But perhaps he never would.

Perhaps the promise he made in that alley had only belonged to the girl he thought she was.

Luna turned onto her side and pulled the blanket over her head.For the first time in years, she wished she could forget the sound of his voice.Because remembering it was becoming too painful.