Beyond the Family's Shadow
His gaze was a study in tenderness, as if she were fragile crystal.
Elara, on the other hand, didn't even get a glass of warm water.
It was a dark joke.
She and Serena were born minutes apart.
Because she arrived first, she bore the burden of being the older sister.
Then, at two years old, Serena was diagnosed with a rare genetic defect.
This family blood disorder meant that even a minor injury required transfusions from direct relatives.
From then on, she became her sister's walking blood bag.
Her father, mother, and brother even blamed her for hoarding her sister's nutrients in the womb, making Serena so frail.