Nova barely got her shoes off before she heard it.
"Living room. Now."
Ryder's voice was like gravel. Not yelling—but not giving her the choice to ignore him either.
She took a deep breath. Dropped her bag. Walked in like she wasn't tired of all of this.
Three of them were already waiting.
Ryder stood with his arms crossed, jaw locked. Ethan sat calmly, but his fingers tapped the edge of the couch like a clock ticking down. Darian leaned against the wall, unreadable as always.
Only Max was missing. Typical.
Nova stopped in the doorway. "If this is about the leftover soup, I swear I didn't touch it."
No one laughed.
Ethan spoke first. "We heard."
Nova raised an eyebrow. "You'll have to be more specific."
"The rumors," Ryder growled. "People at school are talking. About you. About us."
She crossed her arms. "I haven't said anything. I haven't even looked at anyone for longer than ten seconds."
"That doesn't matter," Ryder snapped. "You're in our orbit. That's enough."
Nova's eyes narrowed. "Maybe your 'orbit' isn't as untouchable as you think."
Ryder stepped forward, voice sharp. "You think this is funny? You're dragging our name into things you don't understand. You want people snooping? You want them questioning why some random girl lives in our house?"
"I didn't choose this," Nova snapped. "You think I wanted to live here? You think I wanted to show up at your golden kingdom and be treated like dirt for breathing?"
Darian finally spoke. Quiet, flat. "You could've stayed invisible."
"I tried," she said, her voice cracking. "I wore the hoodies. I stayed quiet. I kept your secret like it was my own. But newsflash — when you're not invisible to begin with, people see you."
Ryder's fists clenched. "Then maybe you should've tried harder."
That was it.
Nova stepped right up to him. "No. Maybe you should stop blaming me for something that's not my fault. You're mad that people are curious? That's not on me. That's on you—for acting like I'm some kind of disease instead of a person."
He didn't move.
Neither did she.
"Why does it bother you so much?" she asked coldly. "You're rich. You're powerful. You have everything. But the second someone looks my way, you treat it like I've burned your whole world down."
Ryder stared at her, jaw twitching. "You don't belong in our name."
Her chest tightened. Not from shock. But from rage.
"You think I want your name?" she hissed. "You think I'm out there claiming to be a Vale?"
Ethan stood slowly. "Nova…"
She ignored him. "I don't want to be one of you. I don't want your money or your approval or your last name. All I want is to survive without you making me feel like a shadow that's overstayed its welcome."
Ryder opened his mouth—but Nova was already walking away.
"You don't get to tell me who to be," she said over her shoulder. "You already lost the right to talk to me like I'm beneath you the day you called me an orphan."
She paused at the hallway.
"And next time you want to lecture me about attention, maybe look in a mirror. People stare at me because of you. Not the other way around."
Then she left.
Max passed her on the stairs two minutes later, a protein bar in one hand and headphones slung around his neck.
"Let me guess," he said, raising an eyebrow, "family bonding session?"
Nova didn't answer. Her fingers were shaking, but her steps never slowed.
Max gave a low whistle. "That bad, huh?"
She stopped halfway up the stairs. Turned just enough to look at him.
"I don't care what they think," she said softly. "But they don't get to act like I broke something just by existing."
Max blinked. Then nodded. "Good."
And that was it.