Sera's POV
Adrian's hand goes for mine, but I jerk away like he's on fire.
"Please, Sera. Just listen—"
"Listen?" My voice comes out too loud, bouncing off the empty hallway walls. "You want me to listen while you describe how you're marrying my stepsister tomorrow? Our wedding day? The day we planned for two years?"
He flinches. Good. I want him to hurt. I want him to feel even a tiny bit of what's tearing through my chest right now.
"It's temporary," Adrian says again, like those words make everything okay. "Vanessa's doctors say she only has three months. Maybe less. Once she's gone, I'll leave her and marry you properly. We'll have our real wedding. Everything we dreamed about."
I look at him. Really look at him. The man I've loved for six years suddenly looks like a stranger.
"Did you just ask me to wait for my stepsister to die?" The words taste bitter in my mouth. "Did you actually say that out loud and think it sounded reasonable?"
"I know how it sounds—"
"Do you?" I'm shaking now, anger mixing with sadness until I can't tell which is which. "Because it sounds like you're asking me to be your backup plan. Your second choice. The girl who gets scraps after Vanessa's done with you."
"That's not fair!" Adrian's voice rises. "She's dying, Sera! Her last wish is to experience marriage before she—"
"And that's MY problem how?" I cut him off. "I'm sorry she's sick. I really am. But that doesn't mean you get to destroy OUR life together!"
Adrian runs both hands through his hair. He looks tired. Defeated. Like this is hard for him too.
I don't care.
"Your parents begged me," he says softly. "They said you'd understand because you're always so kind, so understanding—" "My parents. " The words come out flat. "My parents asked you to do this. And you said yes without talking to me first. "
It's not a question. I can see the truth written all over his guilty face.
"They said you'd be upset at first, but you'd come around," Adrian says. "They said family means suffering. That you'd do the right thing."
Something cold settles in my stomach. "When did they ask you?"
"What?"
"When did my parents ask you to marry Vanessa instead of me?" I step closer, watching his eyes. "When did you agree to this?"
Adrian won't look at me. That tells me everything.
"A week ago," he whispers.
Seven days. He's known for seven days that he was going to destroy me, and he said nothing. We've had dinner together. Watched movies. Made love. And the whole time, he was lying.
My hand moves before I can think. The slap rings in the hallway like a gunshot.
Adrian's head snaps to the side. A red mark blooms on his face.
"Don't call me," I say, my voice deadly calm now. "Don't text. Don't come looking for me. We're done."
"Sera, please—"
But I'm already walking away, my heels clicking fast on the marble floor. I need to get out of here before I break down completely. Before I start crying and can't stop.
Behind me, Adrian calls my name. I don't turn around.
The restaurant's front door feels miles away. Everything looks fuzzy through my tears. I bump into someone's shoulder, mumble sorry, keep going.
Outside, the night air hits my face. Cold. Sharp. Real.
That's when I see them.
Margaret, Richard, and Vanessa. All three standing by the valet stand, watching me like they've been waiting.
My new mother looks annoyed. My new father looks stern. And Vanessa?
Vanessa is wearing my engagement ring.
I stop walking. Stop breathing. The ring catches the streetlight—Adrian's grandmother's ring, the one he proposed with three years ago, the one I've worn every single day since.
She holds up her hand so I can see it better. The diamond shines, mocking me.
"Thanks for being so understanding, sis," Vanessa says sweetly. "I promise I'll take really good care of him."
For a second, I think I might throw up right there on the ground.
Then Margaret steps forward. "We need to talk about your actions, Sera. Making a scene like that inside? Very immature."
"Immature?" The word comes out choked. "Are you serious right now?"
"You're embarrassing the family," Richard adds. "Vanessa is dying. The least you can do is support her happiness in her final months."
I look between them. These people raised me for six years. Gave me a home when I had nothing. Fed me, dressed me, sent me to college.
And they're asking me to give up the guy I love like he's a toy I should share.
"Get out of my way," I say quietly.
"Sera Marie Thornton—" Margaret starts. " I said move. " Something in my voice makes them step aside.
I walk past them toward the street, my vision still blurry with tears. I need to call Maya. I need to go somewhere safe and fall apart properly.
My phone buzzes in my bag.
I pull it out, expecting Maya's name. Instead, it's a text from Margaret: "Come home NOW. We need to talk your future with this family. You have one hour."
Before I can reply, another text comes through. This one from an unknown number: "Don't go home. They're not who you think they are. Come to 47 Maple Street, Apartment 12B. I know the truth about your real family—and why the Thorntons took you."
My real family?
The phone almost slips from my shaking hands.
Another text from the same unknown number: "Your name isn't Sera Thornton. It's Sera Ashford. And six years ago, your parents didn't die in an accident—they were killed. The people who raised you? They're the ones who killed them."
The world tilts sideways.
I grab the wall to steady myself, my heart beating so hard it hurts.
A third text appears: "You have one hour before the Thorntons make sure you can never learn the truth. Choose wisely, Sera Ashford."