CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Selene
The moment I pulled into the driveway, I had to take a deep breath.
The house looked the same. White siding, blue shutters, the front porch that always felt too small when too many people gathered outside, sipping cheap wine and trading sharp-tongued gossip. It wasn't big or grand, just a modest, two-story home that had seen better days—kind of like the family inside it.
I could already hear the voices through the open windows, muffled but full of energy. Laughter, conversation, the occasional sharpness of someone getting in a dig they knew would sting. My stomach churned.
I should've turned my car around and left. I should've come up with an excuse.
Instead, I killed the engine, grabbed my overnight bag—which I fully intended to leave untouched—and forced myself out of the car. The late afternoon air was crisp, a reminder that spring was still fighting off the last of winter. I tugged my coat tighter around me, not sure if it was the cold or my nerves making me shiver.
As I approached the door, I checked my phone. No new texts from Maya. I had messaged her earlier, something short and dramatic.
Selene: Send help. Walking into the lion's den. If I don't text back in an hour, assume the worst.
She hadn't responded yet, which meant she was probably busy. Or asleep. Or intentionally ignoring me so I'd suffer alone.
I sighed and reached for the door handle just as it swung open.
"Well, well. Look who came. I thought you were going to give a last minute's excuse as to why you could come."
Brianna's voice was like nails on a chalkboard—grating, smug, and laced with the kind of fake sweetness that made my skin crawl. If only she know how close to the truth she was.
She leaned against the doorway, blocking my way like she had every right to. Her dark hair was curled to perfection, her makeup flawless. A casual observer might mistake her for someone kind, someone warm. But I knew better.
I forced a tight smile. "Brianna."
"I was starting to think you wouldn't show." She gave me a once-over, eyes lingering just long enough to make it clear she was assessing, judging. "She told me not to worry. She knew you wouldn't pass up an opportunity to be the center of attention."
I clenched my jaw. Her words hurt more than she can know but I didn't take the bait. "Are you going to let me in, or should I just stand here all night?"
Her smirk widened as she stepped aside, and as I walked past her, she leaned in just close enough to whisper, "Trevor's here."
I stiffened. Of course, he was.
Before I could respond, she breezed past me, her perfume lingering in the air like a warning.
I followed her into the living room, where the chaos of my family unfolded before me.
Dad was in his usual chair, sipping a beer, eyes trained on whatever game was playing on TV. He glanced up when he saw me and gave me a small, almost guilty smile before quickly looking away.
Mom was in the kitchen, moving between the stove and the counter, her movements efficient and controlled. She didn't turn to look at me, but her voice carried over the noise.
"You're late."
No hello. No welcome home.
I took a deep breath and set my bag down near the stairs. "Traffic."
She didn't respond. Just kept chopping vegetables like I hadn't spoken at all.
I was already exhausted.
I should've stayed at home.
I made my way to the dining table, where a few of my cousins were gathered, half-listening to whatever story was being told. It was the same every time—familiar faces, familiar dynamics. The same people who had watched me struggle and judged me for it. The same ones who had celebrated Brianna's every achievement like she was royalty while treating my successes as lucky accidents.
And then, just when I thought I could at least fake my way through the night without losing my mind—
"Selene."
That voice.
That fucking voice.
I turned, and there he was.
Trevor.
Looking exactly the same. Tall, lean, dressed like he'd just stepped out of some catalog for men who always had their shit together. He had that effortless, practiced charm, the kind that had fooled me once upon a time.
He smirked like he was happy to see me. Like we didn't have history. Like he hadn't been one of the reasons I stopped coming to these gatherings in the first place.
"You look good," he said, stepping closer.
I crossed my arms. "Wish I could say the same."
His smirk faltered for a second before he chuckled. "Still sharp-tongued, I see."
"Still breathing, I see."
His eyes glinted with something I couldn't quite place, and I hated that my body remembered things my mind wanted to forget. The way he used to make me laugh. The way he used to make me feel like I was the only person in the room that mattered—until I didn't.
"I was hoping we'd get a chance to talk," he said, tilting his head slightly. "It's been a while."
"Not long enough."
"Come on, Selene. Don't be like that."
I narrowed my eyes. "Like what?"
Before he could answer, my mother's voice cut through the air.
"Selene."
I turned, and there she was, wiping her hands on a towel, finally looking at me.
"We need to talk."
Great. Because this night wasn't bad enough already.
I followed her to the kitchen, away from the others, but not far enough that I couldn't still feel Trevor's eyes on my back.
She didn't waste time. "I want you to behave tonight."
I scoffed. "Excuse me?"
"This family has been through enough. The last thing we need is you causing a scene."
"Ah, so that's why I was invited." I folded my arms. "You were afraid I'd 'cause a scene.'"
Her jaw tightened. "Brianna and Trevor are important to this family. We don't need any... tension."
Tension. Right.
"Let me guess," I said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "You want me to be nice to them. Smile. Pretend like everything's fine."
"I want you to act like an adult, Selene."
I let out a sharp laugh. "Right. Because being an adult means letting people walk all over you for the sake of appearances."
Her eyes flashed with warning. "Do not embarrass me tonight."
That was it. That was always it. It wasn't about me, or how I felt, or what I had been through. It was about her. About the family's image. About making sure nothing and no one upset the perfect little picture she tried so hard to maintain.
I grabbed my bag from where I had set it near the stairs.
"Where are you going?" she asked sharply.
I met her gaze, unflinching. "To my room."
Not 'my old room'—not 'the guest room.' Just *my room*.
Because no matter how much they wanted to act like I didn't belong, this house would always be as much mine as it was theirs.
And I wasn't going to let them make me feel otherwise.
Not anymore.
---
The dinner table had always been a battlefield.
Not in the way of loud arguments or heated debates—that would at least be honest. No, this battlefield was lined with sharp smiles and dull knives, the kind that bled you slow. And tonight, Brianna had chosen her weapon carefully.
She cleared her throat, a deliberate sound, the kind meant to command attention. "Well," she said, with the kind of giddy anticipation that made my stomach turn, "since we're all here, I thought this would be the perfect time to share some news."
I knew what was coming before she even reached for Trevor's hand.
The glint of the engagement ring was almost blinding, but not as much as the self-satisfied smirk she wore. "Trevor proposed."
There it was.
The room erupted into excited gasps and congratulations. My mother clapped her hands together like Brianna had just won an Olympic gold medal. My dad gave a distracted nod, offering a weak "That's wonderful, sweetheart."
And me? I took a sip of my water and hoped no one expected me to perform.
Brianna must have noticed my lack of enthusiasm because she turned to me with that ever-sweet, ever-poisonous smile. "What? No congratulations, Selene?"
I set my glass down, meeting her gaze with an expression so neutral it could've been mistaken for boredom. "Congrats."
She waited for more. Some kind of reaction, some sign that this news meant anything to me. It didn't.
"Not surprised, though," I added, just to twist the knife a little. "You've been circling each other for years. It was bound to happen."
For the briefest moment, her eyes flashed with something ugly. Then it was gone, replaced with an even sweeter smile. "I suppose that's true. And I should thank you, shouldn't I?" She let out a breathy laugh, leaning into Trevor's side. "If things had gone differently, maybe you'd be sitting here with a ring instead of me."
There it was. The jab she'd been waiting to land.
A glance at my mother confirmed what I already knew. She was watching me carefully, as if gauging my reaction, already preparing to tell me to behave.
I refused to give Brianna the satisfaction.
I laughed. Not a forced, awkward sound, but an actual laugh. "Oh, Brianna," I sighed, shaking my head. "If that's what helps you sleep at night, by all means, believe it."
Her smile twitched. Just for a second. But I caught it.
Trevor, ever the oblivious golden boy, chuckled like I'd just made a joke. "Come on, Selene, no hard feelings, right?"
"None at all," I assured him, because it was the truth. I'd closed that chapter of my life long ago.
Brianna wasn't expecting indifference. She wanted a reaction, wanted me to be bitter, wanted me to feel like I'd lost. But how could I lose something I never wanted? I looked over at Trevor too and a look passed over his eyes, I dismissed it. Not wanting to even bother about it.
My mother exhaled, as if my lack of dramatics had somehow still disappointed her. "Selene," she chided, like I was the one causing tension.
I tilted my head. "Yes?"
Her lips parted like she wanted to say something, but then she sighed and looked away, mumbling something about me being difficult.
Classic.
Across the table, my dad finally spoke up, clearly eager to steer the conversation elsewhere. "Where's Aunt Meredith and Uncle Paul? I thought they were coming."
The air shifted. My mother stiffened slightly before schooling her expression. "Meredith called earlier. She said something came up."
That was a lie.
Aunt Meredith never missed these dinners.
"Something came up," my dad repeated, clearly skeptical. "Was it work?"
My mother busied herself with cutting into her steak. "She didn't say."
That was another lie.
Brianna, sensing the awkward tension, jumped in. "It's fine, Daddy. It's not like she hasn't missed dinners before."
Except she hadn't.
Aunt Meredith was the only one who ever saw through the charade of this family, the only one who ever called out my mother's bullshit. If she wasn't here, it was because my mother had ensured it.
I let my gaze linger on my mother, silently daring her to look at me. She didn't.
Of course not.
I let it go—for now.
As the conversation moved on, with wedding plans and family gossip filling the air, I did what I always did at these gatherings: I endured.
The only small victory of the night was Brianna's frustration. She wanted to get under my skin. She failed.
And that was enough.
For now.