The rain beat down like endless needles, soaking me to the bone. My suitcase handles slipped in my palms as I stood at the gates of the mansion I had once called home. The same mansion where I had laughed, cooked, prayed, and begged to be enough.

Now I was cast out.

The maids hadn’t looked at me when they shoved the suitcases outside. They had only muttered that “the master’s orders” left no room for pity. The door shut behind me with a dull thud that echoed like a coffin sealing shut.

I stood there, trembling, water running down my face, mingling with tears that wouldn’t stop. My body felt numb, yet my heart bled in every corner.

This—this was the price of my weakness.

Every cruelty from Emily, every insult from Carlisle, every laugh from Cosette—they stabbed sharper in the rain. I pressed my fist against my chest and asked myself the question I had avoided for years.

When did it all begin to fall apart?

And I knew the answer.

It began with the accident.

The memory clawed its way back through the storm.

Selene’s laugh still echoed in my mind that night we drove down the winding coastal road. She was radiant—my twin, my mirror, though she always shone brighter. I had been at the wheel, the radio humming softly as the wind tangled our hair.

Then—the screech.

The car swerved, the world spun, and before I could even cry out, we crashed through the guardrail.

The sea below swallowed us whole.

My head slammed against the dashboard, white light bursting behind my eyes. My vision shattered, colors bleeding together, the world spinning like a broken carousel.

“Emma!” Selene’s voice screamed through the chaos, sharp and terrified.

The car filled with icy water. She kicked at her door, again and again, grunting, gasping, until finally it burst open. A rush of water dragged us, but she grabbed me with desperate strength.

“Hold on!” she shouted. Her arm hooked under mine, dragging my limp body toward the surface.

I tried. God, I tried. My chest burned, my sight dimmed, but Selene pushed and pulled until at last we broke through the water. I choked on air, my lungs searing with life.

But she didn’t stop. She pushed me higher, forcing me toward safety.

I clung to her hand. “Selene!”

Then—a tug.

Her scream tore through the storm as something below dragged her down.

Her foot was caught.

She thrashed, kicking, gasping. “Emma—help me!”

I reached for her, but my body was heavy, my head spinning from the blow. My sight wavered in streaks of gray and red.

Selene’s face was the last thing I saw. Her lips moved beneath the water, her hair swirling around her like a dark halo. She was slipping, sinking—

And I was powerless.

The world tilted, blackness smothered me, and when I woke again, Selene was gone.

Forever.

A sob tore out of me as I clutched my suitcase to my chest in the present. My tears blended with the storm. “Selene… I’m sorry. I should’ve saved you. I should’ve done more. If I weren’t so weak, you’d still be here.”

My voice broke. “You wouldn’t have left me like they did.”

I pressed my forehead against the hard case, rocking as if it could cradle me. For years, I had carried the weight of her death like chains. I believed I deserved this loneliness, this rejection. Maybe Carlisle was right—maybe I was nothing but a mistake.

And then—

A voice slipped through the storm. Smooth. Mocking.

“I’m glad you’re still here.”

I stiffened, lifting my head. The raincoat rustled as the footsteps drew near. I knew that sound. I would know it anywhere.

“Cosette,” I whispered, my stomach twisting with dread.

She chuckled, the sound cutting through the rain like a blade. “So pitiful. Standing here in the storm like a stray cat no one wants.”

I wiped my face quickly, forcing myself to stand tall despite the water soaking through my dress. “Are you here to mock me again? Is it not enough that you stole my husband and daughter? Must you watch me crawl, too?”

“Oh, Emma,” she purred, drawing closer. “You think so little of me. I don’t just want to mock you. I want to crush you.”

I gritted my teeth, clutching my suitcase tighter. “I have nothing left to say to you.”

“Perhaps.” Her tone sharpened, playful malice dripping in every word. “But maybe you’d like to know the truth about your sister. About Selene.”

My breath hitched. The rain was loud, but her words thundered louder.

“What are you talking about?” I demanded.

Cosette leaned close, so near I could hear the smirk in her voice. “Don’t you wonder who was really behind that accident? Because I know. I know exactly who caused Selene’s death.”

The storm roared around us, but all I could hear was the pounding of my own heart.

The rain didn’t stop. It chased me down every street, drowning out the noise of the city and soaking through my thin clothes until my skin burned with cold. My suitcase dragged behind me, wheels catching in the cracks of the pavement, but I barely noticed.

Cosette’s words looped endlessly in my mind.

“Don’t you wonder who was really behind that accident? Because I know.”

I clenched my jaw and shook my head hard, as if I could fling her voice out into the storm.

“Why do you think I would believe anything you said?” I had spat at her before walking away.

Her laugh still echoed in my ears—sweet and mocking. “True, nice to hear you finally have some brain at least. It’s up to you to believe me or not.”

But she hadn’t stopped there.

“Don’t you know anything about the relationship between Selene and Carlisle? His father never agreed with her. Selene was too strong for a woman. His mother—oh, she was the worst—too conservative, too narrow. She wanted Carlisle to marry someone like me. Someone educated. Someone classy. Someone perfect.”

Her pause had been deliberate, cruel. "So, maybe you know where this is coming from? Or are you too much of an idiot to figure it out?"

I remembered how my lips had trembled, the words escaping me before I could stop them. “Did they… order that accident?”

Cosette’s delighted hiss cut through the storm. "Bingo! Though the one who came up with the idea was Mildred. But the order—it came from Carlisle’s parents."

Now, stumbling blindly through the rain-soaked streets, I pressed a trembling hand against my mouth. My stomach turned.

Carlisle’s parents.

The very family I had bent myself backward for, trying to please. The ones I had begged to accept me. I had tried so hard to smile, to serve, to be small enough, obedient enough, gentle enough—anything so they might approve.

And all this time… they had killed Selene.

My knees buckled. The wet ground met me harshly, gravel scraping against my palms. The rain pelted harder, as if the sky itself mocked my weakness.

I wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

I don’t remember how I reached the cemetery.

The storm guided me, or maybe it was Selene herself pulling me toward her grave. My hands found the cold stone, familiar under my fingertips. I traced her name carved into it. My throat burned.

“I tried, Selene,” I whispered. My voice cracked. “I tried to love them. I tried to love him. Even after they took you away from me.”

The tears came hot and fast, washing down with the rain. I pressed my forehead to the grave. “How pathetic is that? I gave my heart to the very family that murdered you.”

A sound escaped me then—something between a sob and a laugh. It started small, shaky, but it grew louder, twisting into something wild.

I laughed.

I laughed until my body shook, until the grief splintered into something sharper. My laugh was sad, then bitter, then mocking—until finally it curdled into something dark.

“What a cruel joke this is,” I choked out between gasps. “The man I devoted myself to… his family killed you, Selene. And he… that bastard fcking knew. He didn’t stop them. He didn’t protect you. He just stood there, too afraid, too weak—like me. Maybe that’s why he married me in the first place. Because I was weak enough to accept it.”

My fists struck the wet earth.

I cursed them all.

By name, one by one, letting each syllable drip with venom. Carlisle’s parents, who ordered Selene’s death. Mildred, who whispered the idea into their ears. Cosette, who delighted in tearing me apart. Emily, who spat at me as if I were less than dirt. And finally Carlisle himself, the coward who let it all happen.

The words tore out of me raw and jagged, carried away by the storm, but they left me hollowed and burning at the same time.

Then, as the fury ebbed, a thought flickered in the darkness. A name.

Sebastian.

Yes. Sebastian.

The one person left who had not abandoned me. The only one who might still stand on my side.

My hands fumbled desperately to my bag. My fingers searched blindly until I felt the smooth rectangle of my phone. I clutched it like a lifeline, my heart hammering.

“Sebastian…” I whispered into the rain, my lips trembling. “Help me.”

I pressed the phone to my ear, my breath shuddering, waiting for the line to connect.

And in the silence between the storm and the ring, I realized—this was only the beginning.

“Mom!”

The familiar voice cut through the storm. Strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me close, shielding me from the pounding rain. I felt the sudden shift of air as he held something above us—an umbrella, maybe, though I could not see it. All I knew was the warmth of his embrace and the relief of a voice that still called me mother.

“Why are you out here? It’s pouring!” Sebastian’s voice was bright with concern, the kind I had been starving for inside that cold mansion. His hug was firm, almost desperate, as if afraid I might vanish if he let go.

For the first time in days, my trembling eased. “Sebastian…” My lips quivered.

Sebastian. My son. Emily’s twin brother.

Where Emily had stayed glued to her father’s side, dressed in silks and pearls, groomed to inherit Carlisle’s world, Sebastian had always been different. He was reckless, wild, the boy who came home with bruises and busted lips from street fights. Carlisle despised him for it. I still remembered the day Carlisle expelled him from that prestigious boarding school with dormitories, saying he wasn’t worth the Huxley name.

But he was worth everything to me.

“Come on, Mom. Let’s get you out of the rain.” He tucked me against him, guiding me carefully down the slippery street. His grip was strong, steady. My hand brushed against the cold handle of the suitcase, and he carried it for me without a word.

He led me into a coffee shop, its door creaking as warmth wrapped around me. The hum of chatter, clinking cups, and the sharp aroma of roasted beans greeted us. He found us a corner seat and ordered something—I could smell the bitter steam of coffee when it arrived.

“Why would you wander outside in the rain like that?” Sebastian’s voice was edged with worry as he pushed the warm cup toward me. “You’ll get sick, Mom.”

I cupped the mug, letting the heat seep into my frozen fingers. For the first time in so long, I felt cared for. “I… I didn’t know where else to go.”

He sighed. Then, hesitantly, he cleared his throat. “Oh, by the way, Mom… could you give me my allowance in advance this week? Dad finally went insane—he even cut off my credit card. I’m stuck.”

My chest tightened. “Sebastian…” I hesitated. “I do have some money, but we should budget carefully. Things aren’t the same anymore.”

He waved off my worry, his tone light. “Don’t stress, Mom. Maybe next month he’ll restore it. It’s just temporary.”

I forced a smile, but unease gnawed at me.

Then his voice shifted, curious. “By the way, why do you have a suitcase with you? Are you going somewhere?”

The warmth of the mug turned heavy in my hands. “I… was kicked out of the house.”

Sebastian chuckled faintly. “What, another one of Dad’s phases?”

I shook my head. My throat tightened until the words scraped out, raw and painful. “No. We’re divorced now, Sebastian.”

Silence. Then a sharp intake of breath. “W-What…?”

“And your father…” I steadied myself, though my voice cracked. “He’s getting remarried. Soon.”

I waited for comfort, for the embrace of my son. Instead, his voice exploded across the table. “No! What about my money then?!”

The words stabbed me, sharper than any knife.

“Mom, you can’t just accept this! You should beg! Do something!”

“B-Beg...?” My voice trembled, the anger rising with my grief. “How many times do you want me to beg, Sebastian? I begged your father, his parents, even you children. I’m so tired already!”

But he didn’t stop. His voice turned desperate, urgent. “I don’t care. Mom, I need money! My life depends on it! I’m begging you—just this once—”

“Enough!” My palm slammed against the table, rattling the cup. My whole body shook. “Get out!”

“Mom—”

“I said get the hell out!” Tears streamed down my face. “I thought you were different, Sebastian. I was the only one on your side. I helped you when no one else would. I believed in you… But I overestimated you. You’re just like the rest of them.”

His voice cracked, small. “M-Mom—”

“I don’t want to hear you anymore. Leave me alone.”

A cough ripped through me, shaking my chest. He reached to steady me, but I slapped his hand away.

“Go. While I still have an ounce of patience left.”

For the first time, Sebastian was silent. Truly silent.

Then his footsteps faded, and I was alone again.

I left the café, dragging my suitcase behind me. The world outside blurred in rain and grief. My chest felt torn open, every step heavier than the last. I had no strength left.

What had I expected from Sebastian? He was still Carlisle’s son. A Huxley by blood.

I stumbled across the street, deaf to the blaring horns. Tires screeched, voices cursed, but I barely flinched. My body moved on its own, numb and broken.

Until suddenly, my fingers brushed emptiness.

The ground beneath me shifted—the edge of a bridge. My palms gripped the cold metal rail, slick with rain. I leaned forward. The void called to me, a dark whisper.

Maybe it would be easier.

Maybe the world would be better without me.

Then—hands seized me, dragging me back.

“Are you insane?!” a man’s voice shouted.

I let out a broken laugh, my lips trembling. “I wish I were.”

I struggled against his grip, my suitcase slipping from my fingers. “Let me go. I don’t want to live anymore. I have nothing left.”

“There’s so much left in life, lady,” he said firmly, breathless from holding me.

“Fuck that life,” I spat, my voice breaking. “There’s no life for blind people like me!”

Desperation surged. I bit his arm, hard, tasting blood. His grip faltered. I tore free, stumbling toward the edge.

But before I could take another step, something slammed against the back of my neck. A sharp blow.

“I’m sorry… but I can’t let you do this.”

Pain flared—then nothing.

Darkness swallowed me whole.

I woke to a voice. Low. Smooth. Dripping with foreign warmth.

“Por fin despiertas, mi amor.”

My breath hitched. Mi amor??

It was a Spanish word I’d only ever heard on TV. It meant my love.

Where the hell was I? And why was I hearing Spanish?

And more importantly, why was someone calling me my love?