Chapter 1: The Day I Decided to Leave

The day after Mom and I moved into the Wells' house, Rhys accused me of stealing his Tag Heuer watch—a watch worth thousands of dollars.

I found the evidence and proved I hadn't taken it.

But my mother just grabbed my arm, her eyes wet with tears.

“Adriana, please. Just let it go. For me.”

From that day on, it was as if Rhys had found a new hobby.

He was always finding new ways to make my life miserable.

And every time, my mother’s response was the same.

“Adriana, just put up with it for now. We’re new here.”

I put up with it for years.

Then, when I was eighteen, Rhys sabotaged my college applications.

As a result, the only school I got into was on the other side of the country.

I wanted to tell my mom.

But when I turned, I saw her fussing over Rhys, a plate of his favorite cookies in her hand.

In that moment, the words died in my throat.

Maybe leaving this house was the only answer.

“Isn’t this Adriana? Get your acceptance letter?”

Rhys Wells blocked my path, a vicious smirk playing on his lips.

I knew he was waiting for me to lose it.

He’d hated me from the moment my mother and I set foot in this house.

Over time, that hatred had curdled into something more persistent—a low-grade torture he seemed to delight in.

He said it was what I deserved for being “the girl who ruined his family.”

I just nodded.

“I got it. I’m going.”

He let out a soft, mocking laugh.

“Good. I was being generous when I picked that school for you.”

Generous?

I looked at him, saying nothing.

Because of him, I had lost everything.

Before my mom married Mr. Wells, he had been kind to me.

Afterward, whether he would even speak to me depended entirely on Rhys’s mood.

My own mother, who used to dote on me, stopped defending me.

At school, no one dared to get close to me.

Everyone knew I was a thief.

If this was his idea of generosity, what did he call everything I’d lost?

Just then, my mom came in with breakfast.

As if I were invisible, she spoke directly to Rhys.

“Rhys, I made your favorite blueberry muffins. Come and eat.”

Blueberry muffins used to be my favorite, too.

She used to get up early just to make them for me.

Now, all she ever offered me was one version or another of “just put up with it.”

The plate was hot.

She hissed as she set it down, shaking her stinging fingers.

Rhys only glanced at the muffins before pushing the plate away.

When he stood, he deliberately knocked the table. The coffee pot wobbled and tipped.

Scalding coffee sloshed over the side, splashing across my mother’s leg.

She cried out, a sharp gasp of pain.

Rhys shot me a look, his voice slow and deliberate.

“I’m not hungry. Seeing certain people just ruins my appetite.”

Then he strode out of the room.

My mom rolled up her pant leg to inspect the angry red blotch on her skin, then immediately turned her pain on me.

“What did you say to Rhys this time? Didn’t I tell you not to upset him?”

She had disappointed me more times than I could count.

But I had to try one last time.

“Mom, Rhys changed my college applications. The school isn't bad, but it’s so far from—”

I didn't get to finish. She cut me off.

“If it’s a good school, who cares if it’s far? You can come home for breaks.”

“Just hang in there. Once you’re in college, things will be better.”

I was quiet for a few seconds.

“Okay. You take care of yourself, then.”

I swallowed the rest of my words and turned to go upstairs.

She had probably forgotten.

To keep Rhys happy, she hadn't given me an allowance in years.

Afraid Rhys would feel slighted, she stopped making any of my favorite foods after we moved in.

Worried Rhys might think she favored me, she paid him far more attention than she ever did me.

I knew why she did it.

She wanted to secure our place in this family.

But it was only after moving into this house that I truly understood.

A child without a mother’s protection goes from being the center of her world to an afterthought anyone can ignore.

I opened my bedroom door and started to pack.

I didn’t have much. Not even enough to fill a single suitcase.

I’d need money for school.

First, I had to find a job, save up for living expenses.

Once I left for college, I wouldn't have to endure any of this anymore.