It was already one in the morning when we got home.
Tahlee was still wearing my brooch, posing for dozens of photos in the living room.
Rhys held up a ring light while Graham crouched on the floor, helping her find the perfect angle.
As I headed upstairs, I heard Tahlee ask with a giggle,
“Rhys… No, Graham!”
“Does it really look good on me?”
“It looks great.”
Graham didn’t hesitate for a second.
He used to compliment me the same way.
On my sixteenth birthday, I’d worn a dress I’d designed myself for the first time.
I’d nervously asked him if it looked good.
He’d told me everything looked good on me.
Apparently, those words weren’t promises.
They were just handed out wholesale.
I pushed open my bedroom door.
The household staff had already placed my suitcase beside the bed.
I was leaving the country in three days, but apart from my passport and identification documents, there wasn’t much worth taking.
Most of my closet was filled with athletic clothes.
Mom had taken away all my pretty dresses during Tahlee’s first year with us, claiming they might upset her.
A broken wind-up music box sat on my desk.
Rhys had given it to me for my twelfth birthday.
The first time Tahlee entered my room, she’d spotted it and taken it without asking.
She’d only had the household staff return it three months ago, after she’d gotten bored with it.
The gears were broken, and someone had clumsily carved the name “Tahlee” into its wooden case.
I tossed it into the trash.
Suddenly, my bedroom door swung open.
Rhys leaned against the doorframe, looking annoyed.
“Tahlee said she saw you throwing things away.”
“She’s worried you might do something drastic.”
“It’s just a broken music box.”
“It can be fixed.”
Rhys walked over and pulled it out of the trash.
“I gave you this, remember?”
“You used to love this thing, didn’t you?”
I looked at him.
“Tahlee had it for ten years.”
“So why didn’t you ever think to fix it?”
Rhys froze.
A few seconds passed before he answered impatiently.
“She lost her parents when she was little.”
“If she likes something, what’s wrong with letting her have it?”
“You’ve always had everything.”
“Stop comparing yourself to her.”
It was always the same. If I had something, I was supposed to give it up. If she didn’t, she was allowed to take it.
“Then take it.”
I went back to sorting through my documents.
“She carved her name into it.”
“It’s hers now.”
Rhys stared at my suitcase.
“Why are you packing?”
“Getting rid of stuff I don’t need.”
“Quit trying to scare us with these little stunts.”
He put the music box back on my desk.
“We’re taking Tahlee to try on her gown tomorrow.”
“Make sure you’re up early.”
“Okay.”
He seemed satisfied when I didn’t argue.
Before leaving, he turned back one last time.
“You’re eighteen now.”
“Stop acting like a child.”
The door closed behind him.
I opened my laptop.
The enrollment confirmation email from Saint Martin School of Design, Paris was still on the screen.
I’d applied there without telling anyone.
Before I turned eighteen, my biggest dream had been to join the Fontaine family business and help Rhys protect the company Grandpa had left behind.
But tonight, I suddenly didn’t want to protect it anymore.
After all, they already had someone they’d rather see as the chosen heir.
I clicked to accept the admission offer.
Then I sent an email to the Fontaine family’s head of legal.
“I voluntarily withdraw from the inheritance track.”
I’d barely hit Send when Graham’s video call came through.
In the background, Tahlee was trying on his heirloom necklace.
“Sloane, you still awake?”
“Yeah.”
“Tahlee’s worried she might damage the necklace.”
“She wanted to know where you put the care instructions.”
I opened my drawer and tossed the little booklet I’d read countless times into a cardboard box.
“Don’t remember.”
Graham looked surprised.
“I thought this was your favorite necklace.”
“It used to be.”
“Come on, you don’t mean that.”
“I’ll get it back for you after Tahlee’s birthday.”
I stared at the sapphire resting against Tahlee’s neck on the screen.
“You gave it to her.”
“Why take it back?”
Tahlee leaned toward the camera and asked cautiously,
“Sloane, does it bother you that I wore it?”
The next second, both watches started beeping frantically.
Graham’s expression changed.
He immediately put down his phone and rushed to comfort her.
Rhys’s panicked voice rang out from the hallway.
“Tahlee, calm down!”
“Breathe slowly. Don’t be scared!”
The video call was still connected.
I watched them gather around her.
One poured her a glass of water while the other helped her steady her breathing.
Neither of them even noticed I was still on the other end of the call.
I hung up.
Then I opened my emergency contact list and removed Graham from the top spot.
I replaced his name with my faculty advisor’s.