As soon as ra walked back into the main hall, she felt out of ce, like she


    didn''t quite belong. But with Walter''s eightieth birthdaying up, she knew she


    couldn''t let her difort show. Everything had to be perfect. Dn was already


    busy-people kept pulling him aside, making him go over guest lists and approve


    every little detail.


    ra quietly found a seat in the corner, hoping to fade into the background. That''s


    when she heard a soft whisper and the quiet shuffle of footsteps. Suddenly,


    someone slipped a photo into her hand.


    She nced up, catching a glimpse of the person''s back as they disappeared into


    the crowd, but she couldn''t figure out who it was.


    Simon had delivered the picture, just like Aaron had insisted. "Make sure ra


    gets it in person," Aaron had said, convinced the photo would bring back old


    memories for her.


    The photograph was small, barely bigger than her palm-easy to hide, easy to


    keep secret.


    Before she even had a chance to look at it, she caught Dn watching her from


    across the room. For a second, guilt twisted in her chest, though she didn''t really


    understand why. She just quickly hid the photo inside her clothes and avoided his


    eyes.


    Dn was tied up for another hour, going through everyst detail for the party.


    When he finally noticed ra nodding off in her seat, he knew she was


    exhausted. He came over and quietly asked a maid to take her upstairs so she


    could rest.


    The staff at the old mansion were polite enough, but everyone knew they didn''t


    really like ra.


    Since Dn was staying over tonight, ra figured she''d be sharing his room like


    usual. But the maid had other ns. She led ra down the hallway, all the way


    to the veryst door.


    It was a cramped storage room with a tiny bed, barely big enough for a child.


    Downstairs, Dn had no idea what was going on.


    ra, totally clueless, thought this must be her room for the night. She even


    thanked the maid.


    The maid just snorted. "This is where you belong. Being part of the Ferguson


    family isn''t so simple."


    The staff knew how to pick sides, andtely, with Tara visiting all the time,


    everyone seemed to adore her. They saw Tara as the real deal-a true socialite-


    and most of them believed ra was just an outsider, someone who''d taken a


    ce that was never really hers.


    Mrs. Ferguson and Walter still refused to acknowledge ra as their daughter-in-


    Once the door closed behind her,


    ra sat down on the little bed. The


    light in the room was nothing like the


    bright chandeliers downstairs, but


    she could still make out all the


    random stuff piled around.


    The room was small, cluttered with boxes and old junk.


    Restless, ra walked over to the


    tiny window and looked out. The


    garden was lit up beautifully. Down


    below, she saw Tara and Dn


    standing together, talking.


    At first, ra thought she must be seeing things.


    She blinked, rubbed her eyes, and looked again. It really was Dn and Tara.


    Wasn''t Dn her husband? Why was he out there with another woman?


    Before she could even process it, there was a knock at her door. A maid told her


    there was a gift for her.


    ra took the small box and opened it. Inside was a note and a photograph of


    two people together.


    The picture was of a much younger Dn, wearing a fancy school uniform and


    standing next to a girl. They were both smiling.


    The note said: Dn will marry Tara.


    ra stared at the words, her hands starting to shake. The box slipped from her


    fingers and rolled under the little bed.


    Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her head, like it was splitting open. The photo


    fell from her hand and disappeared into the mess on the floor.


    Everything felt chaotic, out of control.


    She steadied herself against the wall


    and sat back on the bed, trying to


    catch her breath. When she reached


    into her pocket, her fingers brushed


    against the other photo-the one


    she''d been given downstairs.


    She pulled it out and looked at it. It showed a man holding a gun, pointing it at


    someone else. The image was blurry; she couldn''t see who it was.


    But somehow, just looking at that shadowy picture made her chest ache, as if


    someone had ripped her heart open and left it bleeding.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!