Chapter 6
She walked toward me slowly, tears streaming down her face.
“This is all my fault… I should’ve been more considerate of you…”
Before she could finish, she suddenly lunged at me.
I dodged on instinct.
“Delphine!” Four voices shouted at once.
My parents had finally arrived.
My father’s eyes were bloodshot with rage.
“Aurelia Vance! I regret raising you. I never thought I’d end up with a daughter like this!”
“You had to pick this moment-when she’s finally happy to destroy her? None of this is Delphine’s fault!”
My mother’s voice turned shrill.
“Everything was always hers to begin with! You lived under her identity for twenty-six years, and
now you want to ruin her reputation?”
“We already gave you the Best Actress award as compensation. What more do you want?”
Evander kept his eyes locked on Delphine, his voice tight with panic.
“Stay back. Don’t get close to her.”
“She’s hurt you before. Don’t let her push you again.”
Cassian’s face was dark, his chest rising and falling hard.
“If you want revenge, take it out on me.”
“Delphine did nothing. Everything was my idea. This has nothing to do with her.”
I looked at them, at how tightly they stood together, and something inside me cracked.
“What did I do wrong?” I screamed.
“Was it when I spent hours cooking for her birthday? Bought twenty-seven gifts just to make her
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smile-while you took her to Europe and rented out a castle behind my back?”
“Or when I spent an entire year teaching her how to act? Introducing her to directors, producers, handing over every connection I had-only for you to call me jealous and petty?”
Cassian’s fists clenched, veins bulging.
“Aurelia, stop making things up!”
“If you’ve got the guts, then jump!”
“You’ve targeted her over and over. Framed her. Tried to kill her!”
“Kill her?” I let out a broken laugh.
“She looks just fine to me. Treated like a princess.”
My voice cracked, but I didn’t stop.
“Meanwhile, I spent 1,097 days on that island.”
‘My fire got put out over a hundred times. My shelter destroyed twenty-six times.”
“I ate insects. Leaves. I fought to survive every single day.”
“And I lost my child.”
I stared at Cassian.
“You’re ruthless.”
“You don’t deserve to be a father.”
“You let them turn our child into a mummy.”
“That was our baby. The one we wanted.”
Cassian looked at me, at the tears streaming down my face.
His lips parted.
But no words came out.
Delphine rushed forward again.
Chapter 6
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“Aurelia, stop saying things like that!”
“This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have taken Mom and Dad, or Evander. I shouldn’t have been with
Cassian…”
She reached for me, voice trembling.
“If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll give everything back. Just… don’t hurt yourself.”
My foot slipped, and for a split second I lost my balance. I caught the edge at the last moment, my body hanging in midair.
In that blind spot, her eyes went wild, but her voice came out trembling. “You’re crazy! Don’t pull me down with you!”
Her foot came down hard on my fingers.
Pain shot through my hand, sharp and blinding.
They rushed forward instantly-but not for me.
Evander and Cassian pulled her back first, checking her over like she was the one in danger, while my parents closed in around her, voices tight with panic.
“Delphine! Why would you go near her?”
“What if she dragged you down?”
“She brought this on herself. If she dies, so be it. At least she won’t cause you trouble again.”
Something inside me went still. The pain, the cracks-everything faded away.
My fingers slipped, slick with sweat, and I couldn’t hold on anymore.
My body dropped as the wind roared past my ears.
And only then did I hear them calling my name.
“Aurelia!”
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