"Excuse us, please, we have somewhere to be," Malia spoke up, drawing Alan’s attention to their group of five. He frowned, then looked back at Eira.
"You have friends now?" he asked incredulously. "Did you get them to pity you with lies? You’re so pathetic, fake, and deplorable."
Eira scoffed and shook her head. "Are you done? If so, get out of the way." There were so many things she wanted to say, but she held back, knowing she had an image to maintain.
"Getting bold, huh? Anyway, I wasn’t here for you. Where’s Myra? She wasn’t at school yesterday or today." Google seaʀᴄh ɴo(v)elFɪre.ɴet
Eira chuckled. "Why should I answer you? Just because you asked?"
Alan gritted his teeth. "Ephyra, where is Myra? You live in the same house, so you must know why she didn’t come to school."
Eira stepped closer. "If you want something, ask nicely. But since you’re so desperate... Myra’s being punished by our father, and you won’t see her for a month."
Alan’s eyes widened. "What? Why would he punish her? Did you—"
"I don’t know. If you want answers, pay Myra a visit. I’m sure she’d love that. Now, get the fuck out of the way." Eira didn’t wait for him to respond. She pushed past him, Malia rolling her eyes as she followed.
Alan stood there, fists clenched, watching them go.
"Seriously, is he your fiancé or Myra’s? Anyone would think he was engaged to her," Malia said as they ate. They were in the school grove, a quiet, shaded area with benches beneath tall oak trees. Sunlight peeked through the dense foliage, casting dappled shadows across the grass.
"Who knows," Eira replied, taking a sip from her drink. "I don’t care anymore. He can do whatever he wants."
"Are you going to break off the engagement?" Cyran asked quietly.
"I’ve wanted to since I knew he didn’t love me but Alan’s wanted it even longer. He must have asked to break it off numerous times, but his family didn’t listen to him. Why would they listen to me?"
"Oh," Cyran said with a nod.
"The only thing I can do is find a perfect reason to make the families break off the engagement." Eira said nonchalantly, all her focus on the food on her tray.
Malia stared at her for a few seconds before dropping her spoon and leaning forward. "You know, everyone in school knew that Alan didn’t love his fiancé instead, he loved her stepsister but you loved him regardless. Some thought that you don’t deserve him since you are the bastard daughter but was actually engaged to the son of the second branch of the Latham family when the person who should be engaged to him was Myra, the legitimate daughter. But after what happened two days ago, some people now think that Alan is the one who doesn’t deserve you and that Myra and Alan would indeed be perfect for each other." She chuckled. "Some were even wondering why Alan hadn’t broken off the engagement all these years when he clearly doesn’t love you. They would never have thought that it wasn’t up to you two but the families nor would they have thought that you didn’t love him anymore."
"After the accident, I realized a lot of things and part of those things was the love I had for Alan." Eira’s gaze drifted to the gentle sway of leaves above them, her thoughts turning inward as she searched for the right words. "Loving Alan," she began slowly, "was like holding a shard of ice—cold and painful, numbing your fingers until they burn. You think you can handle it, even as it eats away at you, because you believe it’s what you’re supposed to do." She paused, a bitter smile tugging at her lips. "
’But the truth was that the pain was only for Ephyra. No one else saw it. No one else felt it. And in the end, the only thing she was left with was a frozen, empty hand and a foolish dead heart.’
"My love for him completely melted away the day I died...and it will never return."
Malia leaned back on the bench, a slow, satisfied smile spreading across her face. "That," she said, drawing out the word, "was the best breakup speech I’ve ever heard." She suddenly straightened, slapping her palm on the table before pulling out her phone with a wide grin. "Now, enough about that jerk. You know Arabella, right?"
Eira barely had time to process the abrupt shift in Malia’s mood. Her brows furrowed as she recalled the loud, arrogant girl who had rudely woken her from her nap and yelled at her. "Arabella Thorne?"
Malia nodded, her fingers flying over her phone screen. "Exactly. You noticed she wasn’t at school yesterday? Or today?"
"Yes... why?" Eira asked, her curiosity piqued.
Malia’s grin widened as she handed her the phone. "Her favorite aunt died in a plane crash two days ago. As soon as she heard the news, she flew over. And that same evening, a video started spreading. It’s of Arabella, kneeling by her aunt’s coffin, saying some very... revealing things about her family."
She turned to Cyran, who was silently eating, seemingly uninterested. "You didn’t hear about this, did you?"
He shook his head. "No, I had no idea."
Eira tapped the play button, and the image on the screen flickered to life. There was Arabella, still in her school uniform, kneeling beside a coffin, tears streaming down her face.
{Arabella’s sobs filled the air as she clung to the coffin. "Aunt Layla... why did you have to go? You promised me—you said you’d never leave! Who’s going to be there for me now? Dad? He doesn’t care about me. All he cares about is his reputation, getting a higher position in the military, and making sure the family looks perfect. And Mom..." Arabella’s voice cracked. "Mom only loves the precious son she had with her first love. She doesn’t care about anything else. Nor her husband, not her other children. Dad only cares about Jake, because he does whatever Dad wants, like some puppet—never mind that he’s not even his real son!" She gave a brittle laugh, a sound full of pain. "And us, his biological kids? He treats us like we’re nothing. I’ve tried to leave, so many times, but they always pull me back. I thought I could survive it as long as you were with me, but now... now, I just can’t take it anymore!" Her sobs turned desperate, fingers clawing at the coffin’s surface.
A panicked voice interrupted her cries. "Oh my god, Arabella, what are you doing?!"
"My family doesn’t love me," Arabella wept. "The person I love doesn’t want me, and now you’re gone. Why am I so unlucky?!"
"Arabella, stop! Your mother will kill you if she sees this—stop it!"
"Arabella!" The video abruptly cut off.}
Eira looked up from the phone, stunned. Malia, however, was laughing. "Where did you get this?"
"From a reliable source," Malia replied with a smug smile.
"From a friend who’s part of Arabella’s maternal family," another voice chimed in, and Eira turned to Orla while Malia glared at her sister before facing Eira.
"They took the video down as early as possible but a certain number of people had already seen it so... " She shrugged, collecting her phone before asking, "Isn’t she pitiful?"
"She’s not." Orla answered and they all turn to look at her.
"Why do you say that?" Cyran asked with a frown because to him she felt pitiful as he could relate to her.
"Her family being that way and her being treated like that was pitiful but the way she treats others, because she was treated badly, is inexcusable." Orla’s eyes were hard as she continued. "She’s not the only one with a difficult family, but she uses it as an excuse to lash out at others. She’s selfish and cruel, always playing the victim while causing pain to those around her. She wants sympathy without ever considering the damage she does."