Chapter 2

2

I returned to the estate alone, burying myself deep into the soft blankets.

The massive floor-to-ceiling windows reflected the city lights, while the two photos on my nightstand were swallowed by shadows.

One was a family portrait from before my parents died. The other was a photo of Alaric holding a tear-stained version of me in his arms.

Looking at the photos, my mind drifted back to the distant past.

That year, Alaric had been kidnapped. My father heard his cries for help while jogging and broke into a warehouse to save him.

Alaric escaped, but my father died under the kidnapper's knife. My mother couldn't handle the grief and jumped to her death.

Orphaned and alone, I was adopted by the Blackwoods.

Alaric didn't care that I was a mess when I first arrived. He just held me tight and whispered.

“Don't cry, Elena. I’ll be the one you can rely on from now on.”

Compared to my often-absent foster father and cold foster mother, Alaric was the one who actually raised me.

From age nine to twenty-four, he was there for every major moment of my life.

When people bullied me for being a parentless stray, the usually calm Alaric would fight them until his knuckles bled.

When I got my first period and hid in fear, he was the one who found me, his face red as he taught me how to use a pad.

There were so many moments like that. Alaric was my entire world.

Everyone used to say I was the princess of his heart.

Naturally, I fell for him. Love, in my mind, was always synonymous with Alaric Blackwood.

On my college graduation day, I finally confessed my feelings to him.

But instead of love, I saw an endless fire of rage in his eyes.

“Elena Sterling, do you even realize what you’re saying? We are siblings!”

“We aren't blood-related! You’re not my biological brother!” I argued.

Alaric shook his head in disbelief, his steps becoming frantic.

After a long silence, he looked at me with a cold, heavy expression.

“You must be insane. We can only ever be siblings.”

“Even if I were an animal, I would never fall in love with the sister I raised with my own hands.”

Since that day, Alaric rarely came home. When he did see me, he just walked past like I was a ghost.

Then, two months ago, he brought Seraphina Montgomery home to meet the family.

Seraphina was perfect. Even my picky foster mother looked at them with pure satisfaction.

Seeing their intertwined fingers made me feel hollowed out. I didn't even have the energy for jealousy.

They sat on the sofa, whispering about honeymoon destinations and wedding styles.

Sometimes Alaric would take out old photo albums and tell her stories about his past.

In the version of his life he shared with her, there were childhood joys and teenage triumphs.

But I was mentioned only as a footnote―an insignificant pet he took in out of pity.

I listened to everything he said and cried the entire night.

I couldn't ignore the casual, indifferent smile he wore when he spoke about me.

The next day, I went to the department and submitted my application for the top-secret Aurora-003 Project.

Maybe Alaric sensed something was wrong.

For the first time in months, he asked if I needed a ride.

I just smiled and turned him down.

“Thank you, brother. But I’m fine on my own.”

I had called him “brother” for years, but this was the first time I meant it as a goodbye.