Chapter 3
I thought packing would take forever.
Looking around, I realized there wasn’t much left worth taking.
Almost every piece of clothing I owned had been picked out by Marcus.
“Our Rose deserves to look like the princess she is,” he used to say while swiping his credit card
without a second thought.
Now those designer clothes were soaked in what smelled like sewage water, deliberately ruined beyond salvation.
Funny how I went from being his princess to a “parasite with entitlement issues” overnight.
Pushing aside the ruined clothes, I found photographs scattered across the floor.
Nathan used to be obsessed with taking my picture. “I want to capture every version of you,” he’d always say.
In every group photo, both brothers would practically fight to stand closest to me.
Now? Every single picture had my face deliberately carved out with a knife.
I couldn’t look anymore.
So I dumped everything straight into the trash.
Marcus was coming downstairs with Amber when they caught me tossing it all away.
For a split second, genuine shock flashed across his eyes.
He knew how I’d treasured these things–especially his gifts.
But that moment of surprise quickly twisted into a sneer.
‘Throwing away Blackwood money like it’s nothing, I see.”
The irony hit hard. This was the same man who once dropped thousands on a necklace just because
17:21
Slapped Today. Crowned Tomorrow
Chapter 3
I glanced at it.
Now with Amber by his side, I could do no right.
I’d lost my “princess privileges,” and honestly? I was too tired to fight it.
“I’ll pay you back,” I said quietly.
“The Blackwoods don’t need your pennies. Just stay away from Amber from now on!”
Amber tugged at his sleeve, pouting like a child.
“Marcus, don’t waste time on nobodies.”
“I want to see the stars at our special place. Can we go now?”
I stopped dead in my tracks.
Their “special place“? That was the stargazing spot Marcus built for me when I first moved in.
Back then, Mrs. Blackwood was drowning in work.
She’d tasked Marcus–six years my senior–with looking after me.
He gave me absolutely everything.
I was his “guiding star,” his “red rose.”
He designed that rooftop observatory himself, complete with 999 red rose bushes planted by hand.
I still remember him standing there under those stars, looking at me like I was his entire world.
“This place exists only for you, Rose. Just like my heart.”
We spent eighteen years perfecting that starscape together.
Creating our dreamlike little secret hideout.
After that, my heart had always leaned toward Marcus.
Though every time I nearly made that choice official, Nathan would create some dramatic scene, and I’d hesitate again.
12:21
Chapter 3
And now…
They had their shiny new toy and had completely forgotten about their dying rose.
But you know what? Fine.
I took a deep breath and walked away.
I didn’t want either of them anymore.
Suddenly, Amber lunged forward and grabbed my wrist.
Her talon–like acrylics dug into my skin, leaving angry red scratches.
“Why won’t you let me finish talking, Rose? Am I that disgusting to you?” she said, her voice dripping
with fake hurt.
I yanked my arm away, flinching at the raw pain.
In what could only be described as Oscar–worthy performance, she dramatically threw herself
backward.
“Marcus! Help me!” she cried out.
Marcus’s face transformed with panic as he rushed to catch her in his arms.
Before I could even process what was happening, his hand cracked across my face.
Nathan appeared, rushing in after hearing the yelling, his face twisted with rage.
“What is your problem with Amber? Why can’t you just leave her alone?”
“Don’t forget what you are–a worthless orphan the Blackwoods charitably took in. Without us, you’d be digging through dumpsters right now! This is how you repay kindness? By attacking people?”
My ears rang from the blow.
Twenty–two years on this earth, and this was the first time anyone had ever hit me.
In that moment, everything I thought I knew about my life with them shattered.
Marcus stared at me, the realization of what he’d done slowly dawning in his eyes.
1721
Slanned Today Crowned Tomorrow
2.3%
Chapter 3
“Are you–I didn’t mean to-”
“It’s fine,” I said quietly, wiping blood from my lip. “Consider us even.”
That slap paid back whatever I owed him for saving me all those years ago.
Now, we’re done here.
But Nathan wasn’t satisfied. He stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
“You’re not going anywhere until you apologize to Amber!”
The cold fury in his eyes was unrecognizable–nothing like the boy who once followed me everywhere, begging for attention.
I knew exactly what Nathan was capable of.
Last year, when a guy at school wouldn’t leave me alone, Nathan handled it “his way.” Marcus cleaned up the mess afterward.
The brothers worked with terrifying efficiency. That boy’s family fled Atlantic City within a week.
Never did I imagine they’d turn that ruthless playbook against me.
I glanced at Amber’s smug smile and pushed down the storm of emotions threatening to break free.
“I will never apologize for anything I didn’t do.”
I had nothing left to fear.
With or without their permission, I was already gone.
17:21
